Tied one-all with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second of Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson took a 1-0 count off Kutter Crawford 422 feet into the stands.
The Orioles ended up winning the game 6-1, keeping within short distance of the New York Yankees in the American League East, only 1.5 games back.
Henderson's second career grand slam he sent into right field on Wednesday was his 18th of the season, tying him with the Houston Astros' Kyle Tucker for the league lead.
Henderson has been a big reason why the Orioles are staying neck and neck with their division rival, not to mention being one of the best team's in baseball. Last year's American League Rookie of the Year is just scratching the surface, yet he's currently one of the most important players on the Orioles' roster. The soon-to-be 23-year-old is part of a crop of young stars that have been brought up from the Orioles' farm system over the last couple of seasons.
Gunnar Henderson is one of the most important players on the Orioles' roster
Adley Rutschman was just the beginning back in 2022. Henderson then followed right behind him late that season, and then came Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg (and Jackson Holliday briefly). Rutschman and Henderson both had their contracts renewed right before the regular season started without an agreement, due to being in pre-arbitration, according to ESPN.
Rutschman will be making $760,300, while Henderson will be making $756,200. Both of these will pale in comparison to what they eventually should sign. For this piece, specifically, we'll focus on Henderson, though.
Henderson is doing things at a record pace that only a few before him who donned an Orioles uniform have done. His tie-breaking grand slam was also the 50th home run of his career, which came in only his 238th career game. The only Oriole to do that faster is current first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, per MLB.com.
His 50th home run also put him in a category with only three other previous Orioles who hit their 50th homer before turning the age of 23. They include Manny Machado, Eddie Murray, and Boog Powell.
At his current rate, Henderson is on track to knock 54 out of the park this season, which would best Chris Davis' franchise record of 53 set in 2013. If this does happen, let's just hope that's all he resembles statistically from Davis.
“It feels like every night he hits a homer,” Orioles' infielder Ramón Urías said on Wednesday.
So why haven't the Orioles already locked Gunnar Henderson up?
Those that know the Orioles know they're not one to make long-term, lucrative commitments to their players. That's probably why, up until last season, they hadn't made a postseason appearance in seven years and have only made four over the last 25.
But that was under the previous ownership of John Angelos. Earlier this year, the Angelos family sold the team to David Rubenstein, a billionaire Baltimore native.
Orioles fans were overjoyed that the team would be out of the hands of the Angelos family, hoping that Rubenstein would actually put more emphasis on creating a winning product on the field. Being that this is still a fresh deal, the impact has still yet to truly be seen other than perceived expectation.
Rubenstein has made it clear that he wants to bring a World Series back to Baltimore. The good news is that he has a lot of integral pieces to make that happen. But if he wants to truly catapult this into reality, not to mention prove to Orioles faithful he's for real, he should probably start locking up some of his key players, like Henderson, before their values exceed the team's limits (whatever those may be now).
A lot of today's young stars are finding their way into long-term deals just before their 23rd birthdays. Just look at the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. and the Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez. Each signed nine-figure deals that set them up for long stays with their respective teams, who get them in the prime of their careers.
Previous ownership has already missed doing that with Rutschman. He just turned 26 this season, now into his third full season — although he did enter the majors at 24. The Orioles catcher still deserves a better deal, but it just might not be the one he could or should have gotten after his first or second season. Therefore, Henderson should be Rubenstein and the Orioles' primary focus moving forward.
Henderson, who is not only tied in the league for homers, is also fourth in runs scored (42), seventh in RBI's (41), and fifth in slugging (.584). He will enter arbitration in 2026. The former Rookie of the Year is now putting his name in the running for this year's American League MVP award. Even with the MLB's rookie contract structuring that keeps players on the cheap, making a deal now for Henderson to keep him an Oriole should be Rubenstein's first big move.
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