Gunnar Henderson #2 and Colton Cowser #17 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after winning a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept. 19, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images/TNS)

CLEVELAND — After Orioles games, Gunnar Henderson is usually sitting at his locker, decompressing on his iPhone.

Sometimes, the Orioles shortstop hops on Clash Royale, an online head-to-head strategy game, to unwind after a three-hour baseball game. Following an Orioles game this season, Henderson was approached by the media for a postgame scrum, and he asked for one minute so he could finish the Clash Royale battle he was in the middle of playing.

“I’m a high rank; I can’t throw away any game,” said the ultra-competitive Henderson.

After talking with the media, Henderson revealed that he lost his Clash Royale match. Was it against a fellow teammate?

“Some random, definitely not someone in here,” he said with a smile.

While Henderson might believe none of his teammates can beat him, there are several who are gunning for him. The Orioles’ clubhouse has fallen back in love with Clash Royale, a game that came out in 2016, this year, and it’s one of the many things that players are bonding over away from the field to open the season.

“It’s just something different,” Henderson said. “You spend all your time playing baseball, so just having something else to kind of bond over is good to have. It can only help the clubhouse.”

The Clash Royale craze started during spring training, and it’s grown to include at least 15 players. T-shirts were ordered to wear around the locker room, and there’s no shortage of trash talk.

“It’s just another way that we can kind of mesh and spend time getting to know each other,” pitcher Shane Baz said. “It’s just being competitive. All of us love to do that. We’re all really competitive, and I think it just helps us stay in that mindset. All of us just love to compete, whether it’s literally anything.”

The creation of the clan happened organically. Baz, who’s played consistently since 2023, was playing it in the clubhouse one day during spring training. Someone told him Henderson is a Clash Royale player. Chris Bassitt was already, too.

“We were playing each other and it was kind of getting loud in the clubhouse, so guys would ask what we were playing,” Baz said. “It started quick.”

The simpler days of spring training — and the long bus rides up and down Florida’s Suncoast — created easy opportunities to grind on Clash Royale, a spin-off of Clash of Clans. The goal of the game is to destroy the other player’s tower. Each player has a deck of eight strategy cards — ones they choose across the game’s 200 options — and the more you play, the better your deck gets. Each match takes only three to five minutes.

Sometimes, the Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson hops on Clash Royale, an online head-to-head strategy game, to unwind after a three-hour baseball game. (Dreamstime/TNS)

During the grind of a 162-game season, it’s more difficult. The best times to play are during the short bus rides to and from the airport, ballpark and hotel. The Orioles have yet to have a rain delay this season, but the game will be perfect the first time they’ve got to sit in the clubhouse and wait for Mother Nature to do her thing.

While the group has grown to about 60% of the clubhouse, among the core players are Baz, Henderson, Bassitt and Colton Cowser. That’s who the most heated battles are between. Other players include Pete Alonso, Anthony Nunez, Ryan Helsley, Samuel Basallo, Adley Rutschman, Dean Kremer and others.

“It’s definitely not PG,” Baz said with a chuckle. “It’s pretty extreme. We’re yelling at each other most of the time.

“I’m hooked,” Baz added. I think my fiancée would attest to it. She’s like, ‘You need to chill out.’ ”

Clash Royale came out in 2016, and Henderson, then in ninth grade, was an early player. He’s played on and off over the past decade, but he’s been even more consistent since becoming a big leaguer. Most of the Orioles’ clubhouse are gamers — from Fortnite on the controller to Clash Royale on the phone to cards, ping-pong and billiards — and Henderson is no different. His other favorite phone game is Brawl Stars.

Henderson was away at the World Baseball Classic when Baz and the others started going against each other on Clash Royale.

“When I got back, I was told to get back on it,” Henderson said. “We’re heavy into it now.”

Helsley, also new to the Orioles like Baz, first played Clash Royale as a minor leaguer. The game, the closer said, was common on the minor league teams he played on nearly a decade ago.

“When everyone said they were playing it in here and they had a clan, I think it kind of got a spark going, and everyone hopped back on it,” he said.

Helsley, who graded himself as a “B” on Clash Royale, spent the first six and a half years of his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals and then was with the New York Mets for two months. He’d never been in a clan with his teammates in the big leagues. Admittedly, his gaming time has drastically reduced since he and his wife, Alex, had their first of two daughters in 2022.

“Once you have kids, your gaming time really goes out the door,” Helsley said. “It’s like, once you have some free time, the last thing you want to do is sit there and scream at the TV and get pissed off. I just want to relax.”

Once Clash Royale fully became a thing in the clubhouse, Bassitt bought 20 T-shirts off Amazon for the guys to wear around the clubhouse. It just so happened that one of the shirts had Henderson’s favorite emote — a green goblin mock crying with his hands. It’s Henderson’s go-to troll when beating teammates in the clan.

“He made sure to get me that one because I hit him with it a couple times,” Henderson said.

But is Henderson’s claim that he’s the best true? It depends who you ask.

Dylan Beavers hasn’t been playing as much recently, but there’s no doubt in his mind about who the best player is.

“Gunnar is the best, for sure,” he said.

Baz said the crown is between him and Henderson. The two even watch each other play, give each other notes and talk about how they can get better at the game.

“Of course, Bassitt would say he’s the best, but he’s absolutely not,” Baz said. “Gunnar is good. But I like my odds against anybody.”

Henderson gave credit to Baz, Bassitt and Kremer as other players worthy of his praise, but he didn’t shy away from what he views as the title he’s earned.

“I have the most trophies. I’ve got the most time into this game,” Henderson said. “So yeah, I’d like to take that crown as the best player on the team.”

Baz said the Orioles’ clubhouse might have more Clash Royale-related accessories up its sleeves. He said they’re “working on something” with a 3D printer.

“But I’ll leave that one as a little surprise,” he said with a smile.