The Chicago White Sox lost again on Friday night. They are now 7-20 which is the worst start they’ve had since 1950. It is truly terrible the way things have started off.
Over the off-season, however, something happened that does remind us that baseball always isn’t the most important thing in life.
Liam Hendriks was diagnosed with cancer. From there, the baseball community immediately started to show their support. He is an amazing person that deserves all of the love he can get.
Well, after a very hard battle with this disease, he beat it. He is cancer free after months of treatment. When that announcement came out, all of humanity became better for it.
It will be an amazing to see Liam Hendriks get back on the mound.
It is fun to think about Liam going out there and doing what he loves most which is playing Major League Baseball. For his entire career of being a closer, he has been elite at it. Don’t expect his battle with cancer to change that.
On Friday night, the Chicago White Sox shared a video on social media of him throwing in Arizona. Extended spring training has been where he’s worked out as he sets himself up for a return.
Meanwhile in Arizona...
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 28, 2023
Liam Hendriks strikes out FOUR! 💥 pic.twitter.com/3Z9PCEgRl2
This was another outstanding step for him as he tries to make this comeback. Although it doesn’t seem as if there is going to be a lot to look forward to this year, seeing Liam Hendriks back on the south side is a rare exception.
Sometimes it is easy to forget the important things when your team is so bad. Well, Hendriks coming back will remind us all of what is good and could be again. Hopefully, there is a great Chicago White Sox crowd in attendance for that day despite how the team is playing.
It may be too late but you may even see a spark in the rest of the guys upon his return. Hendriks has that type of effect on people so you just never know.
When you think about his return from a strategy standpoint, nothing but good can come from it. Activating a closer like that slots everyone else down a spot.
That means you could start seeing better play from Reynaldo Lopez, Aaron Bummer, and Kendall Graveman amongst others. If Garrett Crochet comes back as well, things could end up looking really nice.
It is a shame that the team didn’t play well in April but getting Hendriks healthy was always the most important thing. As mentioned before, it will be amazing to have him back on the south side.