Veteran Anthony Santander showing young Orioles how it's done

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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,…