After Wednesday night’s start against the San Fransico Giants, Kyle Hendricks reached an achievement that most Major League players dream of achieving. With the start, Kyle Hendricks has officially reached the highly acclaimed ten years of Major League service time.
This special achievement for Hendricks puts him in a group of only around 2,000 players. All-time, only 10% of players have managed to reach the 10-year service mark. Plus, with his achievement, he is now eligible for a pension from Major League Baseball that he can start receiving when he is 45 years old.
Through his ten years of MLB service time, Hendricks has spent every single season with the Cubs. Because of this, he now becomes a 10/5 player, which means he can veto any trade he likes to any team.
While this year has been full of ups and downs for Hendricks, his tenure with the Cubs has been nothing but success. As one of the ace pitchers on the curse-breaking 2016 championship team and being touted as “The Professor” by fans, Hendricks has been one of the best pitchers in Chicago Cubs history.
Hendricks’s tenure with the Chicago Cubs began when he was traded in 2014. Hendricks was drafted by the Texas Rangers but later flipped to the Cubs in a deal that sent Ryan Dempster to Texas.
Hendricks made his major league debut in 2014, instantly earning a spot in the Cubs rotation. He went 7-2 in his rookie season with a 2.46 ERA. He continued to be consistent with Chicago before really making his name known across major league baseball as the Cubs continued to build towards success.
Hendrick’s best season of his career came in the legendary 2016 season. That year, Hendricks managed to take hold of the ERA title with a league-leading 2.13 ERA. He came 3rd in Cy Young voting that season. He made a name for himself across the league when he put on many dominant starts across the postseason. Hendricks started in game six of the NLCS against the Dodgers, ultimately pushing the Cubs to the World Series. He then was the man to get the ball to start in game seven of the World Series, giving the Cubs their first World Series win in 108 years.
Post-World Series, Hendricks remained consistent and was one of the top pitchers in the Cubs rotation. He is the last World Series champion standing on the Cubs from their 2016 roster and, up until this year, has been as consistent as ever while fighting injuries.
The future of Hendricks with the Cubs seems murky. He is clearly regressing and entering the last year of his contract. He’s been good since being demoted, but the Cubs are going to have to rely on him to bring some more good starts as they continue to slip and deal with starting pitching injuries.
Nonetheless, when Hendricks’s time with the Cubs is up, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest Cubs pitchers ever to put on the pinstripes. It’s an incredible achievement to reach 10 years of Major League service time, and there does not seem to be anyone more deserving than Hendricks.
