Baltimore Orioles All-Star Reflects on Home Run Derby Experience

Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson figured out just how tiring hitting home runs can be in a short amount of time.

Jul 15, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; American League shortstop Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles (2) competes during the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — Gunnar Henderson had done nothing like this before as he made his debut in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby on Monday night at Globe Life Field.

The Baltimore Orioles star, who batted last based on his home run total this season, was unable to get out of the first round as he hit just 11 home runs, the fewest of any participant in the Home Run Derby.

He realized this was harder than it looked about halfway into his three minutes at the plate.

“Yeah, my legs were shot,” Henderson said. “It was an unreal experience but it doesn’t show you how tired you get.”

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández won the Home Run Derby with 14 home runs in the championship round, beating Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr., who had 13 home runs.

The Home Run Derby’s format was adjusted this year. Each participant in the first round got three minutes to hit as many home runs as he could with a maximum of 40 pitches. The top four participants advanced to the second round, where they would be seeded based on their first-round totals.

Henderson and his custom-made Scooby Doo bat, made by Chandler Bats, failed to hit a home run in his first 10 swings and that made it difficult to catch up. He would have needed 19 home runs to tie for fourth place. But didn’t come close.

Henderson selected his Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton to pitch to him in the Derby. Last week Britton drove up to work with Henderson to ensure he was hitting the right places over the plate.

Britton could see how it was impacting Henderson as the swings continued.

“It’s a crazy environment and he’s never done anything like that before,” he said. “He doesn’t quite have that big swing like the other guys have, so he really has to hit the ball high in the air. He got a lot of really hard contact but it was low angles.”

The Orioles star did stick around to watch the second round as he wanted to support Witt, who he admires as a player and has developed a friendship with as a pair of young, budding superstars. During the second round you could see the two huddled in a corner on the first base side talking.

“He’s got a short, compact and powerful swing and he’s unreal,” Henderson said of Witt. “It’s really fun to watch.”

Henderson and his Orioles teammates return to Globe Life Field on Tuesday. He’ll start at shortstop. And even though he failed to win, he’ll remember this experience for a while.

“It was awesome having the boys there to support me,” Henderson said. “It’s just been a great experience.”