Kyle Hendricks has called it a career after 12 MLB seasons, according to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times.
The crafty right-hander spent 11 of those seasons with the Cubs, helping deliver their first World Series title in 108 years. He wrapped up his career this past season with the Angels.
Hendricks was never going to wow you with velocity, but he didn’t need to. The guy was a poor man’s Maddux – painting corners with a heavy fastball and changeup, keeping walks to a minimum, and generating groundball after groundball.
That approach peaked in 2016 when everything clicked. Hendricks went 16-8 with a league-leading 2.13 ERA during the Cubs’ championship run. It was the kind of season that validated his entire approach to pitching.
Over his Cubs tenure, Hendricks made 270 starts and posted a 3.68 ERA in 1,580.1 innings. Not flashy numbers, but rock-solid production from someone who understood his limitations and maximized his strengths.
The path to Chicago wasn’t typical either. Hendricks grew up in Mission Viejo, California, then headed across the country to pitch at Dartmouth. The Rangers drafted him in the eighth round in 2011, then flipped him to the Cubs in the Ryan Dempster trade.
That deal worked out pretty well for Chicago.
Hendricks debuted in July 2014 and became a rotation mainstay almost immediately. While guys like Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester grabbed more headlines, Hendricks quietly did his job – eating innings, keeping the Cubs in games, and proving that command still matters in today’s game.
His final season with the Angels wasn’t pretty – 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA over 31 starts – but that’s not how anyone will remember him.
Hendricks turns 36 in December, retiring with a World Series ring and the satisfaction of proving that you don’t need to throw 95 mph to succeed at baseball’s highest level. Sometimes, knowing how to pitch is enough.
