Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country.
The question of whether Gunnar Henderson will ever be good for the Orioles again is a subject of near-daily debate in Birdland. Each poor at-bat or misfire in the field is fresh fodder for contemplation about how bad things have gone for the previously-superstar player. Many minds have already been made up.
In this week’s poll, I asked our readers whether you think Gunnar will manage to be a good player for the team again or not. We had a total of 271 votes come in and these were the results:
That’s not an exact 50/50 split, but it’s probably as close to even as any question I might have come up with. A slight majority are feeling glum about Henderson ever getting back to something they could call good. It’s tough to look at his season this year and feel positive.
There are those who think he just won’t manage to be good at all. Others think he’s sunk into some kind of situation where he needs a change of scenery. There are a number of ways it could never work out. Or, he could just go back to being the guy we saw two years ago.
The Orioles themselves sure seem to be hoping for the “sudden improvement” outcome. Their treatment of Henderson this year has something similar with the common conception of an ostrich burying its head in the sand. They don’t have much choice other than to wait for him to be good.
The wait stretches on uncomfortably. Henderson hasn’t had a really good month at the plate since last July. Close to half of Orioles fans still want to believe. As pessimistic as I generally am about the Orioles, I remain a believer in Henderson. Perhaps, like the Orioles, I don’t have any choice either. Maybe he’ll give more people a reason to believe between now and season’s end.
This week’s poll is sponsored by FanDuel.