Gunnar Henderson

[aubiefifty 18,260]

He never played for auburn but he is auburn blood. he loved auburn but he was so good he went straight to the majors. and check out all the previous auburn names on the list!

 

 

al.com

 

Gunnar Henderson named ASWA’s Pro Athlete of the Year

Updated: Jun. 06, 2024, 12:29 p.m.|Published: Jun. 06, 2024, 12:22 p.m.

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1. Sports

Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson named ASWA’s Pro Athlete of the Year

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was American League Rookie of the Year in 2023. The Selma native has been named Pro Athlete of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)AP

By

• Mark McCarterAlabama Sports Writers Association

Forget the idea of a sophomore slump.

As June rolled around this year, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was second in the American League in home runs, 10th in RBI and third in runs scored, first in that new-agey stat of WAR, and his team was in second place. He had one stretch of a home run in four consecutive games, and a third of the way through the season pundits were already positioning him as the league’s MVP.

It was Henderson’s freshman year in the majors that has him collecting still another piece of hardware, as the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Professional Athlete of the Year. In this football-crazed state, he is the first non-NFL player to win the award since golfer Justin Thomas in 2017 and first MLB player since his Orioles teammate Craig Kimbrel (then with the Atlanta Braves) in 2012.

Henderson, who won’t turn 23 until June 29, was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year in 2023, with 28 homers, 82 RBIs, .814 OPS and a .255 average. He won the AL Silver Slugger Award as best hitter among utility players. (Henderson split time between third base and shortstop, but has finally settled in as Baltimore’s shortstop. It is here we should note that he is 6-3, 220 pounds, surely reminding Oriole fans of the 6-4, 200-pound shortstop of the past named Cal Ripken Jr.)

Henderson was a second-round pick of the Orioles in 2019 out of Morgan Academy in his hometown of Selma, choosing to sign a pro contract sweetened by a $2.3 million bonus and opting out of the scholarship offer he received at Auburn. After his signing, Morgan retired his jersey No. 2, an occasion that led coach Stephen Clements to say, “Gunnar has always been the kid that worked harder than most and has earned every award that he has received.”

Many more awards seem destined in the future. As Red Sox manager Alex Cora recently said, “He’s going to be a pain in the butt in the AL East for a while.”

“I’m running out of adjectives, honestly. I need to start bringing a thesaurus when I’m getting interviewed about Gunnar,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters last month. “It’s unbelievable what he’s doing and how good he is -- in every single way. There’s not one thing that he’s not really good at, and he’s 22 years old.”

At 21, the game still brought its challenges. Early in his Rookie of the Year season, Henderson was struggling. Two months into the year, he was batting only .201 with just five homers in his first 50 games. The latter two thirds, he put up Ripken-esque numbers: a .276/.322/.535 slash line with 28 homers in his last 100 games.

“Obviously I came up and was struggling a little bit at the beginning of the year, but I gained a lot of knowledge and experience last year,” Henderson recently said. “I’ve taken that into this year, and it’s been really good for me. Like I said, I feel a lot looser. I just know what I need to do to get ready and I don’t need to change anything to have success. I’m a lot more comfortable.”

And American League pitchers are feeling a lot more uncomfortable.

ASWA Professional Athlete of the Year

Past winners

• 2022 Jalen Hurts
• 2021 Trevon Diggs
• 2020 Derrick Henry
• 2019 Derrick Henry
• 2018 Philip Rivers
• 2017 Justin Thomas
• 2016 Julio Jones
• 2015 Cam Newton
• 2014 Deontay Wilder
• 2013 Jason Dufner
• 2012 Craig Kimbrel
• 2011 Cam Newton
• 2010 Graeme McDowell
• 2009 Stewart Cink
• 2008 Mo Williams
• 2007 Jake Peavy
• 2006 DeMeco Ryans
• 2005 Shaun Alexander
• 2004 Ben Wallace
• 2003 Shaun Alexander
• 2002 Ben Wallace
• 2001 Shaun Alexander
• 2000 Tim Hudson
• 1999 Tim Hudson
• 1998 Ronald McKinnon
• 1997 Frank Thomas
• 1996 Kevin Greene
• 1995 Robert Horry
• 1994 Frank Thomas
• 1993 Frank Thomas
• 1992 Davey Allison
• 1991 Frank Thomas
• 1990 Charles Barkley
• 1989 Bo Jackson
• 1988 Corneilus Bennett
• 1987 Jimmy Key
• 1986 Charles Barkley
• 1985 John Hannah
• 1984 Ozzie Newsome
• 1983 Bobby Allison
• 1982 Andrew Toney
• 1981 Dieter Brock
• 1980 William Andrews
• 1979 John Stallworth
• 1978 Bobby Allison
• 1977 Hubert Green
• 1976 Jerry Pate
• 1975 Kenny Stabler
• 1974 Henry Aaron

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Edited June 7 by aubiefifty

[fishepa 2,018]

I just got this sweet Gunnar this week.

[aubiefifty 18,260]

29 minutes ago, fishepa said:

I just got this sweet Gunnar this week.

i wouldlove to have an auto rookie. my birthday is august........grins

[TuscaloosaTiger 310]

Gunnar hit a 3 run homer in the game today. He already has 20 home runs for the year, almost all in leadoff position for the Orioles. He's having a MVP type year. Great selection by ASWA.