George Hendrick

{{short description|American baseball player and coach (born 1949)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=George Hendrick

|image= George Hendrick on September 14, 2011.jpg

|caption= Hendrick as a coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, 2011

|position=Outfielder

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1949|10|18}}

|birth_place=Los Angeles, California, U.S.

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=June 4

|debutyear=1971

|debutteam=Oakland Athletics

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 2

|finalyear=1988

|finalteam=California Angels

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.278

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=267

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=1,111

|teams=

As player

Oakland Athletics ({{mlby|1971}}–{{mlby|1972}})
Cleveland Indians ({{mlby|1973}}–{{mlby|1976}})
San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1977}}–{{mlby|1978}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|1978}}–{{mlby|1984}})
Pittsburgh Pirates ({{mlby|1985}})
California Angels ({{mlby|1985}}–{{mlby|1988}})

As coach

St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1997}})
Anaheim Angels ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|1999}})
Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|2003}})
Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays ({{mlby|2006}}–{{mlby|2014}})

|highlights=

4× All-Star (1974, 1975, 1980, 1983)
2× World Series champion ({{wsy|1972}}, {{wsy|1982}})
2× Silver Slugger Award (1980, 1983)

}}

George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hendrge01.shtml |title=George Hendrick at Baseball Reference |publisher=Baseball Reference |access-date=November 25, 2019 }} He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between {{By|1971}} and {{By|1988}}, most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals team that won the 1982 World Series.

A four-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Hendrick led the major leagues with 20 outfield assists in {{mlby|1979}} and, led the Cardinals in home runs every year from {{mlby|1980}} through {{mlby|1983}}.{{cite book | editor = Jim Tommey and Kip Ingle | year = 1987 | title = St. Louis Cardinals 1987 Media Guide | publisher = St. Louis National Baseball Club | page = 153}} He also won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics in {{mlby|1972}} and was a member of the 1986 California Angels division-winning team. He also played for the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hendrick is currently the special advisor to baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Playing career

File:Silent_george.jpg

Over 18 seasons, Hendrick posted a .278 batting average with 267 home runs and 1,111 RBI. His career stats included 941 runs, 1,980 hits, 343 doubles, 59 stolen bases, 567 walks, .329 on-base percentage and a .446 slugging percentage in 7,129 at-bats. Playing at all three outfield positions and first base, he compiled a .987 fielding percentage.

Hendrick began his baseball career in the minor leagues with Burlington in 1968, leading the league with a .327 batting average and 25 doubles.{{cite book | editor = Norman MacLean | year = 1988 | title = 1988 Who's Who in Baseball | publisher = Who's Who in Baseball Magazine Company, Inc. | location = New York}} He was an all-star four times—twice with Cleveland in 1974 and 1975 and twice with St. Louis in 1980 and 1983—and he finished in the top 15 in league MVP voting four consecutive years between 1980 and 1983. Hendrick was one of the first players to hit 100 home runs in each league—150 for the National League and 117 for the American League.{{cite book | editor = Cardinals' Media Relations | year = 2001 | title = St. Louis Cardinals 2001 Media Guide | publisher = Hadler Printing Company | pages = A-163}} He was the first MLB player to wear his pant legs down to his ankles. He was nicknamed "Jogging George" and "Captain Easy"{{cite web|title=George Hendrick Baseball Stats|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=hendrge01|access-date=February 23, 2011|work=Baseball-Almanac}} because of his reputation for not running plays out or giving 100% effortMarkusen, Bruce (January 20, 2012). [http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/card-corner-1972-topps-george-hendrick/ 1972 Topps Baseball Card]. Hardball Times. Retrieved on March 2, 2016. and "Silent George" because of his longstanding policy of not talking to the media.{{cite news|date=May 2, 2003|title=Hendrick Having A Quiet Impact|work=The Las Vegas Sun|url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2003/may/02/hendrick-having-a-quiet-impact/|access-date=February 23, 2011}}

Angels beat reporter Lisa Nehus Saxon, one of the first women to cover an MLB team, credited Hendrick for protecting her from Reggie Jackson's harassment and verbal abuse.{{cite web|last1=Ross|first1=Jack|date=November 17, 2014|title=Lisa Saxon: the Women Who Helped Change Sports Writing Forever|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/lisa-saxon-the-woman-who-helped-change-sports-writing-forever/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321100709/https://sports.vice.com/article/lisa-saxon-the-woman-who-helped-change-sports-writing-forever|archive-date=March 21, 2015|access-date=December 2, 2014|website=Vice Sports}}

Hendrick played winter ball with the Cangrejeros de Santurce club of the Puerto Rico League, where he won the batting title in the 1973−1974 tournament.Conde, Fernando. [https://beisbolnew.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/campeones-de-bateo-liga-de-puerto-rico/ Campeones de bateo Liga Puerto Rico]. Beisbol 007. Retrieved on March 2, 2016. He also played for the Gold Coast Suns of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in its 1989 inaugural season.

Transactions involving Hendrick

On March 24, 1973, the Oakland A's traded Hendrick, with catcher Dave Duncan, to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Ray Fosse and shortstop Jack Heidemann.{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=Darell|date=March 29, 1973|title=Was trade a good one?|page=C3|work=The Modesto Bee|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MYgjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3587,3705806&dq=baseball+george-hendrick&hl=en|access-date=June 7, 2010}}
On December 8, 1976, the Indians traded him to the San Diego Padres for outfielder John Grubb, catcher Fred Kendall, and infielder Héctor Torres.
On May 26, 1978, the Padres traded Hendrick to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Eric Rasmussen.
On December 12, 1984, the Cardinals traded him, with catcher Steve Barnard, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher John Tudor and outfielder Brian Harper.
On August 2, 1985, the Pirates traded Hendrick, along with John Candelaria and Al Holland, to the California Angels for Pat Clements, Mike Brown and a player to be named later (Bob Kipper).[https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/03/sports/sports-people-wish-comes-true.html "Sports People: Wish Comes True," The New York Times, Saturday, August 3, 1985.] Retrieved January 29, 2023.[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/16/The-Pittsburgh-Pirates-acquired-the-contract-of-left-handed-pitcher/3230493012800/ "The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired the contract of left-handed pitcher...," United Press International (UPI), Friday, August 16, 1985.] Retrieved January 29, 2023.

Coaching career

Hendrick began his coaching career with the Cardinals as a minor league hitting/outfield instructor from 1993 to 1995 before becoming the hitting coach of the big league club from 1996 to 1997. After leaving the Cardinals, he worked as coach at various levels in the California Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers systems from 1998 to 2005. On November 21, 2005, Hendrick was named as a first base/outfield coach for Tampa Bay, a position he held through the end of the 2014 season.{{cite web|title=Tampa Bay Rays coaching staff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605174037/http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=tb&coachorstaffid=115754|url=http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=tb&coachorstaffid=115754|archive-date=June 5, 2008|access-date=November 25, 2019|publisher=Tampa Bay Rays}}{{Cite web|last=Topkin|first=Marc|date=February 25, 2015|title=Ex-Rays coach George Hendrick visits camp|url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/ex-rays-coach-george-hendrick-visits-camp/2219141/|access-date=April 11, 2021|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en}} He then became Special Advisor to Baseball Operations for the Rays.

Personal life

His son, Brian, played college basketball for the California Golden Bears.{{cite news|date=March 25, 1993|title=NCAA Midwest Notebook|page=B1|newspaper=The Madison Courier|agency=The Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YcxJAAAAIBAJ&pg=3879,6112462&dq=brian-hendrick+george&hl=en|access-date=February 28, 2012}}