CHICAGO — After a season that’s largely turned into a disappointment and entering an offseason that’s sure to be highly scrutinized, the Chicago Cubs needed a moment like the one they got Saturday. If the afternoon’s 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds truly was the last start for Kyle Hendricks at Wrigley Field in a Cubs uniform, he got the send-off he so richly deserves.
The baseball gods work in mysterious ways. Against the team he made his MLB debut against a decade ago and with a strong 16 mph wind at his back, Hendricks looked like his vintage self. The soft-tossing righty spun 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, doing his damndest to make sure he earned every bit of the multiple ovations he got on the day.
Manager Craig Counsell clearly understood the magnitude of the moment. As Hendricks cruised through the Reds lineup, Counsell timed the veteran starter’s exit perfectly. After retiring the first batter in the eighth inning — the first time Hendricks saw that frame this season — Counsell let pitching coach Tommy Hottovy make the stroll to the mound to take Hendricks out of the game.
“Tommy’s meant so much to me,” Hendricks said. “I can’t thank him enough for sticking with me, making me better as a player and a person. He’s just an incredible human being that brings it every single day. I wouldn’t be who I am without him.”
Hottovy has been there for nearly every pitch of Hendricks’ career since becoming run prevention coordinator in 2015 and moving up to his current role in 2019. He’s helped get the best out of Hendricks and ensured he’d get every opportunity to thrive.
“Nobody is rooting harder for Kyle on a daily basis than Tommy, I can promise you that,” Counsell said. “It was a no-brainer to me. It was a big deal for Tommy. I’m glad he got to do it.”
It was a truly perfect and beautiful baseball moment. Hottovy took the walk to the mound and hugged Hendricks as the infielders gathered around. Hendricks made sure to hug each player there and then headed to the dugout as the crowd stood and erupted in cheers. Hendricks honored the fans by tapping his heart and tipping his cap before going through the dugout and hugging coaches and teammates.
The crowd didn’t stop cheering, forcing Hendricks to come back out onto the field and acknowledge them once again. It wasn’t just the fans who were cheering, but his teammates on the field continued to applaud as reliever Tyson Miller warmed up. A much-earned curtain call for a player who never expected or wanted the spotlight.
“You feel all the emotions,” Hendricks said. “I feel so lucky and so happy. I had my whole family here today in the stands, I’m sure they’re crying. Just for the fans to give me that — from the moment I showed up to the ballpark today, kind of celebrating me. Part of me hates it. I hate all that attention. But at the end, I know I have to soak in these moments. That’s what the Wrigley fans are there for. They are so special. They’re the best in the world. To play here at Wrigley Field, I’m just such a lucky guy.”
“I told a couple of young players before the game, ‘This is going to be a memorable day,’” Counsell said. “‘We’re not playing for a playoff spot, but you’re going to remember today.’ I think that happened for them.”
Nobody who watched that game will forget it. Not if they understand who Hendricks is and what he has meant to this organization. What he did Saturday was just a flash of what he’s done over the last 11 seasons with the Cubs. His accomplishments are too numerous to list, but teammate Ian Happ did his best after the game while addressing his teammates.
Lessons were taught. 😌 pic.twitter.com/Off2U31c5t
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 28, 2024
A teammate of Hendricks’ since getting to the big leagues in 2017, Happ has observed and appreciated the person and player Hendricks is and has been for his entire time with the Cubs. From his brilliance in the postseason to his consistency on the mound for a decade-plus, Happ wanted to be sure that where Hendricks’ accomplishments stand in Cubs lore was clear to everyone in the clubhouse.
“He’s a perfect example of what it means to be a Chicago Cub,” Happ said. “Not only what he’s done on the field but who he is as a person. The way he’s carried himself, the way he works. It’s important in this game to honor that.”
Happ, along with home clubhouse and equipment manager Danny Mueller and director of team travel and clubhouse operations Vijay Tekchandani, conspired to keep every ball that Hendricks recorded an out Saturday. They had them authenticated, and after the game, they sat stacked in cases next to Hendricks’ locker in the clubhouse. Just one more memory from an unforgettable day.
“Perspective is something we all need a dose of,” Counsell said. “I thought Ian did a fabulous job of putting into perspective Kyle’s accomplishments. With the Cubs, in the playoffs, in the biggest moments of this franchise, he has done star things. He has done the highest of the highs and been a star for this organization. It was fun to hear it, and the perspective you get from it, it’s awe-inspiring really.”
From his debut in 2014 through the 2020 season, few pitchers got the type of results Hendricks did. Only six pitchers — Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Zack Greinke and Chris Sale — posted a better ERA than Hendricks’ 3.13 during that span while tossing at least 1,000 innings. Those are some Hall of Fame performances that he’s put himself among.
He finished third in Cy Young voting in 2016 and garnered down-ballot votes in the shortened 2020 season. In 2016, his elite performance in the season continued into October as he was a key performer in the Cubs run to the World Series.
His start in the clinching game of that fall’s NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers is the type of outing that gets one’s name etched in the history books, as he outdueled the future Hall of Famer Kershaw. Hendricks worked 7 1/3 brilliant innings, striking out six and walking none while allowing just two hits. Both base runners were erased on double plays (he also picked off a base-runner who reached on an error) as the Cubs ended up facing the minimum that night.
The weather that evening was not dissimilar from Saturday’s affair. A breezy fall night with Hendricks on the mound. The stakes were quite different, but there were moments when Hendricks flashed his best self. While his stuff didn’t stand out — he maxed out at 88.1 mph — that’s certainly typical of Hendricks. As Counsell said before the game, he executes at such a high level and has a “powerful competitor’s mind,” and that’s what kept him ahead of the opposition.
It was never smoke and mirrors as much as guts and guile. His injury-marred 2022 was one of the more difficult years of his career. A balky shoulder threatened to derail his career, but Hendricks battled back to put together a strong 2023 campaign, earning him another season in Cubbie Blue.
But at moments it seemed like that could have ended up being a bad thing. Nobody wanted Hendricks to go out on a sour note in Chicago. There were times this year when it seemed like that would be inevitable. An IL-stint didn’t cure his early-season struggles, and two starts after his return, Hendricks had a 10.57 ERA and was moved to the bullpen.
“Since the stint in the bullpen, he’s turned this around,” Counsell said. “The league cuts you no breaks and it never will. It’s not going to give you anything, you have to go take it. Kyle knows that. He was up to the challenge of having to be better.”
It wasn’t perfect after that point, but Hendricks did enough to make sure those early months won’t be a lasting memory for those who watched the end of his career in a Cubs uniform. There were flashes, like on Saturday, of that pitcher who opened eyes and wowed onlookers despite not having a triple-digit fastball or knee-buckling breaking ball. Injuries likely kept him around, but he was needed. And made sure to remind everyone why he was there.
“I did not expect to be here after April and May,” Hendricks said. “There were moments where I shouldn’t have been on this team. Things happened a certain way where luckily they kept giving me opportunities.
“To get that moment, see it all the way through, finish the year, that’s something. It’s going to take me a while to soak all that in.”
(Top photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
