BALTIMORE -- Bradley Henry, a 4-year-old from Frederick, Md., may be Adley Rutschman’s biggest fan. Need proof? Just scroll through Kathryn Henry’s TikTok profile, which is filled with videos of her son impersonating/cheering on/expressing his joy over the Orioles’ catcher.
Several of the TikToks have gone viral, but one more than the rest: A March 17 video featuring Bradley that runs one minute and 54 seconds and was created by Kathryn in an attempt to get Rutschman to wish her son a happy birthday.
It worked, as Rutschman received the TikTok (and various others of Bradley) from multiple people. The 27-year-old backstop then commented, “Happy birthday!!!” But the feel-good story doesn’t end there.
Rutschman wanted to invite Bradley and his family to a game and arrange a meet-and-greet. The Orioles worked to make it happen, setting up the Henry family with tickets for a game and pregame behind-the-scenes access.
As the logistics were figured out, the potential to meet Rutschman has been on Bradley’s mind.
“Every day he wakes up, he asks, ‘Is today the day I meet Adley Rutschman?’” Kathryn said.
Sunday was the day Bradley met Adley.
Prior to the Royals-Orioles series finale at Camden Yards, Bradley and his family -- his parents Jim and Kathryn, his 7-year-old brother J.J. and family friend Garland Hollenbach -- were taken into a room on the ballpark’s ground level. There, Bradley met his hero in Rutschman, who brought a pair of his batting gloves to gift to the youngster before signing his jersey.
Bradley’s reaction was as expected. He froze up -- “starstruck,” as his mother put it -- and was in awe of his biggest baseball hero.
It was an unforgettably special moment for a young fan, but for Rutschman as well.
“I mean, it’s awesome,” Rutschman said. “It’s such a perspective thing, just thinking about how I was at that age, how much I loved baseball and just looking up to guys and kind of putting myself back in that age and that mindset. It’s just awesome to see a kid who’s so enthused about the Orioles and baseball.”
Enthused may not be a strong enough word to describe Bradley’s fandom, which burgeoned during the second half of the 2024 season as the O’s made a push for the postseason.
Jim and Kathryn Henry are longtime Orioles fans as Maryland natives, so games are often on the television at their home. As a result, both of their sons have grown an affinity for baseball and the O’s, but especially Bradley.
As Bradley became more familiar with Orioles players -- so familiar he can recite who’s still on the team and who isn’t while leafing through baseball cards -- one player became his overwhelming favorite: Rutschman.
Christmas 2024 ended up being a Rutschman-filled holiday for Bradley, who received a No. 35 jersey from his grandmother as well as his own catcher’s gear (which has become constant attire in his TikTok appearances). Kathryn captured such moments along the way in videos.
The inspiration for Kathryn’s TikToks came from a chat with friends. While fellow mothers shared stories about their children’s dance recitals and lost teeth, Kathryn showed videos of Bradley impersonating Rutschman, reciting calls from O’s broadcasts and counting down the days to Opening Day 2025.
Kathryn’s friends floated the idea of sharing them on TikTok.
“He would just ask to watch videos of Adley catching and he would emulate what he was doing. He really likes when Adley catches the pop flys and throws runners out at second,” Kathryn said. “He would practice throwing his mask off and his slides, and he started memorizing all the different announcing plays from Adley’s highlight reels. So I just started taking videos of it, because I thought it was cute and I thought it was fun.”
Who could have thought it would result in a day Bradley will never forget?
Rutschman can relate to his young fan. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, the Portland, Ore., native remembers consistently convincing his dad, Randy, to put together a makeshift baseball diamond in the front yard and throw to him as he honed his baseball skills.
“Run around the bases eight, nine times and have no idea what I’m doing but just having a blast,” Rutschman said.
One day, Bradley will likely look back upon these days in a similar manner.
“I’ve always been a big believer that sports brings people together and it just is something that people can rally around,” Kathryn said. “It’s just like the universal love language, and especially baseball.”
At the end of the day, this is what it’s all about.
“A lot of times, you get caught up in just playing and you’re just focused on the game, game, game, game. We’re playing every day, and you get caught up in your routine and stuff,” Rutschman said. “Then, something like that kind of brings you back to Earth a little bit, and the fact of the matter that people are watching you on a daily basis and how you carry yourself and how you play as a ballplayer, a kid like that’s seeing that and making an impression. Definitely a very humbling thing.”