Gunnar Henderson passes Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada for most home runs in a single season by an Orioles shortstop

Gunnar Henderson hit his 35th home run of the season on Wednesday, passing the Baltimore Orioles.

With the first-inning blast, Henderson surpassed Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada for the most single-season home runs by a shortstop in Orioles history. The three players entered Wednesday’s battle tied for the lead with 34 apiece.

The home run came with the Orioles trailing 1-0 to the Chicago White Sox in the final inning. With a 3-1 count, White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon threw a 90 mph cutter across the plate. Henderson drove the ball into the right-center field stands for a solo home run.

Unfortunately for the Orioles, that was their only run of the day. The White Sox came back to win 8-1. With the loss, Baltimore is now tied for first place in the AL East with the New York Yankees.

But Henderson continues to make his mark on the franchise record book in just his second full MLB season. Henderson earned AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2023 with a .255/.325/.489 slash with 28 home runs, 82 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He surpassed all of those numbers in a sophomore effort that produced a .280/.367/.536 slash line with 35 home runs, 84 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He has now passed Ripken and Tejada in the record book with 21 games remaining in the season.

“It’s definitely something I’m going to hold dear,” Henderson said after the game. “To have those guys pass in anything, in any Orioles history, is pretty special.”

The next goal is to lead the Orioles to the playoffs, where Henderson can put his stamp on the postseason record.