Sox closer Hendriks' return to mound a rousing success in rehab assignment
When he was being treated for Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma from early January through early April, Liam Hendriks received two intense rounds of chemotherapy each month.
"I had treatment on Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday and Thursday, I was pretty much catatonic on the couch," he said.
Even with his abundance of positive energy, there were times when baseball was the last thing on Hendriks' mind.
Powered by the support of his wife Kristi and a stream of texts, many from fellow major-league players, Hendriks set his mind to returning to the mound.
Beginning a rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte Friday night, Hendriks pitched a perfect seventh inning against Gwinnett. The 34-year-old righty needed only 9 pitches to retire the side.
When he came out to the mound, Hendriks was welcomed by a PA announcement and rousing applause from the crowd and players and coaches on both teams.
"It's really, really nice, and I very much appreciate it," a wry Hendriks said on a postgame Zoom call. "It made me very emotional. But I'm a guy who pitches on anger, and it's really hard to get angry when you know the other team is full of nice people that would do something like that."
Hendriks said he was surprised by the reception, but he understood it as a cancer survivor.
"Without a doubt," he said. "I was having this conversation with my wife the other day. I said, 'I don't kind of quite get it.' But she said, 'No. You have to understand how big this is for a lot of people, how big this is for a lot of people that are going through this right now.' It's a lot bigger than just me. I want to make sure I make a positive impact and make sure I do right by everybody who's battling through this."
As for his first relief appearance since Oct. 3 of last season, Hendriks had to deal with some wet conditions and a brief delay for mound maintenance.
He breezed through the short outing and pitches again Sunday.
"A clean inning is a clean inning, so that's always good," Hendriks said. "We're off to the races and hopefully the next few get going a little better."
Among the texts he received from his peers, Hendriks said one stood out. It came from Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who is also a cancer survivor.
"His was: 'It's your journey. Nobody can tell you what to feel or what to do baseball-wise. Do whatever you feel is right,'" Hendriks said. "That was on January 30 and I think I actually threw a bullpen the next day, right around there. So I was like, 'Screw it, I want to push this.'
"Before that, I was just planning on playing catch, making sure I was staying somewhat fit and then moving forward. That was one of the messages that really hit me, hit me in the eyes."