THE FINISHER
Although he’s also got some key opener experience, A’s closer Liam Hendriks takes pride proving he will finish what he started.
A’s closer Liam Hendriks bounced from home to home before landing in Oakland. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals and spent plenty of time on the waiver wire before the A’s traded for him in 2015.
Even his A’s career has ricocheted from rock bottom to record-breaking highs. He has been designated for assignment, started an AL Wild Card Game and staked his claim as one of baseball’s best closers in a matter of years. He broke an A’s reliever record with 116 strikeouts.
Hendriks sat down to discuss his roller coaster career, the Astros situation, his passion for old-school metal and his eclectic mix of reading material. Q Going from DFA’D to the most dominant closer in the game last year, did your season come as a surprise for you? A I think even in my wildest dreams I couldn’t anticipate the kind of year I had last year. So I mean, now it’s the challenge of not only coming out and surprising people, now I have to worry about replicating it. I’ve kept my same schedule, started throwing in October and bullpens in November, feeling pretty good.
Q
Was there a moment you could identify where everything clicked for you?
A
One of those moments was in Pittsburgh. So I pitched the night before in a 13-1 game, came in and threw a 24-pitch scoreless inning. I pitched the next day and it was a one-run game in the rain. I had at least two guys on and I let another on and I just asked, what am I doing? Why am I pushing away from contact? Why am I trying to paint the corners? Why am I trying to do this? And I think it was Jung Ho Kang who came up for the Pirates and I was like, look, I’m just going to throw at him and let’s finish this, ended up striking him out and getting out of the inning. That was when I started to gain confidence in myself and figure it out. I needed that kind of boost for myself. No matter what anyone tells you, you have to figure it out for yourself. From then I didn’t care if the guy in the box was hitting .320, who cares? I’m just going to go out there and pitch and I’m not thinking too much about where the pitch is going.
Q
Do you think this A’s team can win the West?
A
The last couple of years we haven’t been good in April and May, so that’s something we need to focus on. If we can come out strong, we got some of the best closing speed in baseball, as you can see by the second half the last two years. Q The team knew about the Houston Astros stealing signs. Was it obvious to you ever as a pitcher?
A
Some guys said they could hear certain things and pinpoint it, but when I’m pitching, I don’t hear much at all. There are times when I’m so focused that I don’t even know if they called a ball or strike. I don’t hear very well, at the best of times, according to my wife. I’ll hear jeers, but nothing specific. So if I may have heard bangs or something, I just don’t remember.
Q
Were you surprised that your teammate, Mike Fiers, was the one to blow the whistle?
A
Mike, who played on the team with the knowledge of what was going on, actually putting his name to that was what was necessary for this to come out. It needed to come out from a player, it couldn’t come out from an organization. You can have the argument that he’s annoyed with the way they treated him — they non-tendered him at the end of the year. But it’s been a couple of years removed. Anonymous sources are all well and good, but you need a name behind it.
Q
Funniest guy on the team?
A
Just for his unequivocal dry humor, I think that’s Joakim Soria. He’s not the guy you’d expect because he’s not that loud and outspoken, but he just comes out with some quick one-liners that just have you scratching your head and then laughing. Especially when you’re out there in the bullpen for 162 games, just sitting out there alone with everyone.
Q
Which of your teammates is due for a breakout year? Who will hit the most homers?
A
I think it’s Matt Olson’s year. I can definitely see him running away this year and being one of the most prolific first basemen in the league, or in the entirety of baseball. Unfortunately, first basemen tend to get the short end of the stick because you see the Chapman-like players diving around and all that. But he was one of the toughest hitters you had to face last year. It doesn’t go unnoticed by the pitchers.
Q
What bands do you usually listen to?
A
I like Def Leppard, Warrant, White Shark, Queen. I’m a big Queen fan. I just like the old-school metal genre. I went with my wife to see Rock of Ages in the offseason. We had a great time, got to go on the stage and take photos with the cast. My walk-up song last year was a mixture of Queen, Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine and Skrillex.
Q
You’re a big reader — what’s the best book you’ve read recently?
A
I read the “Lightbringer” series by Brent Weeks. I dabble between genres. I just finished an Australian sports book that was written by two reporters covering 65 different stories from their time being a sports journalist, the Olympics in Sydney, cricket greats and rugby greats, which I don’t follow as much. There was a cricketer that apparently drank 60 beers on a flight from Australia to England, that’s the rumor going around. There’s a book called the “Three Body Problem” by Liu Cixin, a book about astrophysics from a Chinese revolution in the 1970s standpoint. It’s a premier author out of China, translated. I read that. It’s fictional but the science in it is accurate, which I find fascinating. When I read a book, I have to finish it. Even if I can’t get into a book, I refuse to not finish it.