Winning a home run contest with Gunnar Henderson? Veteran Anthony Santander showing young O’s how it’s done
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
Soon after reporting for spring training, Anthony Santander approached teammate Gunnar Henderson with an idea: a friendly season-long home run contest.
The veteran outfielder saw the sky-is-the-limit potential in Henderson, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year. Santander envisioned years of 40-plus home runs in the shortstop’s future as the Baltimore Orioles‘ cornerstone. But the season is long, he thought. They could use the competition to nudge each other through the grind.
Henderson accepted. On cue, Henderson banged 18 home runs through May. Santander had half as many.
“I started a little slow,” Santander said in Spanish this week. “He started, ‘Boom!’ So in June I told him, ‘Kid, I need you to keep going, because I’m going to hit 10 home runs this month.'”
Santander sold himself short. He hit 13 in June, solidifying a timely breakout campaign that has continued through August. Santander on Tuesday cracked his 37th home run of the season, four more than Henderson and tied with Marcell Ozuna for third most in the majors. Only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani have hit more.
Santander and Henderson form one of just two duos in baseball with 30-plus home runs. Judge and Juan Soto is the other.
“Now he’s the one that’s like, ‘Keep going, going,'” Santander said with a laugh. “And that’s how we’re going. We have that good competition going.”
With all the attention the Orioles’ wave of young talent has rightfully garnered, Santander has soared under the radar as an indispensable member of a team seeking its second straight AL East title. The switch-hitter’s 37 home runs are already a career high. His .824 OPS — second on the club to Henderson — would be a career best for a non-shortened season. His 82 RBIs lead the team.
In July, Santander earned his first All-Star Game nod in what is perhaps his final season in Baltimore; the 29-year-old from Venezuela is slated for free agency, and likely a life-changing payday, this winter. It’s a remarkable ascent for a 2016 Rule 5 pick who joined the Orioles with a surgically repaired right shoulder and not a single game above High-A on his résumé.
“It’s been fun to watch Anthony really come into his own these past five years and become a really good major league player in the middle of the order,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Hyde was hired to replace Buck Showalter before the 2019 season, two years after Santander became an Oriole and one year into the organization’s agonizing, down-to-the-studs rebuild. Santander, however, got to share a clubhouse — briefly — with players who were part of the Orioles’ previous playoff core: All-Stars Manny Machado, Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Mark Trumbo. That experience guided him through all the losing: the 47-win, rock-bottom season in 2018; the 54-win struggle in 2019; and the 52-win nightmare in 2021.
“I think that’s what kind of helps guide the team to where it’s at today,” said Cedric Mullins, another veteran outfielder who weathered the storm at the turn of the decade. “We’ve been able to understand what it’s like to really go through those types of years. We’ve been able to see what winning teams do and how they go about things on the day to day. We try to incorporate that and a lot of guys have fallen in line with that and we’ve seen the results.”
Sure enough, the results were better in 2022, as the Orioles won 83 games and Santander posted career highs in hits, home runs and RBIs. Last year was Baltimore’s coming-out party: 101 wins and a division title, plus another strong season for Santander.
This year, the Orioles, battling with the New York Yankees for the AL East crown, are among the World Series favorites in a wide-open race. It could be Santander’s final stretch calling Camden Yards home.
Santander said he wants to stay in Baltimore, but the club has not engaged his representatives with extension talks. Santander has his deficiencies — he’s batting .236 with a .304 on-base percentage, the metrics indicate he isn’t a strong defender even though he boasts elite arm strength, and he is a below-average baserunner — but front offices value power highly, and he has plenty of it.
Juan Soto headlines this offseason’s free-agent class. Behind him, Teoscar Hernández, Santander and possibly Cody Bellinger — if he opts out of his current contract — should be the winter’s most sought-after outfielders.
“Obviously, it’s something you think about because it’s something that’s going to be there in the future, but I focus on the moment,” Santander said. “What do I have to do to be able to get there? It’s going well, but there’s still six weeks to go. Anything can happen. The most important thing is to remain healthy.”
Health hasn’t been an issue this season. Santander has started 121 of the Orioles’ 129 games — 102 in right field and 20 as the designated hitter. He was the right fielder Tuesday when his two-run home run gave Baltimore a 2-0 lead in an eventual 9-5 win against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
The blast — his 26th batting right-handed this season — moved him to within three home runs of becoming the eighth switch-hitter ever to hit 40 in a season, and it expanded his lead on Henderson with less than six weeks to go.
“Whichever one of us is ahead, it’s just like, ‘Keep going,'” Henderson said. “Because the one that’s behind is always like, ‘Yup, I’m going to catch him.’ It’s fun to have that guy to compete with. We’re having fun with it.”
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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