Former Boston Purple Sox Participant Publicizes Retirement After 14 MLB Seasons

To the cities that adopted me, the followers that cheered for me, my household, and each umpire who undoubtedly missed a strike name on the nook:

After years of staring down hitters, I’ve determined to formally retire from Main League Baseball. My arm has instructed me in no unsure phrases that it has precisely zero fastballs left in it, and my elbow has made it clear that throwing something tougher than a light-weight breeze now requires a three-day restoration window.

To the hitters who let me strike them out: Thanks for the reminiscences (and the stats). To the hitters who launched my pitches into orbit: Thanks for serving to me apply my “stare blankly on the sky whereas turning round on the mound” face.

I’ll deeply miss the push of popping out of the bullpen to shut out a sport within the ninth inning. I cannot, nonetheless, miss sitting in a pitch-black video room watching limitless tape of opposing hitters, getting my arm scraped uncooked by the athletic coach each week, or the existential dread of going through Aaron Choose or Salvy Perez—who I’m utterly satisfied deal with my heater like a light-weight afternoon snack.

I owe a large debt of gratitude to my agent, a real miracle employee. It takes a critical expertise to look a GM within the eye and persuade them that my unhinged, on-mound screaming whereas sealing a win was simply “elite management” price an insane contract.

And an enormous thanks to my spouse for at all times believing in me, which was truthfully a terrifying show of delusion on her half. Sticking by me by consecutive outings the place I couldn’t cease bouncing pitches into the filth proves you both have unwavering religion, otherwise you simply actually just like the stadium hen tenders.

As for what’s subsequent: My rapid retirement plans embrace testing whether or not my elbow can survive holding onto the leash when my canine sees a rabbit, and selecting a brand new pastime the place being single-handedly chargeable for shedding a sport doesn’t result in ESPN SportsCenter breaking down my psychological collapse in sluggish movement for the following 24 hours.

Thanks for the journey. It’s been an absolute blast.

Liam Hendriks’ Profession

Hendriks, 37, made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2011. The Twins minimize him free after the 2013 season.

Hendriks was primarily a beginning pitcher with the Twins. He had a short stint with the Kansas Metropolis Royals in 2014. He lastly broke out with the Blue Jays in 2015, posting a 2.92 ERA with 71 strikeouts over 64 2/3 innings.

Toronto offered excessive on Hendriks, buying and selling him to the Oakland Athletics after the 2015 season.

Hendriks spent 5 seasons with the Athletics group. He then pitched three years with the Chicago White Sox.

Hendriks battled by Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (he has absolutely recovered) and accidents, preserving him out of the league for many of 2023 and and all of 2024. He made 14 appearances with the Purple Sox in 2025, then spent the 2026 season within the minor leagues.

In his 14 MLB seasons, Hendriks posted a 3.88 ERA with 739 strikeouts and 116 saves over 663 2/3 innings. He’s a three-time All-Star and two-time Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Yr.