{"id":894284,"date":"2026-09-16T16:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894284\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:38:15","slug":"how-liam-hendriks-built-his-major-league-baseball-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894284\/","title":{"rendered":"How Liam Hendriks Built His Major League Baseball Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Liam Hendriks developed one of the notable careers by an Australian player in Major League Baseball. After beginning his career as a starting pitcher, he transitioned into a relief role and became an established MLB closer.<\/p>\n<p>His career has included professional success, international representation and a public recovery from cancer.<\/p>\n<p>Starting baseball in Perth<\/p>\n<p>Liam Hendriks was born in Perth in 1989 and began playing baseball during childhood.<\/p>\n<p>Baseball has a smaller participation base in Australia compared with sports such as Australian rules football and cricket, making the pathway to Major League Baseball relatively uncommon for Australian athletes.<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks progressed through Australian baseball programs and developed into a professional prospect.<\/p>\n<p>Early MLB challenges<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks began his MLB career as a starting pitcher after signing with the Minnesota Twins organisation.<\/p>\n<p>His early years involved movement between MLB and minor league teams as he worked to establish himself at the highest level.<\/p>\n<p>Many professional athletes experience changes in role or team during development, and Hendriks later found a more consistent opportunity after transitioning into relief pitching.<\/p>\n<p>Becoming an MLB closer<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks rebuilt his career after moving into a relief pitching role.<\/p>\n<p>As a closer, he became responsible for pitching in high-pressure late-game situations, often protecting narrow leads.<\/p>\n<p>His performances led to multiple achievements, including three All-Star selections in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and American League Reliever of the Year awards in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n<p>He also led Major League Baseball in saves during the 2021 season.<\/p>\n<p>Professional contracts and earnings<\/p>\n<p>Success as an MLB relief pitcher led to significant contracts.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Hendriks signed a multi-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n<p>Professional baseball  <a href=\"https:\/\/kalkine.com.au\/glossary\/e\/earnings\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Earnings<\/a>  can come from team contracts, sponsorship agreements and other commercial opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>As with other athletes, estimates of Hendriks\u2019s  <a href=\"https:\/\/kalkine.com.au\/glossary\/w\/wealth\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wealth<\/a>  are based on external assessments of career earnings and commercial interests rather than publicly audited financial statements.<\/p>\n<p>Returning after a cancer diagnosis<\/p>\n<p>In January 2023, Hendriks announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<\/p>\n<p>He underwent treatment and later announced that he was in remission.<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks returned to Major League Baseball during the 2023 season and was recognised with the American League Comeback Player of the Year award.<\/p>\n<p>His experience received attention beyond baseball due to his public discussion of his diagnosis and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>The role of a closer<\/p>\n<p>The closer position requires pitchers to perform in high-pressure situations late in games.<\/p>\n<p>Success in the role depends on factors including pitching ability, preparation and consistency.<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks developed a reputation as a reliable relief pitcher during his peak seasons, contributing to his recognition among MLB players at his position.<\/p>\n<p>Representing Australia<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks has represented Australia in international baseball competitions.<\/p>\n<p>His MLB career has contributed to the profile of Australian players in professional baseball, a sport with a smaller domestic pathway compared with some other countries.<\/p>\n<p>Australian players reaching Major League Baseball remain relatively uncommon due to the limited number of professional opportunities available domestically.<\/p>\n<p>Career resilience and adaptation<\/p>\n<p>Hendriks\u2019s career demonstrates the importance of adapting within professional sport.<\/p>\n<p>His transition from starting pitcher to closer changed the direction of his career and provided a path to greater consistency at MLB level.<\/p>\n<p>His return from illness also became an important part of his public sporting story.<\/p>\n<p>The career journey<\/p>\n<p>Liam Hendriks\u2019s career involved several stages, from developing as an Australian baseball player to establishing himself in Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n<p>His journey highlights how athletes may need to adjust roles, overcome setbacks and continue developing throughout professional careers.<\/p>\n<p>The broader lesson is that career progression in elite sport often involves adaptation alongside talent and opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Hendriks developed one of the notable careers by an Australian player in Major League Baseball. After beginning&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-894284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}