– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — The comparisons between the Baltimore Orioles’ current franchise star shortstop, Gunnar Henderson, and, inarguably, the team’s most iconic player — who just happened to play the same position as Henderson — started the second Gunnar officially became a member of the franchise out of high school.
On Friday night, the continuation of Henderson proving many who made that comparison to being prophetic added a landmark moment during the current Orioles’ resurgence over the past few weeks.
Henderson hit his 100th career home run, part of an early-inning assault by the Orioles during their 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards to begin a three-game weekend series. Samuel Basallo crushed a two-run homer in the first inning as Baltimore scored three runs in each of the first two frames to overcome an early deficit.
Henderson, Baltimore’s face of the franchise who spearheaded the team’s return to the postseason in both 2023 and 2024, launched a 386-foot solo shot in the fourth inning off Padres starter Griffin Canning that moved him into a tie with Cal Ripken Jr. for most homers by an Oriole before turning 25. Gunnar trails Boog Powell (127), current Padres third baseman Manny Machado (121) and Eddie Murray (111).
“I feel like it’s just a cool achievement. The game of baseball, obviously, it’s cool to get to that number,” Henderson said. “But hopefully, a lot more coming.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Michael R. Smith. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 34 pictures in total.
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