Gunnar Henderson: The Future of the Orioles

Okay, you're the coach here. What do I have to do differently? You're not getting your optimal amount of shots on the deer. Watch out, the bear's coming. Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. No! You did hit him. Today, we're finding out what the best in baseball are made of. We sat down with the best players in the world to see who they really are underneath the jersey. Welcome to King of Diamonds. I'm Grady Diaz, and I'm here with Gunnar Henderson. You're from Alabama, but this is really your city. We're in Baltimore at this incredible arcade. How are you feeling? Feeling great, feeling great. You brought a lot of life and fun back into the Baltimore Orioles. What has that been like for you? For me, I just try to not act goofy, but just act light-hearted, like singing in the cage or something. I know you're a big hunter. Can you tell me about your journey and how that started? It started from a very young age. I can't remember the exact age, but I'd always go with my dad. I still remember just riding in his old truck and going to the hunting stands and just a lot of memories of some good deer. In the clubhouse, is there anyone you wouldn't want to play in Buckhunter? I think I would get everybody. I think actually Corbin Martin's pretty good at Buckhunter. I've played against him. He's pretty good, but I think I'll get him. So I've never played this, so you have to show me the ropes. All right, I got you. So don't shoot the does, shoot the ones with horns. Oh, you're good at this. What made you choose Under Armour? I've always loved wearing Under Armour stuff. We're in high school and then ultimately at the Under Armour game, and then when I had the opportunity out of high school, when I got drafted to sign with Under Armour, that's what I wanted to do. What was that day like? Take me back to it. I guess my favorite days were when I'd go to my locker and there would just be a bunch of Under Armour stuff at the locker and I'd be able to go through all the different... It's like Christmas, no? Exactly, exactly. Okay, you're the coach here. What do I have to do differently? You're not getting your optimal amount of shots on the deer. Watch out, the bear's coming. Oh my gosh. You did hit him. So the UA Next All-American game is coming up. What was your experience like playing in it? It was awesome. Being able to, one, experience Wrigley for the first time, that was really special. And then being able to just get all the Under Armour gear and just try it out, that's a feeling you don't really get to experience very often. I know Bobby Witt Jr. played with you in the All-American game. What's your relationship like with him? It's cool kind of following his career because obviously we got to do a lot of the high school showcase circuits and it's cool to just check in to see how everything's going and just kind of chat about how the season's been going and stuff of that nature. Oh, not the doe. Oh, here we go, back in the back. I missed it, I hit the tree. Maybe. I got a doe. And I'm not supposed to get the doe, right? Nope. I hate when that happens. You got them all almost. All right, so let's talk style. One of my favorite parts, I see the chain. Tell us about the chain first. My older brother, he's very good at designing stuff. He actually designed the pendant on here and then my now fiance got the pendant made and the chain. How would you describe the Gunnar Henderson signature look? Love wearing joggers, that with some nice tennis shoes and then just a athletic top and then always got to wear a hat. Is there anything in your closet that might surprise us? Probably not. What you see is kind of what you get. Have you ever done duck pin bowling? I have not. Did you know it originated here? I did not know that either. All right, well, let's do this. I'm always gonna bet on me. Let's see what you got. Oh, I don't know about that one. I get better with time. I don't even know how the footwork is. I can take one step and get there. Oh, that was good. That was good. Now you're standing in the position that Cal Ripken Jr. once stood in. He's a Hall of Famer. What's the biggest piece of advice he's given you so far? A lot of it is communication. He loves to over-communicate, just to make everybody feel comfortable on the diamond. I feel like that makes you better for being aware of the situations and everything and then also your teammates around you more comfortable and that's something that I try to do each and every day. I think I got one more. Wait, wait, did I win? Wait, did I beat you? I think so. Good game. Great game. What do you want the fans to be able to say about you someday? That I played hard each and every night and that I gave it my all each and every night and that's the standard that I hold myself to. What advice do you have for those young players who aspire to be in your position someday? Baseball is such a tough mental game and a lot of failure and it just takes an insane amount of work and you just have to keep working even when it gets tough. Even up here, I mean, a lot of guys like myself have been through it. I mean, you just have to keep working and keep working and just keep fighting. How do you keep your mind right amongst adversity? Your teammates, your coaches, they help with that and then honestly, your internal drive. That's what fuels me wanting to be the best player that I can possibly be.