Liam Hendriks, an Australian born weapon on the mound, finally struck out cancer. After being diagnosed in December of 2022 with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his future in the MLB looked grim. While non-Hodgkin’s has a 74% survival rate, his body recovering and being able to play in the MLB again after treatment didn’t look too good. Hendriks, after defying all odds, officially completed his treatment in April of 2023 with plans to return as the All-Star caliber pitcher he once was. Hendriks made his official return to the Chicago White Sox on May 29, 2023. He received a standing ovation from the Chicago crowd during the roster announcement. But this return was short lived as tragedy struck again for the Aussie beast in June of 2023.
Hendriks was born on February 10, 1989 in Perth, Australia. From a young age, Hendriks was enamored with the sport of “American Baseball”. His love of the game was evident. Hendriks opted out of the traditional Australian summer sport, cricket, to focus on his baseball skills. Hendriks continued his baseball career, and his surprising football career, at Sacred Heart College, an Australian secondary school. He happened to be a very skilled football player, having the opportunity to be drafted by one of Australia’s national league teams. Ultimately, Hendriks chose to go the baseball route, and on Hendriks’ 18th birthday, he signed to the Minnesota Twins. To put this in perspective of how amazing of a feat this is, in 2024 only about 0.2% of active roster MLB players were born in Australia. In the history of the MLB, only 33 Australian natives have played. Hendriks had just contributed to history.
Hendriks first appeared in the MLB on September 6, 2011 when he pitched for the Minnesota Twins. He pitched seven innings against the Chicago White Sox, but the outing didn’t go the best for Hendriks. He gave up four hits and three earned runs, leading to Hendriks taking his first big league loss in the 3-0 shutout. The 2011 season wasn’t kind to him as over the four games he pitched, he gave up 29 hits and 16 runs. His win-loss ratio was 3-1 after his first year in the big leagues. But from here, Hendriks only went up. In the next eight seasons, Hendriks went from just another name in the bullpen to an All-Star caliber reliever. He bounced around between a few teams but stuck with the Oakland Athletics from 2016-2020. In 2019, Hendriks had one of his best seasons to date. He pitched a total of 85 innings through this season and earned his first All-Star game invite. By the end of the 2019 season, Hendriks had accumulated a 3.7 WAR (Wins Above Replacement: a common baseball statistic that measures a player’s value to the team they play for. Used on a scale of negative one to six. The higher the number the better). Hendriks was a clear threat to all MLB batters.
After the 2020 season, Hendriks was looking for a new team. The Chicago White Sox decided to pick him up to strengthen their weak bullpen. The 2021 season was one of his best yet. He set his career record for 38 saves across 71 innings. He was nominated for the All-Star game again this year and fell into eighth place for the American League Cy Young award, the highest honor an MLB pitcher can receive. Even though the White Sox didn’t receive a playoff spot, Hendriks worked hard and battled every game. With Hendriks on the mound, the White Sox had a 72% win rate. By the end of the 2021 season, Hendriks recorded 113 strikeouts and only 45 hits allowed. With plenty of time in the off-season for Hendriks to rest and reset, Hendriks came out as a ball of fury in the 2022 season. With slightly lower stats than his record-high 2021 season, Hendriks was still a threat on the mound. He pitched 57 innings and recorded 85 strikeouts, only allowing 44 hits. But the White Sox were falling off. They recorded an 81 win/81 loss season. Despite the sinking organization, Hendriks put his all into every game. The Chicago White Sox failed to make the playoffs once again that year.
Only three months after the final game of the 2022 season, Hendriks came out with a devastating announcement. An Instagram post, made by Hendriks (@Hendriks_31) made all baseball fans’ hearts drop. In January of 2023 he went
public with his cancer diagnosis. His statement read, “I am fully confident that I will make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible…I will get through this”. The hope in Hendriks message made many fans emotional. He made sure that through his treatment to update his fans through Instagram posts. Many posts were made to inform fans of medical treatments he went through and to advocate for donations to cancer associations that fund future research. In an interview with ESPN, Hendriks asserted that, “My job in baseball is to fight and win games, now I’m trying to fight and win against cancer”. During his treatment, he received four rounds of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. While he was actively receiving chemotherapy, Hendirks made appearances at White Sox spring training games with permission from his doctor. Hendriks completed treatment in April of 2023, a relief to many. On May 29, 2023, Hendriks made his official return to the MLB. Upon his appearance in the stadium, White Sox fans broke out into chants of “Liam, Liam, Liam!” Many fans brought posters to show their love for this cancer survivor. Sadly, only a week and a half after his return, Hendriks suffered a possibly career-ending injury.
On June 9, 2023, Hendriks was on the mound against the Miami Marlins. He was pitching only his fifth full inning since beating cancer. After the game, Hendriks reported to his athletic trainer about elbow discomfort. After a quick
examination and confirmation from many professionals, it was confirmed that Hendriks had suffered a UCL tear. The estimated recovery time for this injury was 12-14 months. He would definitely miss the rest of the 2023 season and the
start of the 2024 season. When the 2023 ESPYs rolled around, Hendriks received the “Comeback Player of the Year” Award for his remarkable recovery and return from cancer. Hendriks got his UCL reconstruction on August 2, 2023. The doctors told him that his recovery time, at the least, would be a full year. The White Sox decided to release Hendriks at the start of the 2024 season and opted out of his 15 million dollar request. Instead they decided to pay 1.5 million dollars to him for the next ten years. The Red Sox picked him up on a two year, ten million dollar, contract. Hendriks completed his rehab assignment in April of 2025 and made his Red Sox debut on April 19, 2025. This was an astounding 681 days since his last appearance in the MLB. His return has been successful so far. Hendriks has appeared in nine games and gained a 55% win probability when on the mound as an official Red Sox pitcher.
Hendriks story is truly extraordinary. Having the setback of cancer and coming back stronger than ever. Then only appearing in five full innings before having one of the biggest setbacks of any MLB pitchers’ career. Tommy John surgery took Hendriks away from the game for almost two full years, but he never gave up on recovery and is considered one of the best closing pitchers in baseball right now.
