Fastball

Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson Looking to Make History at Home Run Derby

Baltimore Orioles' shortstop Gunnar Henderson confirmed on Sunday that he will participate in the upcoming Home Run Derby. If he were to win it, he'd make history on multiple fronts.

Brady Farkas

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) at bat during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 30.
Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) at bat during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 30. / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports
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Baltimore Orioles' shortstop Gunnar Henderson will look to make history on multiple fronts when he participates in the Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas later this month.

Henderson confirmed that he would participate in the signature event of All-Star week on Sunday night as part of "Sunday Night Baseball" on ESPN.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

GUNNAR HENDERSON IS DOING THE DERBY!!!!!

-he’d be the youngest HR Derby winner (23 y, 16 d on Derby Day; current youngest winner is 1993 Juan Gonzalez: 23 y, 265 d)

- 2 Orioles have won: 1991 Cal Ripken Jr., 2004 Miguel Tejada

that duo is ALSO the 2 shortstops to win! baseball.

Henderson certainly has the chops to win this event, as he's posted an absolutely ludicrous first half of the season for Baltimore. He's hitting .288 with 26 homers, 58 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In a year that was supposed to be about Jackson Holliday coming up and dominating for Baltimore, he's the one that is carrying the offense. He's got an OPS of .988 and is a major reason why the Orioles are tied for first place with the Yankees in the American League East.

The O's are looking to win their second straight division title, having won 101 games a season ago.

Baltimore is off on Monday as baseball has an extremely light three-game schedule. They will travel to Seattle for a series with the Mariners which begins on Tuesday night. The M's lead the American League West by 3.5 games but have dropped eight of their last 12.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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