Advertisement

Orioles-Yankees drama continues to boil after Gunnar Henderson HBP, broadcast callout

After Gunnar Henderson got drilled by the Yankees, the stakes are setting up to get pretty ugly between the two division rivals.
Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Birds Watcher

Jun 19, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) hits a double in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since Aaron Judge took a pitch to his hand earlier this week, the New York Yankees were none too pleased. The Baltimore Orioles had been bracing for whether or not New York would retaliate.

While most agreed that the pitch that struck Judge wasn't intentional, there was a lot of chatter about the Orioles' willingness to pitch up and in, without much in the way of command. There were also a lot of people that thought that the Yankees could send a message.

It took until the seventh inning on Wednesday, but that moment did finally come when Gunnar Henderson came to the plate. Yankees pitcher Victor Gonzalez wasted little time in drilling Henderson in the shoulder with a fastball.

While Henderson was understandably frustrated, everyone stayed in their dugouts and behaved. However, the Orioles' broadcast made sure to make their displeasure known that the umpiring crew didn't issue any warnings or take any action as it is looked VERY suspicious to say the least.

Yankees' cheap shot on Gunnar Henderson put on blast by Orioles' broadcast crew

While some think that hitting guys to protect their own players is just "part of the game", this sort of nonsense has to stop. Of course it stinks that Judge got hurt on a pitch up and in, as these sorts of rivalries are at their best when both teams are at full strength. But drilling Henderson is not the sort of behavior that needs to be tolerated.

If the Yankees are upset about Orioles pitchers "not having the command" to throw up and in, they need to take a hard look in the mirror as they rank third in baseball with 42 bit-by-pitch this season behind just the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins. Do they really want other teams treating them the same way they treated Henderson? We highly doubt it.

All this does is create more tension that could cost both teams down the line. Now, Baltimore could see the Yankees drilling Henderson as an overreaction and feel like THEY now have to protect their guys and lead to an arms race, benches clearing, and guys getting hurt and/or suspended. That doesn't help anybody.

Unfortunately, the die is cast now and the Orioles' remaining seven games against the Yankees this season could get more interesting than anyone should want.

More Orioles News from Birds Watcher

Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.