There is so much for the Orioles still to sort out roughly 20 games into the season.

The lineup and bullpen are drastically different from a year ago at this time, the skipper is still just getting acclimated to the job and defensive miscues and misadventures are popping up on a near nightly basis .

A constant rash of injuries has already required roster juggling and the bench has been shifted and the Norfolk Express is already getting a workout with the AAA roster bleeding into the Majors on a regular basis. So let’s try to simplify a few things for the Skip, and, more importantly, his boss – Mike Elias, Lord Of All Things Remotely Baseball Related when it comes to the O’s.

Let’s take one thing off all of their plates for the foreseeable future. Your lineup decisions can start in the two spot (and, really, if Taylor Ward continues to work counts and hit double anything close to the way he has, you can go ahead and start your work even further down the line). Oh, I know it runs counter to what the previous novice skipper was yelping around these parts but Henderson is and should be the Orioles leadoff hitter as long as he is under their employ (which sadly won’t be as long as any of us had originally hoped).

Consistency Is Good

I’ll admit that I used to fight this notion. I wanted a prototypical lead-off guy for the longest time. Would have told you that batting your best hitter first takes away too many potential run-producing opportunities, etc. Nope. Get your best baseball player the maximum number pate appearances you can as often as you can.

It really is that simple. And Gunnar is clearly that guy. I wouldn’t even have dropped him one spot Thursday night against a very tough lefty in Parker Messick. Not with the way he swung the bat on that homestand. And I swear on al things holy I fashioned this column before Messick nearly no-hit the O’s Thursday night.

Part of Henderson’s somewhat slow immediate start and some of the at bats that were not up to his peak quality may have had to do with where he was hitting. Does he get a little caught up with pull-side power chasing down deeper in the lineup? Does batting first reinforce some of his best qualities in terms of how he works pitchers? Well, years of watching every game and a quick glance at the numbers would affirm all of that.

So let’s leave it alone. Let him be a 40-40 guy (or, um, 50-50 guy?) while hitting leadoff and go ahead and chuck that bat in disgust when they walk you and then snag second base while Ward looks at ball three.

In his career (entering the Guardians series) Gunnar has an .876 OPS batting first, best of any spot in which he’s had at least 30 plate appearances. So that’s a start. He also has more than twice as many home runs batting leadoff than anywhere else (yes, he does have the most career PA in that spot).

At this point, with him looking like an MVP again now that he’s healthy again, it comes down to batting first, second or third. Those are the real options. What’s that meant to this point?

What Do The Numbers Say?

Batting 1st: 819 PA – 36 2B – 11 3B – 44 HR – 107 RBI – 24 SB/5 CS

                     .272/.344/.532

Batting 2nd: 232 PA – 14 2B – 1 3B – 11 HR – 31 RBI – 6 SB/1 CS

                       .280/.332/.509

Batting 3rd: 711 PA – 36 2B – 6 3B – 19 HR – 79 RBI – 30 CB/5 CS

                      .275/.353/.443

Let him be the ultimate engine. He is their catalyst and when he is fired up, they are fired up. I wouldn’t even mess with it much against lefties, honestly. If Jordan Westburg comes back and looks like his best self – and then manages to stay in the lineup for a period of time – and you wanna dabble with that, okay. But sliding Adley in the three hole, upon his return, and having Pete Alonso in the prototypical clean-up spot and Westy at 5 is something I could sink my teeth into.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, let’s let Gunnar do his thing before anyone else and see where that takes this team. And that means back leading off Friday night.

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