Kyle Hendricks Puts Stamp on Cubs Career, Receives Baseball Pyramid to Commemorate 22 Outs
Storybook endings are rare, especially for athletes. Most end up hanging around a little too long and are forced to walk away because they simply can’t compete at a high enough level. That’s how it looked for Kyle Hendricks over the first half of the season, but he somehow managed to rewrite the story down the stretch and put together quite the denouement on Saturday afternoon against the Reds.
The Professor went out with a bang, actually without one, putting together his longest start of the season as he shut out his opponents over 7.1 innings. Cincy managed only two hits over more than seven innings and never threatened as Hendricks looked like a much younger version of himself. After the game, Ian Happ and some conspirators presented the starter with a pyramid comprised of the baseballs from all 22 outs he recorded.
“Not only on the field, but who he is as a person,” an emotional Happ told reporters. “The way that he carries himself, the way that he works. It’s important in this game to honor that. I’ve been lucky enough to play with him for eight years out of the 11, watching him do stuff like that quite a bit. And so, not only the on-the-field stuff but the personal stuff: seeing him get married, seeing him become a dad. You know, all of that stuff is important and he’s been a big part of my career here.”
It’s a bittersweet moment for sure because Hendricks has been steadfast in his desire to continue pitching, but the Cubs seem more than willing to move in a different direction. Jed Hoyer sat down with the franchise icon in Philly and talked about the future, both immediate and longer term, saying the focus needed to be on just enjoying the ride over the final weekend.
Knowing this was probably the last time they’d be able to see him pitch in a Cubs uniform, or maybe at all, fans showed up to send their hero off in fine fashion. They cheered him walking to the bullpen, they cheered him walking out to start the game, and they sure as hell cheered him leaving.
“You feel it all,” Hendricks said during his postgame media availability. “You feel all the emotions, man. I feel so lucky and so happy, having my whole family here today up in the stands, I’m sure they’re crying. Just for the fans to give me that from the moment I showed up at the ballpark today, kinda celebrating me. Part of me hates it, you know, I hate all that attention.
“But then I know I have to soak in these moments and that’s what the Wrigley fans are there for. They’re the best in the world, to play here at Wrigley Field, I’m such a lucky guy.”
Hendricks’ exit may have been the best part of the game, especially because Tommy Hottovy was the one who came out to get him. Craig Counsell let his starter go out for the 8th specifically so he could get another ovation, and the manager knew even before the game started that his pitching coach would do the honors.
Kyle Hendricks walks off the field to a standing ovation at Wrigley Field ? pic.twitter.com/f6CNYxv6Ra
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 28, 2024
“I think he’s seen every pitch that Kyle has thrown in the big leagues, and that’s special in itself,” Counsell said of the decision to send Hottovy out to get Hendricks. “Nobody is rooting harder for Kyle on a daily basis than Tommy (Hottovy), I can promise you that. It was a no-brainer to me and I think it was a big deal for Tommy.”
I’d love to be more effusive in my praise of Hendricks, but something tells me he wouldn’t want that even though he deserves all the words. We’re talking about a man who ranks seventh in Cubs history with 1,259 history and who has more postseason starts than any other member of this storied franchise. And to think it all happened because Ryan Dempster vetoed a trade to the Braves.
Pretty cool coincidence considering Greg Maddux is the pitcher to whom Hendricks is most often comped. Not the best or the flashiest by any stretch, Hendricks grinded his way to the upper echelon of his era and his organization by showing up every day and giving it everything he had. It’s pretty incredible when you consider what he did at a time when velocity continues to be not just a king, but a dictatorial emperor.
Thank you, Kyle, for everything. Selfishly, I want this game to be my last memory of you as a player. If the desire to continue pitching takes you to a different team, know that I’ll be pulling for you all the while. And if you pitch against the Cubs, I hope you hold them scoreless before your bullpen implodes. There probably won’t be another pitcher like you in the bigs again for a very long time, if ever, and I’m just really happy I got to see you work.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 28, 2024