Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson has a special talent to play baseball.
He had showed it in 2022, with a MLB stint, with a .788 OPS in 34 games, seven doubles, and four homers.
Despite the limited playing time, he retained his rookie eligibility in 2023, and won a spot out of camp.
If he gave us a glimpse of what he could do in 2022, 2023 represented his breakout and arrival to the scene.
He was as good as you could expect, leading Baltimore to the postseason with a 101-61 record in the regular season and earning AL Rookie of the Year honors.
MLB captured the moment in which he was announced as the winner, and his family celebrated with him.
The moment Gunnar Henderson found out he was the Rookie of the Year! 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mxDAEhuDN6
— MLB (@MLB) November 13, 2023
The most impressive thing about Henderson’s season and the voting process is that he was a unanimous winner.
All 30 voters thought he deserved first place.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee finished second and Boston Red Sox slugger Triston Casas was third.
Henderson had a .814 OPS in the 2023 campaign, with 28 home runs, 100 runs scored, 82 RBI, 29 doubles, and 10 stolen bases in 150 games.
The scary thing is that he is just 22 years old, and he is already capable of putting those monster numbers.
The sky is the limit for Henderson, and his ROY triumph gives the Orioles another first-round pick as part of the 2022-26 CBA agreement.
Monday night was definitely a special moment for Henderson’s young career, one that might take him to even more important individual and collective hardware if he keeps working.
NEXT: Orioles Receive A Bonus For Special Award Win
