Henderson eliminated in first round of Home Run Derby (updated with Britton and Henderson quotes)

ARLINGTON, Texas – Gunnar Henderson had to wait his turn tonight, the last of eight hitters to walk to the plate in the All-Star Home Run Derby. He was wielding a custom-made Scooby Doo bat with the cartoon dog and the word “zoinks” painted on it, and was coaxed into doing his spot-on impression for the ESPN audience.

The mystery that couldn’t be solved was how he finished in last place.

Henderson, the starting shortstop for the American League, was eliminated after hitting 11 homers. He was shut out in the bonus round.

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. won the Derby in 1991 in Toronto and Miguel Tejada was victorious in 2004 in Houston. They remain the only two Orioles champions.

Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton pitched to Henderson and offered his perspective from the mound.

"Crazy environment," Britton said. "He's never done anything like this, I've never done anything like this. He doesn't quite have that big swing like the other guys had to really hit the ball high in the air. It's really a lot of low, hard contact, low angles. But we had a hell of a time.

"It was great, it was great. A crazy environment, awesome environment. Once in a lifetime opportunity for me, man. Something I'll never forget. It was awesome."

Adley Rutschman hit 27 homers in the first round last year, 20 from the left side and seven from the right, but the White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. totaled 28 to eliminate the Orioles’ catcher under the previous head-to-head format.

Trey Mancini reached the finals in 2021 and lost to two-time winner Pete Alonso of the Mets. He set the club record with 59.

The order in the first round tonight was set from lowest to highest home run totals in the first half, which put Henderson’s 28 at the bottom. The four players with the most homers in the first round advanced to the semifinals.

Hitters in the first two rounds were given three minutes excluding bonus time or 40 pitches. The finals were scaled down to two minutes excluding bonus time or 27 pitches.

Henderson didn’t homer on his first 10 swings. He wasn’t getting close. He hit four and asked for a timeout with 1:39 and 24 pitches left.

The outcome couldn't dull the moment, but Henderson didn't expect the physical toll to be so costly.

"It was definitely a tiring experience," he said. "After that timeout my legs were shot. Yeah, I was glad to make it through it and at least hit double digits."

Last year's American League Rookie of the Year reached the bonus round with 11, the longest ball 438 feet. He need 20 to move into the second round but couldn’t find the seats. The player with the second-most homers in the American League and third-most in the majors had a brief power outage.

It isn't expected to carry over into the second half.

"I think it's a really exciting player that's hopefully in Baltimore for a very, very long time," Britton said. "I know the fans love watching him play, and so do I."

There's also that bat, the best in the Derby - even if it didn't produce the prerequisite number of home runs.

"Well, I wish it had a little more Scooby snacks in it," Britton said.

Chandler Bats hooked up Henderson with the unique model.

"It was just kind of something I felt like would be cool to bring here," he said.

"I'm sure you've all heard the impression by now. And when I was younger that was my favorite show growing up and just kind of wanted to bring it into this game."

The Phillies’ Alec Bohm hit 11 home runs before the break and 20 in the first round, his farthest traveling 445 feet. The timeout after seven seemed to refresh him.

The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. followed with 20, the longest at 442 feet. The Rangers’ Adolis García, the local favorite and postseason hero, totaled 18 – none in the bonus round. His farthest was 435 feet.

The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández launched the first ball 466 feet and got hot in the bonus round to finish with 19. Former Orioles coach Dave Jauss pitched to Alonso, who hit only 12. His longest was 446 feet.

Cleveland’s José Ramírez batted from the right side and kept sending line drives into the right field seats. He hit 15 homers, the longest 417 feet, and earned extra swings in the bonus round, where he tacked on six to tie Bohm. The longest traveled 419, a short flight in this competition.

The Braves’ Marcell Ozuna crushed one 473 feet early in his session but also was eliminated with 16.

Bohm, Ramírez, Witt and Hernández made it to the second round. Hernández defeated Witt in the final to become the first Dodgers player to win the Derby. Henderson got the rest of the night off.

An unreal experience, he said, but "my legs were just shot."

Henderson's All-Star teammates did everything they could to fire him up. Now they can focus on Tuesday night's game.

"It was awesome having the boys there," Henderson said. "It was fun seeing them and just being able to experience this and experience it with them."