CLEVELAND — Gunnar Henderson’s golden hair bounced as the Orioles infielder floated around the bases in the fourth inning Wednesday night. His swing, so powerful his helmet slid off his head on his first step out of the batter’s box, left the piece of equipment laying near the first base line at Progressive Field, forgotten.
The ball was also long gone, but it won’t ever be forgotten.
Henderson, the top prospect in baseball, crushed his first major league home run 429 feet to right-center field in his second major league at-bat, meeting a slider with the vicious swing of a player who dominated minor league pitchers on a nightly basis. Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was the latest to get beaten by the 21-year-old infielder, who hasn’t faced a pitcher younger than him in his past two seasons as a professional.
