Liam Hendriks might not make an immediate impact with the Red Sox, but that doesn’t mean he won’t eventually be a fan favorite in Boston.
The Red Sox on Monday reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with Hendriks, a 35-year-old reliever who underwent Tommy John surgery last August and therefore is slated to miss a good chunk of the 2024 season.
It’s a move that could pay off for Boston down the stretch or, more likely, in 2025. And it’s also a move fans should embrace, as Hendriks, a three-time All-Star, is very easy to root for given his talent, his personality and his journey.
Hendriks was the American League Reliever of the Year in 2020 and 2021, two seasons in which he finished ninth and eighth, respectively, in AL Cy Young voting. His career turnaround began in 2015, when the Toronto Blue Jays converted him into a full-time reliever. But it really took off upon becoming the Oakland Athletics’ closer in 2019, and he maintained that momentum throughout his first two seasons with the Chicago White Sox.
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Still, the on-field success is just a small part of Hendriks’ story, which took a massive detour in January 2023 when he announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hendriks underwent chemotherapy to combat the Stage 4 disease and miraculously returned to the majors May 29, ultimately being named AL Comeback Player of the Year.
That battle made the rest of his baseball odyssey — which began in Australia and included being designated for assignment four times in less than a year in 2013-14 — look trivial by comparison. But he approached cancer with the same intensity he approaches big league hitters.
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“I want to be the best version of myself as I can be,” Hendriks told ESPN before returning to the big leagues last May. “Everything I do is trying to beat something. Whether it’s beat the opponents into oblivion or … beating the date that I think I wanted to be back at. That is my goal at all times. Beating everything is my goal at all times.”
When Hendriks arrived in Charlotte to begin his rehab assignment with the White Sox, he rocked a shirt that read, “STRUCKOUT CANCER,” a fitting wardrobe choice for a pitcher who’s long worn his heart on his sleeve.
And while Hendriks was cognizant of the work required to make his return a reality, the uphill climb in no way inhibited his general disposition.
“He was his typically magnanimous self — Hendriks summoned a different food truck to the ballpark nearly every day and offered to buy lunch for his teammates and opponents — and made time for those who sought advice or selfies,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.
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Hendriks received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2023 ESPYS in July. Now, he almost certainly has a new perspective on baseball and on life — perhaps even more so as he works back from a serious elbow procedure.
Throughout it all, Hendriks has remained a character, his on-field passion and his off-the-field philanthropy never taking a backseat.
He’s exactly the type of player Red Sox fans tend to gravitate towards, and so don’t be surprised if the match proves perfect in the long run.
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Featured image via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
