'Wired different,' Hendriks connecting as White Sox closer
There's nothing about Liam Hendriks that seems normal.
That was pretty evident on Jan. 15, the day the White Sox's new closer signed a four-year, $54 million contract.
"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Liam, nice to meet all of you guys," Hendriks said to the media on his first Zoom interview. "I'm excited to be working with you in the future."
On and off the field, it's been just that. Exciting.
And, a little strange.
"He's definitely different," catcher Zack Collins said.
Earlier in the season, Hendriks talked about his relationship with Rubi Rios, a tarot card reader and holistic healer.
"She has given me a couple of exercises where I'm manifesting certain things, whether it be just waking up and saying the five things around me I'm very grateful for or the three things that really I want to define me as a person," Hendriks said. "Those things help me get kind of locked back into that positive frame of mind."
When he was struggling out of the Sox's bullpen in April, the 32-year old reliever from Australia "spritzed" some sage spray around his locker. A few of his teammates "who were a little bit more open to it," also got a shot of sage.
"Things like that are able to, in theory, remove negative energy and put a positive spin back on everything," Hendriks said.
Late last week, the quirky pitcher discussed another offbeat interest - Legos.
"So 2019 is when I first started with Nanoblocks," Hendriks said. "And then Chicago has a very nice Lego store, so I went down there one day and picked up a 'Friends' set. And since then, it's evolved into the 'Friends' set, anything to do with 'Star Wars.'
Hendriks works on his Lego projects in the clubhouse when the White Sox are at home, because why not?
"Everybody's wired different ways," manager Tony La Russa said. "All I know is he's an exceptional closer. I've seen guys that are in that position, and they have different approaches. Just let him be him. And he's strong enough where I'm not going to try to change him, either."
On the mound, there is absolutely nothing La Russa or the Sox want to change with Hendriks.
Not only does he lead the American League with 14 saves, Hendriks is riding a streak of 14 scoreless innings while retiring 17 straight batters.
In his first 9⅓ innings of the season, Hendriks gave up 5 runs and more than a few White Sox fans believed his big contract was an instant bust.
Well known for being vocally profane when things aren't going well, Hendriks has been noticeably silent in that regard for weeks.
"I think I'm definitely a little more cognizant of the way my body's moving than I was at the start of the year," Hendriks said. "At the start of the year, I was concentrating a little too much on velocity and stuff like that. And then all of a sudden, I'm five, six inches less on extension which we went into like a month. Since then, my extension's been up.
"I've been looking to make sure I really get truly behind the ball, which makes my rise a little bit better on the fastball. That's one of the main things I'm looking at. It's just a little bit more of getting behind the ball and worrying less about velocity, worrying less about trying to throw as hard as I can and more about going through the mechanics the right way before the game so when I get on the mound I don't have to think about anything."