D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles passes up joining an elite club
Gunnar Henderson came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning for the Baltimore Orioles with a chance to make history.
He did perhaps the funniest thing possible instead.
The Orioles designated hitter strode to the plate with the Orioles blowing out the Oakland A’s 10-1, and having already homered, tripled, and doubled on the afternoon. Henderson needed just a single to hit for the cycle. That would have made Henderson just the fifth player to accomplish that feat this season, and only the 344th player in all of MLB history to pull off a cycle.
Henderson gave himself a chance, roping a line drive down the right-field line but … he did not stop at first:
Instead, Henderson legged out a double, giving himself four extra base hits on the afternoon. As you can see from the end of the clip, even his teammates were confused, gesturing from the dugout that he should have just stayed at first base.
Following the game, Henderson admitted that he thought about a single — and the cycle — before his at-bat. However, with a chance for a double, he was not going to pass that up. “It kind of went through my head before the at-bat … but I just play the game hard,” Henderson said. ”A double, the opportunity was there. That was just the way I play. Wasn’t meant to be.”
The Orioles went on to win 12-1, completing a three-game sweep of the A’s. That victory capped off a nine-game West Coast swing that saw Baltimore go 6-3, sweeping Oakland and taking two-of-three from the Seattle Mariners. Baltimore remains atop the AL East with a 77-47 record, putting them 30 games above .500 for the first time since 2014.
Baltimore has a three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the division.
And a youngster willing to pass up history.
