Right-handed pitcher Kyle Hendricks is retiring, putting a bow on a major-league career that spanned parts of 12 seasons, mostly with the Chicago Cubs.
Hendricks finishes with a 105-91 record, 3.79 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 1,373 strikeouts in 1,745 innings. He might make the Hall of Fame ballot in a decade, but he won’t receive more than a token vote or two. The final stat line doesn’t really matter, though. What does matter is the lasting impact that Hendricks had on the Cubs and their fan base.
Zero in on 2016, when the Cubs won the World Series, and take note that Hendricks finished third in NL Cy Young voting that season. It’s so much more than that though. Let’s take a stroll through Hendricks’ professional career.
An eighth-round pick out of Dartmouth, Hendricks started with the Rangers but came to the Cubs as an unheralded, Double-A prospect in a trade for Ryan Dempster in 2012. The move was part of a rebuild by Theo Epstein’s front office. Over the course of 2012-14, the Cubs acquired a lot of high-profile position players, including several big bats like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. A common refrain among those not believing in the rebuild was “who’s gonna pitch?!?”
The Cubs signed Jon Lester in free agency before the 2015 season and John Lackey before 2016, but the rotation really rounded out due to the development of Jake Arrieta — who also came over in a trade under Epstein — and Hendricks.
Hendricks threw well in the minors after the Cubs grabbed him and he debuted in 2014, going 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA in 13 starts as a rookie. He was a bit worse in 2015, though he got his feet wet in the postseason. Then came 2016.
In that magical 2016 Cubs season, Hendricks pitched like an ace. He was 16-8 with a 2.13 ERA (196 ERA+), winning the ERA title.
There was a scare in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Giants, when Hendricks took a liner off the shin and had to leave the game after just 3 ⅔ innings. He’d return for Game 2 of the NLCS and pitched to a 0.83 ERA in his final four starts.
Hendricks’ finest hour came in Game 6 of the NLCS. Famously, the Cubs had not won the NL pennant since 1945. They had a 3-2 lead in the series, meaning they could clinch with a win over the Dodgers. Hendricks’ task? Outpitch prime Clayton Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.
Hendricks allowed a leadoff single, but that baserunner was erased on a double play the following hitter. He allowed a single to his final batter, in the eighth inning. Between those two singles, Hendricks got 22 outs without allowing a hit or a walk (a runner reached on error, otherwise it was perfection between the first and last hitters he faced). He struck out six. It was a masterpiece and the Cubs cruised to the NL pennant.
Of course, the Cubs also had famously not won the World Series since 1908. Hendricks was tasked with starting Game 7 against Corey Kluber, who would win his second Cy Young a year later. Hendricks allowed only one run through four innings and was pulled by Cubs manager Joe Maddon rather aggressively after a two-out walk in the fifth. Still, Hendricks left with the lead and threw better in Game 7 than the much more ballyhooed starter.
Without the growth of Arrieta and Hendricks, the Cubs don’t win the 2016 World Series and it could be argued that — between Game 6 of the NLCS and Game 7 of the World Series — Hendricks started the two biggest games in Cubs history.
Though Hendricks never recreated the production from 2016, he had several more quality seasons, winning more than 10 games four times in his career and posting at least 2.8 WAR five times.
The calm demeanor was a signature of Hendricks on the mound. He was a steadying presence so often early in his career and a nice change of pace from the power of Arrieta and from the southpaw Lester.
More than anything, though, Cubs fans will always fondly look back at the times that Hendricks outdueled Kershaw and Kluber en route to a World Series title. He wasn’t necessarily the most important player on that 2016 team, but he was integral and indispensable. That “2016 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS” flag isn’t flying without him.