The Baltimore Orioles will now see another of their young superstars compete in the Home Run Derby in back-to-back years after Gunnar Henderson confirmed he will participate in the event.
Adley Rutschman burst onto the national scene when he put on a show in which he hit 27 total home runs from both sides of the plate as a switch-hitter. Although he was eliminated in the first round, the catcher was introduced to a new audience of baseball fans outside of the local Orioles area and its supporters.
Likewise, Henderson can do the same.
Having hit 26 home runs entering Wednesday, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year is becoming much more well-known to domestic baseball fans, but with a strong performance, he will truly emerge as one of the faces of the game.
However, there are some doubts about whether he is making a mistake by participating in this event.
For a long time, hitters avoided the Home Run Derby for fear that their swings would be ruined or their production would drop.
Bobby Abreu was the poster child for this for a while, after he came into the event in 2005 with a .995 OPS and won with 41 homers. Then, in the second half, his OPS fell to .787 and the Philadelphia Phillies lost their division race by two games.
Alex Rodriguez has been outspoken in the past about not wanting to be a part of this competition, and the numbers crunched by Marcus Jaiclin and Joseph McCollum for SABR in 2010 certainly seem to suggest there is a drop-off in production from players participating in the Home Run Derby.
If that is indeed the case, then there might be some who think Henderson is making a mistake by risking his production being cut off when Baltimore is going to be in a tight division race and is looking to make a deep playoff run.
But the numbers are not significant enough to determine anything with certainty.
Like most things, it varies from individual to individual.
For Henderson, the potential is too great not to compete.
Not only is this a chance to burst onto the scene and be in the mix as one of the most recognizable players in the sport, but he also has the chance to become the youngest Home Run Derby winner of all time at 23 years and 16 days when the event takes place.
Henderson would also become the third Orioles player to win, joining Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada.
