The baseball world stopped in early January to send their well wishes to Liam Hendriks who announced he was dealing with cancer. He had to undergo treatment that was going to obviously be a very tough battle. All of a sudden, baseball seemed incredibly irrelevant.
Here we are in March and Opening Day is approaching. Everyone is super excited about it as they should be. Even through the darkest times of our lives, baseball can act as a healing potion. It works for many of us.
Ahead of Opening Day, White Sox GM Rick Hahn announced some amazing news on Liam Hendriks who has now been doing treatment for a few months. He is making progress and responding to the treatment.
Hahn also confirmed that there is no update on his return to game action but we also know that he has been throwing at spring training. He claims that it is on purpose that Hendriks is not being placed on the 60-day IL. That is amazing news for him, the White Sox, and humanity.
Rick Hahn said Liam Hendriks is still going through treatment but is making good progress. There’s no official timeline on his return but Hahn said it’s on purpose that he has not been placed on the 60-day IL.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) March 29, 2023
Liam Hendriks is the perfect White Sox player for the 2023 season.
The world needs Liam Hendriks right now. He is a bright spot in a dark place always. The White Sox are so fortunate that he chose to come to play with them when he did.
On top of being an amazing person, he is one of the best closers in the game right now. He has shown up in the ninth inning a lot for the White Sox and has done a good job locking things down when called upon. He is truly great.
There is going to come a day soon when we see Hendriks activated and ready to play. The fact that he is not going on the 60-day means that his return could be even sooner than we thought.
When he takes the mound for the first time this season, people are going to be incredibly proud and excited (as if they aren't already). If he is able to lock down a save, that fist pump that he gives while screaming is going to mean a lot to a lot of people. This is an amazing update and we can't wait to see Hendriks healthy on the mound once again.