Gunnar Henderson’s solo home run in the fourth inning against the Dominican Republic tied the game in the World Baseball Classic semifinals, paving the way for Team USA’s historic victory. However, despite his impressive performance, he was not in the starting lineup for the championship game against Venezuela on Tuesday.
In his preferred shortstop position, Bobby Witt Jr. was given more playing time due to his outstanding defensive abilities. As a result, Henderson was moved to a shared role with Alex Bregman at third base, with Bregman being the chosen starter for Team USA in the final. This decision surprised Henderson’s Baltimore Orioles teammate, Tyler O’Neill, who discussed it with Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun during their Spring Training camp.
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“Tyler O’Neill recognizes that Team USA’s roster was “stacked” and he didn’t want to question their lineups, but he said it was “kind of crazy” seeing Gunnar Henderson on the bench in the WBC,” Meyer reported.
Henderson did not participate in Team USA’s tournament opener against Brazil, where Bregman had no hits in one at-bat but walked four times. In the second game against Great Britain, Henderson started at shortstop and delivered an impressive 4-for-5 performance with two RBIs, while Bregman also contributed two RBIs. Against Mexico, Henderson was replaced by Witt in the lineup. He returned to take Bregman’s spot at third base for the final pool game against Italy, going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. In the three knockout games, Bregman went 1-for-7 at the plate, while Henderson recorded 1-for-5, with one at-bat as a pinch hitter in the final.
Orioles teammates had backed Gunnar Henderson to start the WBC final
The Orioles’ spring training camp was abuzz on Sunday night after Henderson’s home run off Luis Severino. Several teammates spoke to MLB website’s Jim Rill the following day, advocating for Henderson to start against Venezuela.
“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.
First baseman Coby Mayo also agreed with Holliday, noting Henderson’s positive impact whenever he was on the field.
“He’s definitely built for it, obviously,” 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.”
Henderson’s .400 batting average and 1.267 OPS were the highest in the American lineup, which struggled to perform consistently throughout the tournament. Even in the final, they managed only two hits in seven innings before Bryce Harper tied the score.
Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy
