O's want Gunnar in USA lineup again for Classic championship

SARASOTA, Fla. -- There’s a consensus among every player in the Orioles’ Spring Training clubhouse: Gunnar Henderson should be back in the Team USA lineup for Tuesday night’s World Baseball Classic championship game vs. the winner of Monday's Italy-Venezuela semifinal matchup.

Sure, maybe these Baltimore players -- all of whom are Henderson’s teammates -- are a bit biased and have wanted to see the 24-year-old play every game of the Classic, even though the U.S. has a star-studded roster and not everybody can play in all of them. But also, consider this: The O’s are more aware of Henderson’s talent level than anybody else in baseball.

Well, at least they were. Now, Henderson is garnering national attention for his elite skills, having showcased them every time he’s been in the USA lineup during the tournament.

During pool play, Henderson went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs in a 9-1 win over Great Britain on March 7, and then, he homered during an 8-6 loss to Italy last Tuesday. After sitting on the bench for the other two pool-play games and for the quarterfinal win over Canada on Friday, he hit an electric game-tying homer in the fourth inning of USA’s 2-1 semifinal win vs. the Dominican Republic on Sunday night.

“It’s such a good team that it’s like, ‘How do you not start some of these guys?’ But I think he made a pretty good impression for the championship game,” Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday said with a smile.

Henderson has emerged as one of MLB’s top players in recent years, compiling 20.5 Wins Above Replacement (per Baseball-Reference) over the past three seasons with Baltimore. He has hit 82 home runs and posted an .834 OPS in 463 games during that span.

Before Sunday's game, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa cited Henderson’s past success against Luis Severino (who started for the D.R.) as part of the reason Henderson started at third base over Alex Bregman and was slotted in at No. 5 in the lineup. Henderson is 7-for-9 with a double, a home run and four RBIs vs. the Dominican right-hander in MLB action.

So, it wasn’t too surprising to see Henderson take Severino deep in the Classic semifinal, belting a Statcast-projected 400-foot solo shot that helped spark the USA victory.

“He’s definitely built for it, obviously,” O’s infielder Coby Mayo said. “It’s a tougher role than he’s been in in the past, right? He’s used to playing every day, being the 1, 2 or 3 hitter, and he goes there and he’s not playing every day and there’s some uncertainty if he’s going to be in there or not in there.

“Every game, he’s gone out there and just brought energy, and I think that shows you the type of player he is. The moment definitely wasn’t too big for him.”

Orioles players and staff continue to enjoy watching Henderson from afar.

Holliday was watching Sunday’s game when his mom, Leslee, texted him and predicted a home run by Henderson during the first inning, but instead, he grounded out. Three innings later, Holliday received another text stating, “I’m so smart, I’m always right.”

“I’m watching it and it was like two pitches delayed, and I’m like, ‘OK, I know he’s about to hit a homer,’” Holliday said. “It was awesome.”

Various members of the O’s roster shared posts featuring Henderson on their Instagram stories during the game. Meanwhile, right-hander Tyler Wells took to social media to brag about his teammate:

After Baltimore’s Sunday evening Grapefruit League game vs. the Yankees was rained out in the third inning, manager Craig Albernaz and the Orioles’ coaches returned to their offices and turned to FS1 on all of the TVs. They were still there at the time of Henderson’s homer.

“When Gunnar hit it, the whole place went nuts,” Albernaz said. “We were fired up.”

Infielder Jordan Westburg has been one of the biggest advocates for Henderson getting into the USA lineup more frequently, posting on his Instagram story during the March 7 game a photo with the caption: “Keep that man in the lineup.”

With one game to go, Henderson has certainly done his best to state his case.

“Super proud, super happy for him,” Westburg said. “For him to be playing like he is and performing on that stage, man, I couldn’t be happier.”

“You know how big of an impact he can make on offense, defense, the bases as a teammate,” Mayo said. “Of course, you always want him there. I think there’s a good chance he’s in there next game.”