Stephen Clements, who coached Gunnar Henderson as a senior at Morgan Academy (Ala.), had plenty to say about the Orioles rookie infielder ahead of his major league debut … all of which seems to be coming true.
Henderson is batting .269/.346./.484 with 11 extra-base hits, four home runs and 17 RBIs entering play Sept. 28.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound infielder hit .288/.390/.504 in 295 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk prior to his call-up. Since then, the 21-year-old has cemented himself as a key piece of the Orioles’ future.
Clements, who earned Selma-Times Journal‘s Baseball Coach of the Year honors for a fourth straight season in 2022, knew Henderson was the cream of the crop when he coached him in 2019.
“By the time Gunnar was a senior, it was pretty evident that he was special,” Clements said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 31, just hours before Henderson made his Orioles debut. “Even making routine plays, it was just different. The ball off his bat was different, the way he attacked the baseball and the way he played the game was just totally different than everybody, and we had some really good players at that time.
“He just changed the game in ways that you couldn’t imagine, whether it was running bases or motivating his team or hitting the ball 400 feet. It was crazy how much different he was than everyone else.”
As a senior at Morgan in 2019, Henderson hit .559/.641/1.225 with 37 extra-base hits, 11 home runs and 75 RBIs, good enough to be named Alabama’s Mr. Baseball.
Henderson had scouts’ eyes on him throughout his senior year. Weekly batting practices with 30 to 40 scouts worried Clements, but the pressure did not faze Henderson.
“I just started watching him and I am like, ‘How can I help this young man kind of settle down?'” Clements said. “But I didn’t do [anything]. I thought he could have put a little more pressure on himself and made it a little more selfish, but man, he didn’t. Everything about him was about Morgan Academy and our baseball team. You never heard him talk about the next level, you never heard him talk about any of that. Everything was game to game, hey let’s go win, next pitch. Let’s go get it.”
Much like in high school, Clements did not think the pressure would affect the 2019 No. 42 overall pick. Instead, Clements said Henderson would make an immediate impact, which he has.
Henderson was a versatile defender in the minor leagues, and that has continued since he put on an Orioles uniform. Henderson has played at second base, shortstop and third base up to this point in the majors. However, that may just be the tip of the iceberg.
“I can tell you what Gunnar will be,” Clements said. “He’ll be the best shortstop, or he’ll be the best first baseman, or if they need him to go play center field, he’ll be the best center fielder. It doesn’t matter when you have a kid like him, who works as hard as he works and it’s the small things.”
Clements says Henderson is as good a person off the field as he is a player on the field and believes the city of Baltimore would embrace him immediately … which has been the case as well.
“Baltimore is in for a treat and they’ll fall in love with this young man,” Clements said. “Just the way he is going to hold himself, the way he is going to hold his teammates, the way he is going to lead and the way he’ll hold himself in the community, they’ll just fall in love with him.”
Henderson has already become a fan favorite, and he will continue to try to help the Orioles win some games as the 2022 season comes to a close.
“Whether it’s stretching a single into a double, or if you’ve got to have a stolen base or you’ve got to hit a home run, [Henderson will do] whatever it takes,” Clements said.
For more from Clements, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox