More than 90 minutes after 38,180 fans at Wrigley Field gave him an ovation and subsequent curtain call, Kyle Hendricks lingered on the field.
Hendricks, still in uniform, stood in shallow left field in the empty ballpark. Surrounded by family, he posed for photos, holding his son with the ivy and scoreboard in the backdrop, the final moments of an emotional day for the Chicago Cubs great. Hendricks provided a vintage ending to his season and perhaps his Cubs career, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings while holding the Cincinnati Reds to only two hits in a 3-0 victory.
Fans roared and gave Hendricks an ovation as pitching coach Tommy Hottovy went to the mound in the eighth inning to pull him while his warmup song “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith played. Hendricks exchanged hugs with Hottovy, catcher Miguel Amaya and the gathered infielders before the right-hander trekked into the dugout, where teammates, coaches and staff greeted him.
The sequence culminated in a curtain call, and Hendricks waved his cap to acknowledge the cheering fans.
“For the fans to give me that from the moment I showed up to the ballpark today, celebrating me, part of me hates it, I hate all that attention,” Hendricks said, grinning. “But at the end, I know I have to soak in these moments, and that’s what the Wrigley fans are there for. They’re so special. They’re the best in the world to play here in Wrigley Field. I’m such a lucky guy.”
After the game, Ian Happ, who has been teammates with Hendricks since 2017, read off the 34-year-old’s career accomplishments to everyone gathered in clubhouse. One of the most impressive statistics Happ shared featured Hendricks’ 48 consecutive starts with no more than four earned runs allowed from 2015-17, the third-longest such streak in Cubs history behind Greg Maddux (55) and Jake Arrieta (52).
Hendricks was presented encased baseballs from each of his 22 outs from his start to commemorate the day, the brainchild of Happ, home clubhouse manager Danny Mueller and director of team travel Vijay Tekchandani. With Hendricks’ future in Chicago unknown as he enters free agency, Happ wanted to make sure the team honored his contributions to the franchise and put his Cubs career in perspective.
“He’s a perfect example of what it means to be a Chicago Cub,” Happ said.
Manager Craig Counsell told a couple of the Cubs’ younger players before the game that Saturday would be a memorable day they would never forget. Hendricks ends 2024 with a 4.73 ERA over his final 17 starts after moving back to the rotation following a three-week bullpen stint.
“The league cuts you no breaks, and it never will, it’s not going to give you anything,” Counsell said. “You’ve got to go take it. And Kyle knows that, and he was up to the challenge of having to be better.”
Photos: Kyle Hendricks makes what could be his last start for the Chicago Cubs
His stellar career on the mound — a top-three Cy Young Award finish in 2016, Game 7 starter in the 2016 World Series clincher, 3.63 ERA in more than 1,580 innings and ninth most strikeouts in franchise history — did not leave Hendricks untested.
“I did not expect to be here, I would say that after April and May there were moments where I shouldn’t have been on this team,” Hendricks said. “Things happened a certain way where, luckily, they kept giving me opportunities. … To get that moment, to see it all the way through, finish the year, it’s going to take me a while to soak all that in. But all the footage, all the pictures and going to talk to my family is just going to be so special.”
The numbers and accolades don’t fully depict Hendricks’ impact on the organization. It’s the little moments, often unnoticed outside the team, that epitomize his character as a person, pitcher and competitor.
Second baseman Nico Hoerner and left-hander Justin Steele appreciate the conversations on the bench, digesting the way Hendricks views the game and how players with different skill sets can experience success in the majors. Infielder Patrick Wisdom cherished a car ride he shared this season with Hendricks from Milwaukee to Chicago to spend a quick night back home with their families, talking about baseball and life the entire time.
Last spring, Jordan Wicks wasn’t part of big-league camp. Generally that meant little interaction with the Cubs’ major-leaguers. Minor-leaguers are preached to stay out of the major-leaguers’ way, so when Wicks and Hendricks were about to pass each other in a hallway, the lefty didn’t plan to say anything to him. Hendricks, though, stopped to chat with Wicks for nearly 10 minutes, asking how his offseason went and about the beginning of camp.
“That’s just something he doesn’t have to do, and that shows you the kind of person he is,” Wicks said. “He didn’t care that I wasn’t a big-league camper. He saw me as a person and just wanted to chat it up and it says a lot about his values.”
Ask one of his teammates how to describe the veteran in one word, and they collectively summarize the essence of Hendricks as a person and pitcher.
Genuine. Passionate. Committed. Competitor. Dedicated. Consistent.
“There’s so much more to him than people often realize,” Hoerner said. “There’s real fire and passion behind what he does. His drive is incredible, and I think that shows up in how consistent he is, like, that stuff wavers if you don’t have a true passion behind what you’re doing. Love for pitching, love for the game, love for being around the locker room and appreciation for being a Cub. Passion shows up in different ways, and for him, it shows up in just relentless consistency.”
Added veteran pitcher Drew Smyly: “His commitment towards himself, his daily routine, his regiment, his teammates, it really is pretty impressive. It’s very easy, especially when things go south, to be like, I don’t want to do this today. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do that in any capacity.”
Hottovy has witnessed nearly all of Hendricks’ 288 appearances with the Cubs, including the postseason. Part of the coaching staff since 2015, the last six years in his current role, Hottovy puts it simply when describing Hendricks: One day he will wear the blue jacket the organization gives to their Hall of Fame inductees.
“Kyle embodies everything that you want to represent your organization, your pitching staff, your group,” Hottovy said. “He’s great with the young guys. He’s good with the veterans. He does everything right. That’s just who he is.”
Counsell knew before the game he would send Hottovy to get Hendricks when the time arrived, a plan Hottovy was unaware of until seconds beforehand when Counsell tapped him on the shoulder and filled him in. It’s a fitting ending if Saturday ultimately represented Hendricks’ final chapter in a Cubs uniform.
“If I had my choice, I would love to be a Chicago Cub, obviously, but that’s so tough, this organization is in such a good spot,” Hendricks said. “We have so many good young arms coming up, and in this game, you’ve got to perform to be in a winning culture, a winning atmosphere. I just didn’t do it this year, didn’t have a great year, so there’s ramifications for that.
“The door isn’t closed here, but just the way things happen, it’s most likely going to end up being somewhere else, and it is what it is. I’m going to always have these memories to look back on, all the great teammates I’ve had along the road. Those are the things I’m always going to remember.”
