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Gunnar Henderson went all out for Star Wars Day, May 4. The Baltimore Orioles shortstop had a custom bat made for the day that went viral. One side of the bat was akin to a blue lightsaber, the one that the "good guys" typically had.
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On the other side was the red that is typical of the antagonists. Darth Vader, fittingly was featured on it alongside other classic villains. Made by Chandler Bats, this was a work of art that caught fans' attention.
"The whole light vs dark side is pretty cool," another fan said.
"How am I supposed to dislike him bro???" one fan pondered.
Custom bats like this are very uncommon, but they are one way for players to express themselves even if they don't necessarily get to hit home runs with it. None of that mattered to the fans anyway as they completely fell in love with the unique artwork.
Gunnar Henderson experiencing no sophomore slump
If the season ended today, Gunnar Henderson would have a good shot to win American League MVP. The Orioles superstar is just in his second full season, but he looks like one of the league's best players.
He is second to only Juan Soto in terms of fWAR among AL players. He is slashing .280/.349/.576. He has 10 home runs and six stolen bases as well. His 162 wRC+ is also quite good, but it's his defense that brings his value up so high.
He has three defensive runs saved already in 243 innings at shortstop. He's been nothing short of fantastic all season and is easily one of the biggest reasons the Baltimore Orioles are in first place in AL East right now.
They lead the New York Yankees by one game right now after taking three of four of them throughout the week. Henderson played a major role in that series victory, and he has been their best player by 0.8 fWAR.
He has slowed down a bit of late, as he used to hold the AL fWAR lead over Soto. Either way, these two should give baseball fans an epic battle down the stretch for both the division title and the AL MVP award.
