On the evening of June 3, 2019, roughly 50 people gathered in the backyard of a single-family home in Valley Grande, Ala. The sun was still high on a 92-degree day that showed no signs of cooling down as the group stood around the pool, munching on chips, dip and pizza. Kerry and Allen Henderson had been hesitant about attending the party.
Hosted by a friend, it was a watch party for Major League Baseball ’s annual draft, and their 17-year-old son, Gunnar, was among those hoping to be selected. They were anxious, and wondered if they should have just watched at home. But the host, Terry Waters, had thrown batting practice to Gunnar for MLB scouts who came to their small neighboring town, Selma, which has roughly 16,000 people.
Waters and many others in the area felt invested in the outcome of the draft. Advertisement Gunnar was a consensus first-round pick, a powerful 6-foot-3, 195-pound shortstop at John T. Morgan Academy, who had been named Alabama’s top high school basketball player.
Mock drafts had him going between picks 14 and 25. Pick No. 25 was “the floor,” per The Athletic’s draft expert Keith Law.
The party was in full swing as the first 10 picks flashed on a big flat screen showing the MLB Network’s live broadcast. Then people began to pay closer attention. The Phillies , who told Henderson they would take him at No.
14 if college shortstop Bryson Stott wasn’t available, got their top choice. Three picks later, the Nationals , who had hosted a private.