Orioles Shortstop Reveals the Bible Verses That Keep Him Grounded

Published: June 9, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

One Bible verse reminds Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson to keep his identity in the Lord.

“Ephesians 6, starts in verse 14, about putting on the armor of God and just combating everything, because everything in this world wants you to be caught up in your identity and stuff of this world,” Henderson said in a video posted by Jesus Over Baseball. “Baseball players, obviously, it’s very easy to get caught up in your identity being in baseball, so being able to…just kind of lean on that verse, it’s putting on the armor of God to combat the things the world tries to throw your way. It’s one that has stuck with me pretty close.”

View this post on Instagram

Ephesians 6:14-17 reads: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Henderson signed with the Orioles straight out of high school in 2019.

“All the glory to the Man above…🖊🙏” he said when he signed his contract.

View this post on Instagram

Despite being so young when he entered the MLB, Henderson wasn’t worried because he knew that the Lord would guide his steps.

“I’m not worrying about it too much,” he told his hometown Selma (Alabama) Times-Journal when asked if he was stressed about what team would pick him up. “We’ll just see what team, and if God has that plan, the right team will like me. God has me. He knows what’s going to come. I’ll just put my faith in Him, and everything will be fine.”

In 2023, at just 21 years old, Henderson won a “Silver Slugger Award, earned a unanimous selection as American League Rookie of the Year, and led the Orioles to 101 wins and the playoffs for the first time since 2016,” Sports Spectrum reported.

“First, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Henderson said in his acceptance speech. “Without Him, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I can’t thank Him enough for just blessing me with the ability.”

Whether he’s on the plate ready to hit, at shortstop, in the locker room or in batting practice, Henderson plays with a Jesus-over-everything mentality.

Questions or comments? Please write to us here.