Liam Hendriks is a professional baseball pitcher from Australia who plays for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).

In addition, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics.

Liam Hendriks Early Life

As per MLB, Liam’s full name is Liam Johnson Hendriks, and he is also called ‘Slydah.’ On February 10, 1989, he was born in Perth, Western Australia.

Liam Hendriks is currently 32 years old, and based on Liam’s date of birth, his zodiac sign is Aquarius. Speaking of his height, he is 6 feet 0 inches tall. For his further study, he went to Sacred Heart College.

His paternal grandparents migrated from the Netherlands to Australia. Geoff Hendriks, his father, played senior football for the West Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) for over 150 games.

Liam Hendriks Career

He began playing baseball as a small child. However, Liam Hendriks made his amateur debut in 2007. According to Baseball-Reference, he was signed by Minnesota Twins international scouting coordinator Howard Norsetter shortly after his 18th birthday and made his minor league debut with the GCL Twins.

Liam finished 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings pitched, striking out 52 batters and walking 11.

In 2008, he made his Claxton Shield debut and finished 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA, tying Tim Cox and Mark Kelly for third place in ERA and the most victories. Liam Hendriks tied Kelly for the lead with 25 strikeouts.

For the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, he was added to the Australian national squad and was perhaps their best pitcher, giving only one unearned run in five innings.

A pitcher struck out six batters while allowing two hits and a walk. The rest of the team had a 5.34 team ERA, and Australia could not qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Liam Hendriks earned his major league debut late in the 2011 season, going 0-2, 6.17 in 4 starts. In 2012, Liam shuffled several times between AAA Rochester and the Twins’ starting rotation.

Nevertheless, his first major league victory proved to be unavailable. In a quite heartbreaking loss on August 27, he matched the great Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners pitch for seven innings, only to give up a solo homer to Eric Thames in the 8th.

It was the game’s only run, and the complete-game loss gave Liam Hendriks a record of 0-7, 6.02 in 10 starts. A pitcher finally got his first win on September 19th, 6-4 over the Cleveland Indians, but he was his lone W of the year.

In 16 starts, Liam was 1-8 with a 5.59 ERA. In 2013, he was 1-3 with a 6.85 ERA in ten appearances for the Twins. Liam Hendriks also had a losing record in the minors, going 4-8 with a 4.67 ERA in 16 starts with the Rochester Red Wings.

Before the 2014 season, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and began with the Buffalo Bisons in AAA. He was 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA after nine outings when he was called up to Toronto to replace Esmil Rogers, who had been released.

He was able to get into the win column quickly this time, as he beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 in his first start on May 23. He attributed his recent improvement to a conscious effort to be more aggressive and challenge batters more than he had previously.

On July 28, a pitcher was traded to the Kansas City Royals with an 8-1, 2.33 record in AAA, where Liam Hendriks was a mid-season All-Star and a 1-0, 6.08 record in three starts with the Blue Jays.

In exchange for 3B Danny Valencia, he and C Erik Kratz were traded to the Royals. He pitched for the Royals six times, including three starts, and went 0-2, 4.66 in 19 1/3 innings.

He was created for assignment and dealt back to Toronto on October 30 for minor league catcher Santiago Nessy after the Royals lost the 2014 World Series.

In 2015, Liam Hendriks had his best season with the Blue Jays, pitching 58 innings in relief and posting a 5-0 record with a 2.92 ERA. He struck out 71 batters in 64 2/3 innings while walking only 11.

In the ALDS, he only pitched a third of an inning, but in the ALCS, he pitched four and a third innings in two appearances against the Kansas City Royals, allowing three runs on four hits.

Liam was traded to the Oakland Athletics on November 20 in exchange for P Jesse Chavez. He struggled as a middle reliever, going 0-4, 3.76 in 53 games in his first season with the A’s in 2016.

With 70 appearances, a 4-2 record, no saves, and an ERA of 4.22, Liam Hendriks was one of the busiest closers in the majors in 2017. However, while he struck out 78 batters in 64 innings, the rest of his figures were ordinary, with a 4-2 record, no saves, and a 4.22 ERA.

Also, Read More About Michael Cuddyer.

Because of sickness that kept him out for half of the season, he was limited to only 25 games and 24 innings in 2018. Nevertheless, he found a role as the team’s designated “opener” toward the conclusion of the year, starting eight bullpen games as the starter. Liam Hendriks went 0-1, 4.13, and the Athletics were two American League wild-card teams. 

The Athletics elected to go with a bullpen game in the Wild Card Game against the New York Yankees on October 3, and Hendriks was named the starter. The strategy, however, did not work.

Liam Hendriks let up two runs in the first inning before drawing a walk, courtesy of a leadoff to Andrew McCutchen and a two-run home smash by Aaron Judge. Hendriks was credited with the loss after the Yankees never lost their early lead, winning 7-2.

In 2019, he transformed into an entirely new pitcher, opting to shift his strategy and merely assault the strike zone with fastballs. It worked for him, as Hendriks quickly rose to become one of baseball’s top relievers, earning a place in the All-Star Game for the first time.

Next, he became Oakland’s closer, saving 25 games and earning a 1.80 ERA in 75 games (he had had one keep in his previous eight major league seasons).

He made two more appearances as an opener in May, and his first save did not come until his 35th appearance on June 22, but he was manager Bob Melvin’s main bullpen guy from then on, and Liam Hendriks was no longer used in experimental positions.

He only gave up 61 hits and 21 walks in 85 innings, striking out a remarkable 124 batters. Then, on October 2, Liam Hendriks pitched in another postseason game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Game.

With the A’s losing 5-1, he threw the top of the ninth inning and retired all three batters Liam saw, but his teammates could not produce an unlikely comeback in the bottom of the inning, and the A’s were eliminated in one game once more.

Liam Hendriks was the A’s closer from the (delayed) start of the season to the finale, going 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 24 games and 14 saves. Hendriks struck out more batters than allowed hits with 37 strikeouts (and only three walks) in 25 1/3 innings.

The Mariano Rivera Award was given to him as the greatest bullpen pitcher in the American League. In the postseason, Liam Hendriks pitched two games against the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card Series, which were must-win situations.

In Game 2, he came in with the A’s leading 5-0. Still, Liam Hendriks gave up a two-run homer that inning (one of which was charged to starter Chris Bassitt) after allowing just one all season, and then in the 9th.

After packing the bases with two outs, Diekman drove in a run with a walk with two outs. After needing a season-high 49 pitches in Game 2, Hendriks appeared out of the vital Game 3 on October 1, but he battled back with a great performance. 

Liam was his team’s eighth pitcher when he threw the top of the ninth inning with a 6-4 lead. After walking the leadoff batter, Hendriks went to work, strike lead off the successive three batters – Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada, and Nomar Mazara – to keep the game and advance Oakland to the next round. 

He only pitched one inning in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Houston Astros, but it was a great one, as he allowed only one hit while striking out four batters to help his team win 9-7.

However, the A’s lone victory in the series, which they had lost in four games. Liam became a free agent after the season.

Liam signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago White Sox on January 11, 2021, subject to official approval.

The deal was said to be for three years with an option year, with $54 million guaranteed and a $15 million option.

During quiet winter, the White Sox had been one of the most active clubs, having acquired pitcher Lance Lynn and outfielder Adam Eaton in separate trades.

Liam Hendriks Relationship

Liam is married to Kristi Hendriks, and she is a Toronto native. Based on his Instagram posts, they both appear to be the happiest couple.

Perhaps it’s Kristi, who is always there for Liam and gives him the courage to chase his dreams.

Liam Hendriks Net Worth

Currently, there’s no detail on his earnings available. However, according to our estimation, his net worth is around $4 to $6 million.

However, he is a fine baseball player, so he might be making a strong amount for his living, depending on his performance.

Also, Read More About John Coppolella.

Meet Liam Hendriks On Instagram

On Instagram, Liam goes by the handle @hendriks_31, where he has 164 posts, 45k followers, and 341 followings. Follow him to learn more about his everyday activities and enjoy posts concerning his game and other updates.

• Aquarius
• Mariano Rivera Award
• Minnesota Twins
• Sacred Heart College
• Toronto Blue Jays