Since their triumphant World Series win in 2016, the Chicago Cubs have struggled to return to elite form. Plagued by a perpetually inconsistent offense, crippling injuries, and questionable trades and offseason signings, they haven’t won a playoff game since 2017.

Amidst these struggles, one player has been a constant and has kept the team afloat: Kyle Hendricks. The soft-throwing, Ivy League-educated right-hander is a bit of a unicorn in today’s game, but his presence has been central to the team. Despite the Cubs’ challenges, Hendricks has remained a steady hand, embodying an increasingly rare pitching style. I’ve enjoyed watching his starts over the years, learning valuable lessons as I’ve followed his career.

Hendricks, who debuted in 2014, has shown that you don’t have to yell every time you get out of a big inning, you don’t have to complain every time a call doesn’t go your way, and you don’t have to throw 95 miles an hour to consistently get big league hitters out.

Hendricks’ command has been elite; he leaves the Cubs with a 3.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the third-best in franchise history. The final member of the 2016 World Series team to depart the Cubs, Hendricks was a Cy Young finalist that same year, posting a league-best 2.13 ERA (and arguably should have won the award).

Over his decade with the Cubs, many Hendricks starts stand out to me. Of course, there’s his masterclass in Game 6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series that sent the Cubs to the World Series and his near-no hitters—which I still agonize over—in 2016 and 2023. There’s also his classic 81-pitch shutout against the Cardinals in early 2019 and his overlooked World Series Game 7 start, in which he was abruptly pulled by then-manager Joe Maddon in the fifth inning.

However, to say Hendricks’ start to the 2024 season was rocky would be an understatement. He went 0-3 with a 12.00 ERA in his first five starts before being placed on the injured list with a lower back strain. In late May, the Cubs moved Hendricks to the bullpen, and it was in this stint that one moment stands out to me.

It was a beautiful summer day at Wrigley Field with a light breeze from Lake Michigan as I entered the stadium, set for the Cubs to take on their archrivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Hendricks, however, wasn’t starting. Instead, it was left-handed rookie Jordan Wicks, who would join a long list of injured Cubs pitchers after exiting in the second inning. Then, as Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” an ironic walk-in song for Hendricks, began playing, he entered from the bullpen in left field. 

He got out of the second and pitched four more scoreless innings of relief, holding the Cardinals to only 2 hits. It was vintage Hendricks: weak contact, awkward swings, and perplexed batters finding themselves late on offerings from the slowest pitcher in baseball.

The Cubs would go on to lose that game 3-0—perhaps it was a fitting microcosm of their season as the bullpen crumbled late and the offense put up yet another anemic performance, recording only 3 hits and failing to score. But this outing marked a turning point for Hendricks, showing flashes of the brilliance that has defined his career.

Following that appearance, he returned to the rotation on June 19 against San Francisco. In that start, Hendricks held the Giants to 2 hits over 5.2 innings, striking out 8 batters and walking 1. On July 12, he faced the Cardinals once again, dominating and pitching 7 shutout innings. Later, on Sept. 15, he became the first Cubs pitcher in history to throw at least 6 innings while allowing 2 or fewer hits and 1 or fewer runs at the infamously hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver.

And in his final start as a Cub, Hendricks held the Reds scoreless for 7.1 innings, exiting with 81 pitches in the 8th to a standing ovation at Wrigley.

Now, Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs are set to part ways after 11 years. On Nov. 7, the Los Angeles Angels signed Hendricks to a one-year $2.5 million contract, sending him down to Southern California where he grew up. 

But before departing, The Professor taught us all one final lesson: the importance of resilience. The changing game has forced him to adapt while staying true to who he is as a person and pitcher. Particularly when he hasn’t had his best stuff, he’s adapted, throwing more curveballs, for example. And even after a brutal start to the year, Hendricks returned to show why he’s been so important to this team over the past decade.

For me, his reliability and poise have served as an invaluable model, as have his masterful command and pitch sequencing as I’ve developed as a young pitcher. Known for his composure and his knowledge of the game, Hendricks has been an example I’ve tried to emulate. I’ve attempted to adopt his mindset in approaching mixing speeds, not letting the game get ahead of me, and focusing on command over solely velocity. He’s been not only a great Cub but also an inspiration to those of us learning the craft of pitching.

In 2025, Hendricks will certainly be missed in Chicago, and I’ll forever be grateful for what he’s meant to this team and to me. His departure marks the end of an era and the end of a chapter in Cubs history, but his influence will continue to be felt by fans and players alike.