“I’m going to show up to earn my spot back, and I don’t want any pity.”
Chicago White Sox reliever Liam Hendricks, 34, is back on the mound after winning his battle with cancer. Hendricks was named to the big league’s 26-man roster on Tuesday for a home game against the Los Angeles Angels. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in January of this year and has been battling it since, and his recent diagnosis has helped speed up his return.
Fans welcomed Hendricks with tears and applause before the game began. Hendricks, along with his wife, Christy, donated the proceeds from the sale of T-shirts with the words “End Cancer” on them, which were made with the support of the team, to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
“I just remember telling Hendricks over and over again, ‘You can see how much people love you. You’re loved by the fans, you’re loved by your teammates, you’re loved by the Chicago community. Even the cities you played in before Chicago, they’re all rooting for you,” she said, putting a supportive hand on her husband’s shoulder, who must have been nervous about his return after a long absence.
As Hendricks began to warm up in the bullpen, the crowd of 23,599 at Guaranteed Rate Field began to roar, and the roar reached a crescendo when Hendricks walked out of the bullpen to the mound to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning with the Cubs trailing 3-4. Everyone jumped to their feet and gave him a big “Liam!” welcome. It was his first big league mound appearance in 238 days, since Oct. 4 of last year against the Minnesota Twins.
Angels leadoff hitter Matt Tice intentionally waited to bat right away, allowing Hendricks, who had been battling an illness, time to soak up the congratulations and support from the fans.
“After everything he’s been through, 토토사이트 battling cancer, coming back, getting back out on the field, I thought it was a great accomplishment for him,” says Tice. Everyone in the stadium was really excited for him to come out,” says Tice, explaining why he waited to bat.
Hendricks was grateful for Tice’s gesture, saying it “just showed a lot of respect.”
Hendricks got another big ovation when he threw a 95.8-mph fastball to Tice for a strike. But it wasn’t a perfect first inning. After giving up a leadoff single to Tice, he allowed a stolen base. He walked Jared Walsh to put runners on first and third, and gave up a sacrifice fly to right field to Zack Neto to make it 3-5.
He gave up a double to Mickey Moniak to put runners on second and third once again, and then had the misfortune of seeing Mike Trout’s fly ball hit the shortstop’s glove and drop for an infield single to make it 3-6. Hendricks got Shohei Ohtani to ground out to shortstop to end the inning, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk. The White Sox ended up losing 4-6.
Hendricks looked disappointed as he walked off the mound at the end of his shift, but the fans applauded and cheered until he was out of sight in the dugout, presumably satisfied that he was back and healthy.
Hendricks didn’t think so, and he gritted his teeth. “I’ll never be satisfied with just being a regular guy. If I can’t protect the back door in the bullpen, I won’t be satisfied. But to say that, I have to earn it. I don’t want pity. I have to earn it,” he said emphatically.
“Our bullpen guys are pitching well right now, and at the end of the day, that spot is going to be mine. Of course, I have to earn it. Nothing is free in this world. I’m going to keep pitching and earn the job.”
Hendricks made his major league debut with Minnesota in 2011, bouncing around to the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics before landing with the White Sox in 2021. In 128 career appearances with the White Sox, he has compiled a 12-12 record, 75 saves, 129⅔ innings pitched, and a 2.78 ERA.