Catching a break

Stars wind down by fishing at sunset

SARASOTA, Fla. — Gunnar Henderson, despite his talent and accolades, is normally humble when speaking in the Orioles’ clubhouse.

He doesn’t boast like one of the best young players in baseball. He often calls people “sir” or “ma’am” — a result of his southern roots. Last season, he once joked that he was waiting for his “man strength” to arrive after hitting a 462-foot home run onto Eutaw Street at just 21 years old.

But that modesty is about baseball. There’s another topic that’s consuming part of his evenings — and a few of his teammates’ — during spring training that Henderson isn’t shy about bragging about.

“Who’s the best at fishing?” Henderson said, repeating the question as if the answer was obvious. “Uh, me. For sure.”

Henderson and a few of the Orioles’ best young players are staying together in the same house in Sarasota this spring: Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Kyle Stowers and Colton Cowser. After long days at the ballpark, most of them head to the dock behind their house and wind down by fishing — or, for some, attempting to fish — during Sarasota’s sunsets.

“It’s just nice to leave the field and go outside and hang out, especially when it’s a beautiful day,” Cowser said. “You get to decompress. You have nothing to worry about out there. You go home, throw a line in the water and hang out.”

There is no debate about which player of the group is the best at fishing, although it did pain them to admit it.

“Unfortunately,” Stowers said, “it’s Gunnar.”

Henderson, a Selma, Alabama, native, grew up fishing. He was able to list off the fish species they’ve caught: mangrove snapper, sheepshead, trout and catfish, among others.

The 22-year-old enters spring training with perhaps more pressure than any other spring in his young career. He was one of the Orioles’ best players last season and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Entering his second full season as a big leaguer, he’s expected by some to take another step to become a superstar.

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE Orioles at Phillies Today, 1:05 p.m.

Orioles outfielders Colton Cowser, right, and Kyle Stowers, throw at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida.

Meanwhile, he’s spent the first few weeks of spring training nursing an oblique injury he suffered during the offseason.

“It’s really fun just getting out there with them,” Henderson said. “Having all the guys at the house, making those memories — it’s fun. You bridge the gap between the easier spring into the long season.”

Mountcastle is the most experienced player in the house at the ripe old age of 27. He’s spent several springs in Sarasota, and he knows the importance of being able to mentally take a break from work.

Most days, Orioles players show up to the Ed Smith Stadium complex sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Before games started, they wouldn’t leave until the early afternoon with meetings, weight training, on-field practice and live batting practice consuming their time. Now that exhibition games have begun — the team will play 32 this spring — those days stretch longer into the afternoon, including travel up and down Florida’s Suncoast.

“It’s awesome,” Mountcastle said of sunset fishing with his friends. “Spring training has its perks, especially being down here in Sarasota, an awesome area. Just to get out there, relax and decompress and at least attempt to try and catch some fish is a lot of fun for the guys.”

When he was younger, Mountcastle would stay in a nearby hotel, but he’s resided in houses with teammates the past few springs. To fit the quintet — in addition to a few of their significant others — requires a large house, although even for professional athletes, they didn’t want to damage their back accounts too badly.

“We wanted to get a pretty nice house,” Mountcastle said. “Down here it’s pretty pricey to get a decent house, so we tried to sort of squeeze as many people in there as we can to make the cost not as much. We love it. It’s definitely worth it.”

Cowser is among a talented group of young outfielders competing for a spot on Baltimore’s opening day roster. The 23-year-old is one of the Orioles’ top prospects, but he struggled after making his MLB debut last season. He hit .115 with 22 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances before being demoted to Triple-A.

The serene atmosphere has helped him stay locked in while at the complex, he said. The outfielder is 3-for-8 with two home runs and three walks through the Orioles’ first week of Grapefruit League games.

“It’s good to get away from the game when you’re off the field,” he said. “When you’re [at the field], you’re all here. And then to have that escape and to reset for the next day is great.”

Cowser does have experience fishing, although he’s not as polished as Henderson — a fact the infielder was quick to point out.

“Cowser’s probably going to have something to say about this,” Henderson said with a smirk. “But I had to take the fish off for him to start. And they’re all scared to get the shrimp, so Cowser went out and bought a little net. I don’t want to throw ’em up under the bus, but you’ve got to if it’s on the line.”

It’s also not disputed who the worst among them is. Stowers, a California native and a standout at Stanford University, acknowledges he’s the “least experienced” of the group.

“I wouldn’t say he’s the worst,” Henderson said, now being diplomatic. “But this is the first time Kyle has ever fished. We’ve got to break him into the southern ways.”

Mountcastle also voted Stowers off the island — but the slugger knows he’s not far behind.

“I love the kid, but it’s Stowey. He’s a Cali guy,” he said. “But both of us are probably 1A and 1B for worst fisherman.”

In fairness to Stowers, Rutschman wasn’t often joining the crew on the fishing excursions, normally watching from the pool. “Adley kind of just chills,” Cowser said, although a video put out by the team on social media showed the All-Star catcher proudly saying he recently caught a fish.

“I’m not really sure what his skills are with the rod,” Mountcastle said. “But he’s got enough skill on the field.”

Fishing after a long day reminds Cowser of the adage his father told him growing up: “A bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office.”

For this crew, the fishing might be bad, but their performance at the office is expected to be anything but.