News item:
Years from now, when people look at Kyle Hendricks’ MLB record, they’ll likely say, “He pitched for the Angels?” He still looks weird to me in that red uniform.
Kyle’s season in Anaheim has been somewhat better than his last year with the Cubs. The Angels don’t have him listed as a starter for any of their remaining games, but it seems likely he’ll start one
more time, against the Astros in Anaheim this weekend. That could actually wind up being an important game, as Houston currently sits outside the postseason and will likely be desperate to win.
As a big fan of Kyle since before he even got to the big leagues with the Cubs, I’d love to see him go out with a vintage Professor outing and deny the Astros the postseason.
I’ve already written an appreciation article for Kyle — last November when he signed with the Angels. And honestly, no farewell game in Anaheim could possibly match the sendoff The Professor got in his final start with the Cubs last September when he threw seven vintage shutout innings before being given one out in the eighth before being removed, so he could leave the field at Wrigley to a standing ovation.
Very few Cubs players in my lifetime have been able to receive such a sendoff while still with the team. Ryne Sandberg did, back in 1997 when he was retiring. Anthony Rizzo did, 10 days ago, but he came to Wrigley to be honored after his retirement.
So I don’t think there’s anything more that I can say about Kyle other than what’s in the two articles linked above.
Well, maybe a little bit more. Kyle Hendricks was a throwback. He didn’t throw 95-plus like many starting pitchers do in modern baseball. By the time he retired he was flinging mostly 87 mile per hour fastballs and trying to get outs on guile and a changeup that was devastating when it worked. And work it did, most of the time while he was with the Cubs, including his spectacular 2016 season when he led the National League in ERA and ERA+ and finished third in Cy Young voting.
The game that perhaps epitomizes Hendricks’ career was his 81-pitch complete-game shutout of the Cardinals May 3, 2019 at Wrigley Field. Here’s Kyle talking about that game:
He was a key part of the 2016 Cubs World Series championship team and for that, every Cubs fan will have fond memories of Kyle Hendricks forever. A few years from now, he’ll be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame and have another ceremony at Wrigley Field.
In the meantime, I would like to see Hendricks return to the Cubs fold. Not as an ambassador, as Rizzo has done, but as a working part of the team’s front office. Hendricks is a smart guy, with an economics degree from Dartmouth. He played major league baseball for 12 years at a high level and has a World Series ring. One thing Jed Hoyer’s front office has lacked, since Craig Breslow (another man with an Ivy League degree!) departed for the Red Sox, is a voice from someone who played in the major leagues. I think that perspective would be a huge advantage for Hoyer’s executive team, perhaps more so than anything Hendricks could add to the team as a coach or other field-level assistant.
Get it done, Jed. Bring The Professor back to Chicago.
And congratulations to Kyle Hendricks, an eighth-round draft pick who made it to the pinnacle of his chosen sport, on a wonderful playing career.
