Biggest Return and Congratulations: Baltimore Orioles legend Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr Was Welcomed Back Home, He Is Now Crowned And appointed as The new Coach Of…See More….

It wasn’t the season that the Baltimore Orioles were hoping for in 2024, as they saw a significant drop in their win total from 2023.

Even though 2024 might not have been what the Orioles were hoping for, it was still a very successful season, as Baltimore made the playoffs for the second straight year.

If not for a plethora of injuries to their pitchers in 2024, the season might have ended very differently for the Orioles, as they were competing with the New York Yankees for the American League East crown.

Unfortunately, those injuries ended up being too much for Baltimore to overcome, and they were defeated by the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card Round.

While the season might have ended earlier than they would have liked, the Orioles did see the emergence of their shortstop Gunnar Henderson becoming a superstar.

Recently, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report spoke about the best players for each team under 25 years old. For Baltimore, it was none other than Henderson.

“Since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954, only Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991 (11.5) and 1984 (10.0) posted a higher single-season WAR total than Gunnar Henderson did during the 2024 season.

The 2023 AL Rookie of the Year had a .956 OPS and 28 home runs at the All-Star break before cooling off a bit in the second half, so he still has further room for improvement if he can maintain that level of production over a full season.”

After winning the Rookie of the Year in 2023, the 23-year-old got even better in his sophomore season.

This campaign, Henderson totaled 37 home runs, 92 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, and a .281 batting average.