Gunnar Henderson's Home Run Derby announcement was casually the coolest ever

The Home Run Derby, even with its ever-changing format, has been an event that baseball fans have loved for a long time now. It pits the game's best sluggers against each other with only one goal in mind: to hit a bunch of dingers. Winners of the event include some of the best players to ever play the game like Ken Griffey Jr. (who won three times), Cal Ripken Jr., and Frank Thomas, as well as some less likely, but still awesome names like Eric Davis, Luis Gonzalez, and Todd Frazier. For the first time in a while, the Baltimore Orioles have a few players on their roster that seem like they could put on a good show in the Derby.

However, entering Sunday night, it was unclear as to whether or not the Orioles would have a participant this year. The team did have Adley Rutschman take part in the Home Run Derby last year, where he lost a close first-round matchup with Luis Robert Jr., but a lot of players and teams have been discouraged from participating, as the event can wear a guy down ahead of the second half, increasing injury risk.

Don't tell that to MVP candidate and masher of baseballs Gunnar Henderson, though. While mic'd up on Sunday Night Baseball during a game that Baltimore would likely prefer to forget, Henderson announced that he is the first confirmed participant in the 2024 Home Run Derby in the coolest way possible.

Orioles News: Gunnar Henderson announced his Home Run Derby participation while mic'd up

Now, putting mics on players during games has a mixed track record. Some guys are just too dialed into playing the game to be entertaining, and there have been cases where a guy messes up because he is dealing with questions from the announcers. However, there have also been some fun/hilarious moments captured, and a lot of fans seem to love the addition to broadcasts.

Henderson's announcement may be one of the first pieces of news to be broken by a player during a game while mic'd up, entering a new coolness frontier. As of this moment, he is the only confirmed participant in the Home Run Derby this year, although Shohei Ohtani wants to participate if the Dodgers will let him and Pete Alonso will probably continue to do them until the sun implodes.

We are likely to learn more about who Henderson will face in the Derby over the next week or so, as the 2024 Home Run Derby is a little over two weeks away. However, it is unlikely that they will be able to match Henderson's announcement when it comes to surprise and style.

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