Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson passed on some potential history Sunday.
Henderson came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics just a single shy of the cycle, having doubled in the third, tripled in the fourth, and homered in the seventh. The rookie ripped a line drive down the first base line, leaving him with a decision to make.
Henderson never let up. Instead of stopping at first and taking his cycle, he made it into second with a stand-up double, leaving even some of his teammates questioning the decision.
Gunnar Henderson had the chance to do the funniest thing ever and he did. pic.twitter.com/vPKtCfhjE7
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 20, 2023
Credit to Henderson here. It would have been easy for him to take the cycle, but it was an easy double. It’s a good sign for his mentality that stopping never even seemed to cross his mind.
In the past, we have seen some players get a helping hand when hitting for the cycle. Turning one down, as Henderson essentially did, is definitely unusual.
