Kyle Goon: Gunnar Henderson’s WBC tear reminds the Orioles of what they missed last October

Was anyone else feeling goose bumps Saturday night?

If you were watching Gunnar Henderson in the World Baseball Classic, you were feeling something.

There were many highs to pick through on a night when the Orioles shortstop finished 4-for-5. But the clear sequence of note was his two-out, two-strike hard-hit drive into center field in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Seeing Nate Eaton mishandle the ball in his peripheral vision, Henderson said, he sort of blacked out. “After I hit it and I saw him bobble it — I think about two steps after first base — I don’t remember what happened,” he said in his postgame walk-off interview.

Henderson sped up, slid into second base, and screamed and flexed for the benefit of his teammates — whipping the Houston crowd into a frenzy as his two-RBI base hit gave the U.S. a commanding lead over Great Britain.

But as much as it means for the Americans, angling to win the WBC three years after heartbreak against Japan — think about what that version of Henderson means to the Orioles.

Watching from Florida, Craig Albernaz admitted after watching Henderson tear up the diamond in his first start for the U.S., he struggled to get to sleep.

“I was fired up watching it,” Albernaz said, a spark in his eyes. “It was so cool — so cool for Gunnar and also the rest of the fans to see what Gunnar can do on the big stage and be the impact player we all know he is. To see him do that on that stage was awesome.”

I’d imagine Henderson’s new manager is getting lofty visions of a postseason warrior in his head. Why not?

It has been too long since we’ve seen that version of Henderson — a reminder of what the Orioles missed last season when they started in a funk and never recovered.

Regular Season Gunnar is fun. But Playoff Gunnar? I want to see that guy again, and soon.

The Orioles’ 2023 postseason run was just an 0-3 blip, so it might be easy to forget. But we saw Playoff Gunnar then, when he was 6-for-12 against the Texas Rangers and really the only one of the Orioles’ stars in proper working order.

His slide home against Texas catcher Jonah Heim in that ALDS — in which he received a run and a blackened right eye for his trouble — was eerily similar to the slide he had against the Brits, both in effort and his visceral reaction to beating the tag.

“You don’t get those emotions in spring training games,” Albernaz said. “That just shows how he plays the game on that stage.”

Henderson’s postseason record is not bulletproof (he went hitless in the 2024 wild-card series with Kansas City), but he’s shown enough promise in these high-stakes games to leave us wanting a lot more. Among the many things Baltimore lost last year was the chance to see this version of its superstar — covered in infield dirt and having the time of his life.

“That atmosphere is unbelievable, and it’s so cool,” said Henderson, the creases of his smile crinkling up to his eyes.

You can see how much he’s enjoying it, on and off the field. This guy was made to be in games with such stakes, and we’ve seen the best side of him emerge in the heat of playoff competition.

As fun as it is to see in March, it would be even better to see again in October. The Orioles better find a way to get there, because going another fall without Playoff Gunnar would be a terrible thing.