Kyle Hendricks Not Viewing Saturday’s Start as His Last Even Though It Could Be

Kyle Hendricks will be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame at some point following the conclusion of his career, but how soon after his Saturday start remains to be seen. The righty has been very transparent about his struggles throughout what will end up as his worst season to date by a wide margin, admitting that he probably didn’t deserve a second chance, let alone the third and fourth he was given.

“Honestly, to still be on the team here and finishing the year, I would say it’s very unexpected from where I was at two months into this season,” Hendricks told reporters. “If it weren’t for a lot of our injuries, then that would have happened — they would have moved on and gone somewhere else. But things happen as they do, and I’m just so thankful for everyone that did stick with me and gave me the opportunities when they didn’t necessarily need to be there.”

History clearly played a huge role here, as just about any other 34-year-old with a 6+ ERA would have been unceremoniously dumped long ago. But not every 34-year-old with a 6+ ERA can lay claim to being one of the best pitchers in franchise history, not to mention a World Series hero. Hendricks earned the benefit of the doubt and now he’s got a chance to close out his Cubs career in front of the home crowd in the penultimate game of the season.

And while many believe The Professor should just hang it up after this, he sure sounds like he wants to keep going for a while. Maybe it’ll be like Greg Maddux bouncing around from the Cubs to the Dodgers to the Padres, then back to the Dodgers over the last three years of his career.

“I’m excited to kind of take a step back, gather myself and see what the process is going to be like this offseason, to get back to being myself and perform out there on the mound for wherever I’m at,” the righty said. “I hope that there’s just an opportunity with someone, whoever it may be, just excited to take full advantage of it.

“You never know, things can come full circle. You can always bounce around different teams and come back. The doors never close. There’s always possibilities. So I’m hoping to honestly pitch good enough to find myself back here pitching in the playoffs for the Cubs at some point.”

If this really is it for Hendricks in a Cubs uniform, and I have to think it is unless we’re talking about him returning as a coach, he deserves nothing but the warmest ovation ever. Well, maybe not ever since there probably won’t be as many fans there as when Javy Báez and Anthony Rizzo came back to Wrigley earlier in the season. Guess that just means everyone will have to stand a little taller and yell a little louder for ol’ Hendo.

Seriously, I don’t care if the Reds roll up a snowman on him before recording an out on Saturday. Give this man a little respect for all he’s done over the past decade. Speaking of which, I can tell if the last 10 years feel more like 20 or five. Hendricks is the lone holdover from that World Series team, but he also feels ageless. He’s Schrödinger’s pitcher.

There’ll be time to dig into his legacy further, to break down the stats and look at just how good he was and what he meant to this club. There is no title without Hendricks, and that alone is enough to earn him free drinks for the rest of his life. I’m sure a lot of folks are salty about his performance this year and the role it played in the Cubs missing out on the postseason, but blaming him for greater organization failures would be folly.

This is a time to give Hendricks all the flowers for what he’s meant to the Chicago Cubs, to show him a little sweet emotion while soaking in the beautiful irony of his walk-out song. If anyone’s got odds on him struggling to maintain his stoic facade, I’d wager quite a bit of money. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it’s been a helluva ride.

“You never know when your last day is going to be in this game, or especially with a certain organization, and I’ve seen that more than anybody with these Cubs, seeing guys come and go, a lot of big names, a lot of guys that’ve done a lot for this organization,” Hendricks said. “Just super lucky that it’s worked out for me the way that it has.”