Master Craftsman

Kyle Hendricks’ early measurables as a pitcher did not portend a long and successful run in the majors. He was slight of frame and stood out more for his command than his velocity when the Texas Rangers selected him out of Dartmouth College in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB draft.

With time, resourcefulness and hard work, Hendricks made his mark. He broke into the big leagues with the Cubs in 2014 and has logged a 94-74 record with a 3.61 ERA in 261 career appearances -- all with Chicago. He won a National League ERA title in 2016 and was the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series when the Cubs beat Cleveland to capture their first championship in 108 years.

Not surprisingly, because of his Ivy League pedigree, calm demeanor and wiry physique, Hendricks is known as “The Professor’’ -- the same nickname bestowed upon first ballot Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. He carries it with pride.

“I’m totally OK with it,’’ Hendricks said. “The fact that the fans love it and run with it is amazing. Some of my teammates even call me it -- not too many of them, though. From my standpoint, I grew up watching Greg Maddux, so he's definitely ‘The Professor’ in my eyes. I could be called a lot worse, I’ll tell you that.’’

After an uncharacteristically rough start to the 2024 season followed by a trip to the injured list, Hendricks is working his way back in the Chicago rotation. Today, he achieves a significant milestone when he joins the roughly 7-8 percent of 23,000-plus players in MLB history to reach 10 years of service time.

Hendricks reflected on his career in a conversation with the MLBPA. The interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.

You grew up in Orange County, California, and your father, John, was a golf pro. How come you’re a baseball player and not a golfer?

I grew up with golf a lot, but I just loved baseball, and I’m so lucky that my dad saw that too and provided me the resources and pushed me in whichever direction I wanted to go.  I couldn't sit on the driving range and practice. But baseball, man. My heart was 100 percent all-in on baseball. I could be out on the field all day long, hanging out, throwing, catching flyballs, doing whatever. So the fact that he saw that and gave me everything that I needed to be the most successful player I could be, I can't thank him enough.

You were drafted by the Angels in the 39th round out of high school but elected to go to Dartmouth. How did that unfold?

Education was super important to me, and just being honest about myself, I wasn’t close to good enough coming out of high school. I knew that going to a bigger baseball school, I probably wasn’t going to play until maybe I was a junior, at least. I wanted the ability to get out on the field and pitch. That was the only way I was going to get better and learn. So I found the best opportunity to meld that with the great education I was able to get at Dartmouth, and it just seemed like the perfect fit for me.

How much of an awakening was it for a Southern California kid going to school in Hanover, N.H.?

It was a complete shock. I spent pretty much my whole life on the west coast in beautiful weather, and my freshman year at Dartmouth we had so much snow. Blizzards. All that stuff. I was questioning myself. ‘What the hell did I do? Why did I come here?’ But that dissipated so quickly just because of the camaraderie and the brotherhood you make with the guys. I made my best friends for life in my years there. That got me through, and all of a sudden you’re in your sophomore year and it’s your home. You’re all family.

How did your time at Dartmouth help with your development?

I didn't throw hard, and I was skinny -- super skinny. I needed to gain some weight. I was a four-seam, curveball guy, and not throwing hard or spinning it great, that wasn’t going to play out too well. That’s where the journey started. I knew I had to make the ball move. I learned a two-seam fastball and a changeup, because my curveball just wasn’t good enough. It was a discovery phase for me all through college. I always wanted to be a professional baseball player. That was my goal. Luckily, I had so many good resources and so many good people who taught me so many valuable lessons on and off the field. I still reference back to a lot of those things I learned throughout college.

Then Texas drafted you in 2011.

Going to the Texas Rangers was a tremendous blessing for me. They had an incredible program for young players -- teaching you how to be a professional and what it means to be a big leaguer. They teach you things so that you’re well-equipped when you do get up there. So much luck goes into this whole ride and this whole journey. I was tremendously lucky to be drafted by the Rangers.

You were traded from Texas to the Cubs at the 2012 deadline for Ryan Dempster. Does that come up when you two see each other?

I love Demp. He’s one of my favorites. And of course, we have that exchange back and forth all the time, because there's a whole story behind it. There was a deal in place for him to go somewhere else, but he had to approve the trade because he was a 10-and-5 (service time) guy, and it ended up falling through for whatever reason.

The Rangers had just been to the World Series and they were in win-now mode, and the Cubs were building up the farm system and kind of revamping the organization after Theo (Epstein) came in. All I saw was this tremendous opportunity ahead of me. Again, there was a lot of luck involved in my path and just being in the right place.

The Cubs beat the Reds 6-4 in your MLB debut on July 10, 2014. What stands out from that day?

You never forget your debut. That always ranks up there as one of the top games in your career. Most importantly, you think of all the people that helped you get there. You think about your family. You think about all the coaches and friends and teammates through the years who’ve aided you in getting to that moment.

I remember every moment of it. Going to Cincinnati, it was hot. I couldn't feel my legs at all. I didn't know if I was standing or sitting. I think I walked three guys in the first inning. I was like, ‘What am I doing out here?’ Somehow I navigated my way through and got a few innings in and got it out of the way. The rest is history from there.

Who were the teammates who helped guide you in your early years?

I had a ton of veteran players that showed me the way. Jake Arrieta comes to mind. He really took me under his wing and made me feel so comfortable being in the big leagues. Where to go. Where to be. What to do. That kind of thing. Jon Lester, John Lackey and David Ross were guys in particular that I looked up to. They really molded me, and I tried to soak in as much as I could from them. That’s where I think you learn the most -- from guys who’ve been so successful at doing it before.

I’ve had so many good catchers, too. Miguel Montero was a tremendous influence for me. He helped me so much to become the pitcher I am and have the confidence in myself to pitch my game. I had so many older players looking out for me and helping me along the road. I can’t thank them enough.

On May 3, 2019, you had an 81-pitch complete game win over the Cardinals. A “Maddux.’’ How much of a zone were you in that day?

That’s one of those things where you almost black out. Going into the game, my pregame bullpen was no different. Nothing special. My catcher (Willson Contreras) and I were on the exact same page. I was getting a lot of early swings and the defense was making every play.

Everything just happened to come together and be perfect for one day. There were so many jokes afterward. Guys were saying, ‘So you’re just gonna take the ball and start tomorrow, right?’ It was nice to just go out and have a nice dinner with the guys.

You also gave up four home runs in an inning against Atlanta in April 2021. Did you almost have to laugh about that?

Absolutely. This is baseball. You're facing the best hitters in the world. You have the highs of the highs and the lows of the lows in this game. That’s one of the lessons I really learned from John Lackey. He taught me so well. He would talk about the worst games that he had and laugh about it. He would say, ‘If you’re going to be around that long, it’s gonna happen.’

You’re definitely not laughing when you’re out there on the mound. It’s not a good feeling. You're just trying to figure something out on the fly and get through it. And then you come back to the dugout and feel bad for all the other pitchers you’re wearing out who are coming in after you. All you can do is try and make up for it the next time out there and make sure it doesn't happen again.

What has it meant to you to spend your entire big league career in Chicago with the Cubs?

That’s really hard to put into words. That’s probably the most special part of this whole thing.

Your experiences are molded by the people around you, their reactions, how much fun they’re having -- all those things. If I was playing Major League Baseball and going to the field to a dead stadium and there wasn’t much energy to go around, it would be a complete 180 of an experience for me and I would never have had this much fun. I’m literally playing in front of the best fans in the world at Wrigley Field, and I’ve gotten to play my whole career there. I really can’t put into words what that means to me and how special it is. I can't even imagine what my career would be anywhere else.

So you have 10 years in the big leagues and a Dartmouth economics degree. Have you given any thought to the post-playing landscape?

I just had my first son, and that’s changed a lot. I really want to be a great dad. I want to make my career as long as I can, and hopefully he can see me play.

If I were to do anything after (playing), it would have to be in baseball. I would have to have some connection to it. It’s in my DNA. It’s in my blood.