And Now for Something Completely Different

Enough of the Bears. Let’s talk baseball and the White Sox, who reportedly are about to sign free-agent closer Liam Hendriks to a three-year, $54-million contract with a team option for the fourth year. The buyout and year-four salary are both for $15 million. Nice work, if you can get it. Hendriks isn’t exactly what you’d call an early bloomer. He was signed by the Twins as an 18-year old out of Perth, Australia, and made his big-league debut four years later. Between then and now, Hendriks has been waived three times and traded three times. He didn’t have what you might call a good year until age 26 and has amassed 39 of his 40 career saves in just the last two seasons, both with the As. For what it’s worth, Hendriks turns 32 next month. Looking at his so-so stats from ages 22 to 29, I’d say it’s pretty obvious that the hard-throwing right-hander crossed paths with another Ray Berres somewhere along the way to his big payday. That’s a good thing, in so far as it shows a ballplayer capable of taking stock; deciding to get serious; and listening to what his pitching coach has to say. There’s also an element of luck involved. A Ray Berres only comes around every so often. Just ask Don Cooper. Hendriks’ journey also reveals, however unintentionally, the depth of baseball’s commitment to an all-boys’ club; don’t be confused by the latest signing of a female coach who gets assigned to the low minors. Look at what the Twins did. They either sent a scout half-way around the world, literally, or they had a system in place for searching out far-flung talent. And if Hendriks had been a softball player? I doubt he would’ve had a chance to work through the injuries and mediocre results that marked the early part of his career. In sports, most of all baseball, it’s good to be a guy.