Gunnar Henderson’s strong offensive series in Boston was fueled by ‘trying less, to be honest’

BOSTON — Gunnar Henderson looked destined for third base as soon as the ball left his bat Wednesday night. As it sped toward the deepest part of Fenway Park’s center field, the Orioles shortstop sped around the bases.

He can be a captivating player to watch when he gets loose — when his helmet goes flying and he begins scampering across the dirt. The Orioles have seen too little of that this season. The 25-year-old has star potential. He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2023, and he became an All-Star in 2024.

But until a strong offensive series in Boston that featured four extra-base hits — all of which came against left-handed pitchers — Henderson has appeared too tightly wound at times, as though the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

This week, Henderson said, he tried something.

He stepped into the batting cage against “pretty firm” velocity and “swung about as easy as I could.”

In short?

“Uh, started trying less, to be honest with you,” Henderson said.

It can be a dangerous task to put too much stock into a small sample, but Henderson’s results have improved of late. The Orioles, from president of baseball operations Mike Elias down to manager Craig Albernaz and teammates, have long reiterated their belief that Henderson will find his groove. It’s too early to know if he has, although there are certainly positives to pull from Boston.

On Monday night, Henderson doubled three times — all to the opposite field — against lefties. He singled in the first game Wednesday, and he reached base three times in the nightcap, with a triple as part of it.

And since July 10 he’s hitting .289 with an .841 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. That’s more like it. The recent upswing has raised his OPS to .701.

“The approach was outstanding, and that’s something we talked about the previous games, being able to drive a ball the opposite way against a lefty,” Albernaz said. “He smashed that ball in the gap for a triple. It was very telling of where Gunnar’s at. It was a really great series for him, and like we always talked about, he’s always been close to getting the results, and it was good to see him get the results.”

Driving the ball the opposite way is an important part of Henderson’s game, although he hasn’t done it much this year. Entering Wednesday, a career-high 43.1% of his batted balls were to the pull side (he routinely averaged 36% in other seasons). Only 21.5% of his contact was to the opposite field, which is a career low (down from 25.2% when he won Rookie of the Year).

When Henderson stepped into the batting cage a few days ago and took easy swings, he relaxed his mind and body.

“It’s just being a little bit easier up there, not trying [to] really, I guess, overdo it, in a sense,” Henderson said. “Just going up there and letting my instincts and my bat path take over, and I feel like I haven’t really allowed myself to do that, so it was just allowing myself to be free up there.”

That’s why Henderson said he began “trying less,” in a sense. That’s not to write that he isn’t trying at all — there is no quashing his fire. But, as he searched for results, there could have been more weighing on him than was necessary.

Watching him at Fenway Park was a reminder of what he can do. With the ball in play, there are few players more exciting than Henderson.

The Orioles, certainly, would be better off with him at his best.

“I hold myself to a high standard,” Henderson said. “I want to get on base for the guys behind me and cause some havoc on the bases. Yeah, obviously, had some things I needed to clean up, and I feel like I’ve done that and am starting to hit the ball a little better. Starting to drive it all over the field. So hopefully will be more dynamic and get on base for the guys.”