Gunnar Henderson is putting in the work, but the results aren’t coming in a ‘frustrating’ year

Moral victories do not help the batting average. They do not alleviate the desperate feeling when looking up at the scoreboard and seeing numbers that are far below expectations. But Gunnar Henderson might not have much of a choice beyond embracing the moral victories, because little else is going his way.

In Sunday’s series-ending loss to the Washington Nationals, manager Craig Albernaz pointed out a line drive from Henderson that narrowly landed foul down the left-field line and a sharply hit fly ball to center. Neither was a hit. Neither will help those numbers on that board — the reminder, to Henderson and Orioles fans at Camden Yards, that their offensive centerpiece is not performing at a high level.

“He had great swings,” Albernaz said, choosing to remain positive about this freshly turned 25-year-old with star potential who has yet to realize it consistently. “It’s just, nothing’s falling for him right now.”

Albernaz almost shrugged, unable to explain it. In the clubhouse later, Henderson could do little else but shake his head when presented with a similar line of questioning.

For a player who has excelled at every level — from the travel ball showcases through the minor leagues and even here, at the unforgiving highest level — Henderson is at a loss.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Henderson said. “Probably one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever been through.”

At the end of Sunday’s loss, Henderson’s batting average dropped to .221. His on-base percentage is .291. And his on-base-plus-slugging percentage is .701.

Before that 0-for-4 display to cap a series loss, Henderson’s OPS+ was 97 — which means, for the first time in his major league career, he is performing at a below-average level (OPS+ standardizes offensive production, making 100 league average; the higher the number, the better).

The Orioles, it’s fair to write, have a Gunnar Henderson problem. Usually it’s the other way around, with opponents cringing at the prospect of facing this dynamic player. He is still that dynamic player. He has 16 home runs, one shy of his 2025 total. But what Henderson has lacked is the average that came with that power, and the trickle-down affects the rest of the lineup.

When asked during the recent West Coast road trip about Henderson still batting No. 2 most nights despite struggling, Albernaz said the Orioles want to give him as many plate appearances as possible because they know he can change the game with one swing.

Be that as it may, of Orioles players with at least 100 at-bats this season, Henderson’s average ranks 10th, ahead of only Coby Mayo and Tyler O’Neill. His home runs raise his OPS to seventh, but his on-base percentage is ninth.

“You don’t want to think about results, but it’s hard not to when crap doesn’t show up for so long. So it sucks. It’s baseball, but, yeah …” Henderson trailed off.

Henderson said he and hitting coaches Dustin Lind and Brady North worked on aspects of his swing Saturday. Although he felt good Sunday, a hitless day is difficult to accept.

“I mean, I’ve been trying to do any and everything that I can to help the team win, because it really doesn’t feel like I’m doing that, offensively, at least,” Henderson said. “It just sucks, man.”

One of the more noticeable things about Henderson’s season is that he’s facing more off-speed pitches than ever. While he correctly pointed out he has done well against off-speed pitches before (and continues to handle them well when they’re in the strike zone), one aspect of seeing more junk balls is the lack of fastballs.

Entering Sunday, Henderson was hitting .132 against four-seam fastballs, which is the lowest mark of his career. His negative-6 run value against that pitch type is a sharp digression from 2025, when he produced a positive-7 run value against four-seamers, according to Statcast.

North said those numbers include four-seamers that are outside the strike zone, and Henderson’s numbers against in-zone four-seamers are still strong. That means Henderson is expanding the zone, perhaps because he’s trying too hard.

“When Gunnar’s making the right decisions and swinging the bat at balls in the zone, we see the results lining up. He’s showing us Gunnar Henderson,” North said. “Making some bad decisions, but he’s working through it and he’s going to be fine.”

When asked if there’s an element of pressing involved, North said: “I can see Gunnar wanting to be Gunnar fast and wanting to do a lot in a short amount of time.”

It would help the Orioles if Henderson was his All-Star self more quickly, but his average and OPS won’t rise in one game. Patience is required, especially from the player himself, to allow for better results in the future.

President of baseball operations Mike Elias said what Henderson is dealing with is “all manageable, fixable stuff.”

“Gunnar’s working his butt off,” Elias said. “He cares like crazy, and we see flashes of it. He’s still very, very helpful to this team and one of the best players in baseball. I think last time I talked [to members of the media in May], I thought he was going to get going. To be answering this question again, we’re probably all frustrated, including him. But he will get going.”

That seems to be the common sentiment. Henderson has shown too much success at this level to be discounted in the future. He produced three consecutive seasons with an OPS at .787 or higher, and he finished all the way up at .893 in 2024.

The Orioles, who are seven games below .500, sorely need Henderson in the second half of the season. Maybe, just maybe, one of those balls that Albernaz referenced — the silver linings to an 0-for-4 day — will fall. And who knows what will happen then?

“It’s just, I guess, a matter of time at this point,” Henderson said. “I don’t know.”