Michael Phelps congratulates Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson on winning MLB's Rookie of the Year award
Swimming legend Michael Phelps recently congratulated Baltimore Orioles' third baseman Gunnar Henderson for receiving the Rookie of the Year honor. This was the 22-year-old’s second honor in the 2023 season after receiving the American League Silver Slugger Award on November 9.
Famously known as Baltimore Bullet, Phelps has always admired his home team, Baltimore Orioles. He was supremely proud of third baseman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson's achievement, who became the first Oriole in 35 years to be named top rookie.
Henderson received 30 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to win the honor. He now shares the rookie award with some of the greatest Orioles players like Eddie Murray (1977), Cal Ripken Jr., and Gregg Olson (1989).
Celebrating his and the Baltimore Orioles’s massive achievement, Michael Phelps shared an Instagram story. It was a ‘Rookie of the Year’ post for Henderson created by the official Instagram page of Orioles. Sharing the story, Phelps wrote:
"LFG."
He added:
"Let’s go @orioles."
"Congrats @g_henderson002 !"
Michael Phelps threw 19mph first pitch at this MLB Game in October
A religious follower of MLB games, Michael Phelps has been invited to deliver ceremonial first pitches at a couple of games. Recently, the Olympic legend had the opportunity to throw first pitch at Game Five of the Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 21 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phelps showed up at the games wearing the Arizona Diamondbacks jersey. Before throwing the pitch, the 23-time Olympic gold medallist waved at the spectators and fans. He did a few warm-up exercises and then threw the pitch with a 19mph heater.
The American had previously received the opportunity to throw the first pitch at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2017 playoff series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Although Michael Phelps was born and brought up in Baltimore, he currently resides in Arizona. By the end of his swimming career, he was training in Arizona under coach Bob Bowman. He has now settled with his family in the state and has also established it as the base for the Michael Phelps Foundation.
Since Phelps has established a connection with Arizona, he does not have to choose his team during Arizona Diamondbacks vs Baltimore Orioles matches.
In September, Phelps attended the match between the two teams at Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He shared his take on supporting his favorite team on his Instagram story, writing,
"Two of my squads. Tonight I win no matter that," the swimmer wrote.