The Chicago Cubs have won exactly one World Series in the last 117 years, and it was the softest-tossing pitcher on the staff, righty Kyle Hendricks, who started the clinching game.
Hendricks carved out a 12-year career for himself, including the first 11 seasons in Chicago. A Dartmouth product who rarely topped 90 mph with his fastball, he developed a reputation for being one of the most cerebral pitchers in Major League Baseball, and at his best, his change-up was something wicked.
As he pitched into his mid-30s, however, Hendricks started getting hit pretty hard, and it was no secret throughout this season, his first with the Los Angeles Angels, that he was mulling retirement. On Monday, that expected news seems to be official.
According to a report from Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, Hendricks has indeed decided to retire after a long, decorated career.
Not only was Hendricks the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians, but he was one of the best overall starters in baseball that year. He led the majors with a 2.13 ERA (among qualified starters), went 16-8, and finished third in Cy Young Award voting behind Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals and Cubs teammate Jon Lester.
Hendricks rounded out that season with a 1.42 ERA in the playoffs across five starts and 25 1/3 innings, making his 2016 campaign arguably one of the most underappreciated great seasons a starter has ever had.
It wasn’t like Hendricks was only a one-year wonder, either. He pitched to a 3.79 career ERA and 23.8 wins above replacement, and he also received Cy Young votes in 2020, when he finished ninth. He had a 5.92 ERA last year and a 4.76 figure this year, but as recently as 2023, he had a 3.74 mark across 24 starts.
Now, less than a month before his 36th birthday, Hendricks has evidently decided to call it quits, and of all his achievements, the most important will forever be helping to secure that long-awaited championship for the city of Chicago.
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