When Orioles star Gunnar Henderson is on a baseball field, his grandpa will always be close

SARASOTA, Fla. — Kerry Henderson knew whether her middle child was winning or losing before she put the car in park.

Gunnar Henderson’s body language was the telltale sign. He hasn’t changed much in that regard. The shortstop detests losing. That was the case when he was playing Wiffle ball in his grandfather’s front yard in Selma, Alabama, with his cousin and older brother, and it is true when he plays baseball at Camden Yards as a member of the Orioles.

“It was always some pretty heated games,” Gunnar Henderson said, “but looking back, those were some of the best times growing up.”

Those childhood games at Thomas “T.J.” Jackson Etheridge’s house are at the forefront of the minds of Kerry and Gunnar Henderson. They were full of family love, and there may as well be a direct line from those Wiffle ball games to Gunnar’s path to stardom in Major League Baseball.

And there is surely a direct line from Etheridge to the man Gunnar has become.

Etheridge, Kerry’s father, died Feb. 10 at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He was 79. Shortly after, Gunnar Henderson needed to prepare for the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team USA and for the upcoming season with the Orioles.

To get him through both — and to live his life the way he hopes to — Gunnar is carrying his grandfather’s legacy with him.

“Gunnar, I see a lot of Dad’s qualities. He’s kind to everyone and he has a good heart, and he’s such a good person,” Kerry Henderson said. “He did have a very large influence on who Gunnar is, and I’m just proud that Gunnar recognizes that and that he’s playing for him this season.”

Etheridge held a strong work ethic in the automobile parts industry, but he found the most joy in being around his five grandchildren. The only way he’d miss one of their games was if he was attending the game of a different grandchild. And, at the beginning of Gunnar’s time with a bat in hand, Etheridge played a role molding his passion for the sport.

Etheridge joined his sons-in-law, Allen Henderson and Sam Brown, in coaching Gunnar Henderson and Brayton Brown from an early age. Etheridge often made the short drive to the Hendersons’ house to train the grandkids on the Little League field Allen Henderson built in the backyard.

“I can’t even put into words the love my dad had for baseball,” Kerry Henderson said. “He definitely shared that passion with the grandchildren.”

Etheridge often served as chauffeur to the Henderson boys, ferrying them around the South until Allen and Kerry Henderson finished their workdays. Allen Henderson’s parents both died before Gunnar Henderson was born. Etheridge made it his mission to fill any potential void.

“Being my only grandfather, he was the best I could’ve asked for, just the way he loved his grandkids and loved his family and loved the game of baseball,” Gunnar Henderson said.

“You would be hard-pressed to find a more devoted grandfather,” Kerry Henderson added. “He just adored the kids and wanted to be there in everything they did.”

That led Etheridge to Cleveland for Gunnar Henderson’s major league debut in 2022, and Henderson treated his family with a home run as his first hit. They met on the field long after the last out to soak in that reality.

And, at Camden Yards, Etheridge was there on June 13, 2023, when Henderson hit the first grand slam of his entire life.

All of those moments built Etheridge’s excitement to see his grandson play for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic. As his strength waned over the last several months, Etheridge would walk the stairs at the Henderson house to prepare himself for another trip to see Gunnar Henderson play ball.

“He was so determined that he was going to make it to Houston,” where Team USA played its pool stage games, Kerry Henderson said.

Etheridge died a little more than a month before his grandson launched the game-tying home run in the semifinal against the Dominican Republic.

“I know he was with him,” Kerry Henderson said.

Every day before Gunnar Henderson reported to Florida to begin spring training, he visited his grandfather in the hospital. On his last visit, an Alabama basketball game was on TV. They watched Etheridge’s favorite college team. They talked, just as they had for a lifetime.

They loved doing that, Gunnar and his grandpa. “It didn’t matter what they were doing,” Kerry Henderson said, be it fishing or baseball. All that mattered was they were together.

Gunnar Henderson built 24 years of memories like that final one — 24 years of seeing an example of kindness toward others and passion for one’s craft. Henderson will now go on his own, at least in a physical sense. His grandfather wasn’t in the stands at the World Baseball Classic, and he won’t be at Camden Yards on Thursday for opening day.

But Etheridge never missed a game if he could help it, even if it was just a Wiffle ball game in the front yard. He surely won’t miss them now, either.

“I know he’s watching me every day,” Gunnar Henderson said. “It’s comforting knowing that.”