CINCINNATI — Gunnar Henderson has been known for his bat after taking home AL Player of the Month honors while slugging a league-best 10 home runs in March and April.
But the Orioles shortstop is also showing off another bat, one he brought out for May the Fourth, informally known as Star Wars Day.
Henderson unveiled a custom bat, created by Chandler Bats, before Saturday’s game at Great American Ball Park. The handle appears like a lightsaber hilt, with a red blade on one side with images of Darth Vader, Darth Maul and the Death Star. On the other, a blue blade with Luke Skywalker, Yoda and an X-wing starfighter.
Being a Star Wars fan is seemingly par for the course in the young Orioles locker room, a group that largely came through the Minors together. In addition to owning the custom bat, Henderson loves building LEGO sets with outfielder Colton Cowser, who recently bought a lightsaber.
“I’ve always been a fan of [Star Wars],” said Henderson, who’s been told he looks like Anakin Skywalker. “But then in ‘21, I was in the team hotel in Spring Training and my now-fiancee and I were just walking through Target one day, and we walked by the LEGO section and saw the heads that you could build. It just kind of took off from there.”
Henderson, Cowser and infielder Jordan Westburg are the three biggest Star Wars fans on the team. Of course, not only were they born after the original trilogy came out, but Henderson and Cowser were born after the prequel trilogy started. They grew up watching The Clone Wars on TV and have found that Star Wars shows are their favorite way to pass the time on plane rides.
