Chicago White Sox: Liam Hendriks makes franchise history

The Chicago White Sox didn’t win their game on Thursday afternoon. Those types of games happen but something special did happen for them. Tony La Russa wanted to get Liam Hendriks an inning so he went out there in the 8th. During that inning, he recorded his 100th strikeout of the season. That is so awesome for a relief pitcher that mostly only ever goes one inning at a time.

However, as cool of a milestone as that is for a reliever, it also made some White Sox history. Hendriks became the first player in the long history of the Chicago White Sox to have 30 or more saves and 100 or more RBIs in the same season. It is a remarkable stat for a team that is so old. He has clearly made the impact that the White Sox wanted him to make when they gave him a lot of money in the offseason.

Hendriks has nasty stuff. He knows how to command his pitches as well as any reliever in the sport right now. It has allowed him to fool 100 hitters and help the White Sox win a lot of games. He is going to be one of the most important pieces in the organization once the playoffs roll around.

He has also only walked seven hitters this season. Having over 100 strikeouts and less than ten walks is not something you see very often in baseball. It goes right back to the stuff that he has. He throws strikes hard and mixes in wonderful breaking pitches. He knows when to throw certain pitches at the right time which allows him to strike out a lot of hitters and walk very few.

Liam Hendriks has been everything the Chicago White Sox need and more.

There are so many great arms surrounding Liam on the pitching staff right now. He is the fifth player on the roster to reach 100 strikeouts on the season. Of course, the first four are starters in Dylan Cease, Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, and Dylan Cease. With other awesome strikeout artists in the bullpen like Michael Kopech, Craig Kimbrel, Garrett Crochet, and Aaron Bummer, this staff has some nasty stuff.

Hendriks has a lot of spunk to his game which is incredibly fun to watch. As people who support the White Sox, it is great to see him have so much success. He is as exciting as any reliever to ever play for the team. We can only hope that he ends up pitching in huge October games later this year.