Kyle Hendricks

Kyle Christian Hendricks (born December 7, 1989), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014, and led MLB in earned run average during the 2016 season.

For the rugby union player, see Kyle Hendricks (rugby union).

Kyle Hendricks
Hendricks pitching in the 2016 World Series
Chicago Cubs – No. 28
Pitcher
Born: (1989-12-07) December 7, 1989
Newport Beach, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 10, 2014, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record63–43
Earned run average3.14
Strikeouts818
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Amateur career

Hendricks attended Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 39th round of the 2008 MLB draft, but did not sign and instead chose to attend Dartmouth College.[1][2][3]

He played college baseball for the Dartmouth Big Green under head coach Bob Whalen. In his junior year, Hendricks pitched to a 6–3 win–loss record and a 2.47 earned run average with 70 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.[4] In 2010, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers selected Hendricks in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB draft.[6] He signed with the Rangers, and began his professional career with the Spokane Indians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[7]

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs acquired Hendricks with Christian Villanueva in exchange for Ryan Dempster at the 2012 trade deadline.[8] Hendricks began the 2013 season with the Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League,[9] and the Cubs promoted Hendricks to the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) during the season.[10] The Cubs named Hendricks their minor league pitcher of the year for 2013.[4]

Hendricks began the 2014 season with Iowa. He was named the PCL's Pitcher of the Week for May 12–18.[11]

2014

After the trade of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland Athletics on July 4, 2014, Hendricks made his Major League Baseball debut with the Chicago Cubs on July 10, 2014 against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark.[12] He earned his first win in front of a home crowd against the San Diego Padres on July 22, 2014.[13] Hendricks was named the National League Rookie of the Month of August.[14] Hendricks finished his rookie season with a 7–2 win-loss record and a 2.46 ERA.[15] Hendricks tied for seventh place with Travis d'Arnaud and Jeurys Familia in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting.[16]

2015

Following an impressive rookie season, Hendricks began the 2015 season as a member of the Cubs' starting rotation, led by the newly signed Jon Lester.[15][17] On May 21, Hendricks threw his first career complete game shutout against the San Diego Padres, striking out seven and facing three batters over the minimum.

His record was 8–7 with 180 innings pitched and he had an ERA of 3.95.[18] His 17 no decisions were the most among MLB starting pitchers in 2015.[19] He was the starter for game two of the 2015 National League Division Series with St. Louis and game three in the 2015 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

2016

Hendricks finished his first half of the 2016 season with a solid 7–6 record with a rotation leading 2.55 ERA. He threw his second career complete game against the Phillies on May 28 and was one out short of a shutout. He skipped in front of a struggling John Lackey to get the third spot in the Cubs rotation for the second half of the season. On August 1, Hendricks threw another complete game for a shutout in a 5–0 victory against the Miami Marlins. He had the best ERA from July 1 – August 1 in the whole league at 1.00. On August 7, Hendricks picked up his 11th win and moved his ERA down to 2.17, placing him as the second-lowest in the NL and lowest among Cubs starters.

Hendricks entered September with a 13–7 record and earned run average of 2.09 in 159 innings pitched, which led all major league starting pitchers. He was named NL Pitcher of the Month for August.[20] On September 12, Hendricks took a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Busch Stadium against Chicago's rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, before allowing a lead-off home run to Jeremy Hazelbaker in ninth inning.[21]

Hendricks finished the 2016 season with a record of 16–8 in 190 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.13, which was the lowest in all of baseball. He was the first Cub to lead the National League in the stat since 1945 and the first to lead the majors since 1938.[22] He also led all major league pitchers in first-strike percentage (68.6%).[23]

In Game 6 of the NLCS, Hendricks pitched ​7 1⁄3 innings facing the minimum in the clinching game to send the Cubs to their first World Series since 1945. The Cubs won the 2016 World Series over the Cleveland Indians, with Hendricks as the starting pitcher in Games 3 and 7, giving them their first title in 108 years.[24]

2017

On June 8, 2017, Hendricks was placed on the 10-day disabled list (transaction retroactive 3 days prior) due to middle finger tendon inflammation in his right hand.[25] His record at the time was 4–3 with a 4.09 earned run average in 61.2 innings pitched. Hendricks returned from the disabled list on July 24, and over his final 13 starts posted a much improved 2.19 ERA in 78 innings pitched.

He finished the season with a 7–5 record and a 3.03 ERA over 139.2 innings. He tied for the major league lead in pickoffs, with seven, while allowing 13 stolen bases and having four caught stealing.[26] Hendricks pitched Games 1 and 5 of the NLDS, and Game 3 of the NLCS. Across the three games, Hendricks was 1–1 with a 3.94 ERA in a combined 17 innings.

2018

In 2018, he was 14–11 with a 3.44 ERA[27] and led all major league pitchers in changeup percentage (30.7%).[28] He was the losing pitcher in the NL Wild Card Game, giving up three straight hits and one run in the 13th inning against the Colorado Rockies.[29]

2019

On March 26, 2019, Hendricks and the Cubs agreed to a four-year contract extension through the 2023 season with a vesting option for the 2024 season.[30] Hendricks picked up his first career Maddux with an 81-pitch victory over the Cardinals on May 3. Hendricks, who was already aware of the term, stated, "Lucky I got one. Every time I go out there, I'm trying to get early contact and get early outs. When it happens to go this way, you can say, 'Look, I did it!'"[31]

Personal life

Hendricks grew up in San Juan Capistrano, California, and later attended Capistrano Valley High School.[32] His father, John, is a golf pro; his mother, Ann Marie, is a medical-management consultant.[32] He received his bachelor's degree in economics from Dartmouth College in December 2013, after completing his coursework in the winter of 2012 and fall of 2013.[4] Hendricks is nicknamed "The Professor" by his teammates and fans. The nickname is not only a reference to Hendricks' Ivy League education, but also an homage to Greg Maddux, who also sported the same nickname.[33] Hendricks chose "Hendo" as his nickname for the Players Weekend during the 2017 season.[34]

Hendricks married longtime girlfriend Emma Cain in November 2017.[35]

References
  1. "2008 MLB Draft Results Round 39".
  2. "Capo Valley pitcher Hendricks signs with Dartmouth | strong, information, lakers - Sports". OC Varsity. January 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  3. Whicker, Mark (April 26, 2008). "Whicker column: Baseballs over golf balls for Capistrano Valley pitcher. Capistrano Valley's Kyle Hendricks was good at golf but passionate for baseball, and now his pitching is rewarding his efforts". The Orange County Register. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  4. Jackson, Josh (January 22, 2014). "Hendricks balanced pro ball, Ivy League | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  5. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. "Texas Rangers select pitcher Kyle Hendricks '12 in MLB draft". TheDartmouth.com. July 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  7. "Rangers sign incredibly smart baseball player | Dallas Morning News". Rangersblog.dallasnews.com. June 10, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  8. John Arguello. "Sleeper prospect Kyle Hendricks opening some eyes | Cubs Den". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  9. "Ryan Dempster trade came with expectations for current Smokies pitcher Kyle Hendricks " Knoxville News Sentinel". Knoxnews.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  10. "Cubs pitching prospect Kyle Hendricks turning heads". CSN Chicago. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  11. "Kyle Hendricks coming on strong at Triple-A Iowa". chicagotribune.com. May 22, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  12. "Dallas Beeler, Kyle Hendricks to face Reds". ESPNChicago.com. July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  13. "San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs - Box Score - July 22, 2014". ESPN.com. July 22, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  14. Misener, Jacob. "Soler, Valaika drive in two a piece as Cubs roll". cubbiescrib.com. SI.com. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  15. Hendricks, Maggie (February 11, 2015). "Cubs young talent ready to make imprint in majors". Indy Star. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  16. "NL Rookie of the Year Voting". Baseball Reference.
  17. Wittenmyer, Gordon (February 22, 2015). "Year after turning down 4-year deal from Cubs, Wood turns page". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  18. "MLB Stats". m.mlb.com. MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  19. "Pitching Game Finder: For 2015, Recorded no decision, as Starter, sorted by greatest number of games in a single season matching the selected criteria". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  20. "Bryant named NL Player of the Month, Hendricks named NL Pitcher of the Month". wgntv.com. WGN TV. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  21. "Kyle Hendricks' no-hitter broken up with a heartbreaking home run in the ninth". Fox Sports. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  22. Pace, Cody. "Hendricks ends regular season with ERA title". m.mlb.com. MLB.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  23. Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Pitchers » Plate Discipline Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  24. Bastian, Jordan; Muskat, Carrie. "Chicago Cubs win 2016 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  25. Muskat, Carrie. "Kyle Hendricks goes on DL with finger injury". MLB. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  26. 2017 Major League Baseball Baserunning/Situ | Baseball-Reference.com
  27. Kyle Hendricks » Statistics » Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball
  28. Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Pitchers » Pitch Type Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  29. Cubs » Box Score » Tuesday, October 2, 2018 | FanGraphs Baseball
  30. Bastion, Jordan (March 26, 2019). "Cubs, Hendricks agree on 4-year extension". MLB.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  31. Sharma, Sahadev. "'Look, I did it!': Kyle Hendricks throws an 81-pitch..." The Athletic. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  32. "The Chicago Cubs and their unlikely ace could make history". Time. Time Inc. October 31, 2016. pp. 50–52. After beginning the season as the last starter in the Cubs rotation, the soft-throwing Dartmouth graduate whom teammates call the Professor has blossomed into one of the best pitchers in baseball.
  33. Greenstein, Teddy (June 1, 2016). "Kyle Hendricks knows Greg Maddux chatter far-fetched but still". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  34. "MLB Players Weekend to showcase unique nicknames, colorful uniforms".
  35. "Cubs' Kyle Hendricks weds Emma Cain with teammates in attendance". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
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