Joe Henderson (baseball)

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Joe Henderson

| position = Pitcher

| image =

| bats = Left

| throws = Right

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|7|4}}

| birth_place = Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, U.S.

| debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = June 7

| debutyear = 1974

| debutteam = Chicago White Sox

| finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = July 16

| finalyear = 1977

| finalteam = Cincinnati Reds

| statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Win–loss record

| stat1value = 3–2

| stat2label = Earned run average

| stat2value = 6.69

| stat3label = Strikeouts

| stat3value = 27

| teams =

Chicago White Sox ({{mlby|1974}})
Cincinnati Reds ({{mlby|1976}}–{{mlby|1977}})

}}

Joseph Lee Henderson (born July 4, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds during the mid-1970s.

Biography

Henderson was selected by the California Angels in the fifth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft, as a third baseman out of Edison High School in Fresno, California.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-giants-pick-hard-hitting/148358316/ |title=Giants Pick Hard-Hitting Bronco Soph |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |page=52 |date=June 8, 1965 |accessdate=May 30, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} His professional career spanned 1965 to 1981.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hender001jos |title=Joe Henderson Minor, Winter & Mexican Leagues Statistics |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=May 30, 2024}} Early in his professional career, he converted to pitching, posting a 17–8 win–loss record at the Class A level in 1968, but he missed most of the 1969 season due to injury.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fresno-bee-baseball-star-joe-henders/148358585/ |title=Baseball Star Joe Henderson Is Shot in Row |newspaper=The Fresno Bee |page=1 |date=February 3, 1969 |accessdate=May 30, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-danville-register-joe-henderson-30/148358017/ |title=Joe Henderson, 30, Gets His Big Chance |agency=AP |newspaper=The Danville Register |location=Danville, Virginia |page=3-D |date=September 16, 1976 |accessdate=May 30, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} Henderson first reached the Triple-A level in 1971. On July 31, 1974, he pitched a no-hitter for the Triple-A Iowa Oaks.{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1deBSHdsKaYa0BObQqY-f12dTaCv6k8vIxjhomWRrlLQ |title=Minor League No-Hitters |last=McGill |first=Chuck |website=Baseball-Reference |publisher=Sports Reference |accessdate=May 6, 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-oaks-henderson/148359771/ |title=Oaks' Henderson in No-Hitter! |newspaper=The Des Moines Register |page=1-S |date=August 1, 1974 |accessdate=May 30, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}

Henderson played parts of three seasons in the major leagues, in 1974 with the Chicago White Sox and in 1976 and 1977 with the Cincinnati Reds, exclusively as a pitcher. In four games with the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, he did not allow an earned run in 11 innings pitched. The Reds went on to win the 1976 World Series, although Henderson did not pitch for them in the postseason.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hendejo01.shtml |title=Joe Henderson Stats |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=May 30, 2024}} After 1977, he completed he professional career in the Mexican League; league records of the era are incomplete.

Overall, in 16 major-league games (three starts), Henderson compiled a 3–2 record with a 6.69 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 27 batters in 35 innings. During his minor-league career, Henderson compiled an 80–49 record in 276 games pitched (111 starts), posting a 3.24 ERA while striking out 831 batters in 1085 innings. He also played 230 games as an outfielder, 59 games as a first baseman, and 14 games as a third baseman during his minor-league career. He hit 37 home runs and had 160 runs batted in (RBIs) in 1265 minor-league at bats, compiling a .206 batting average.

Following his baseball career, Henderson worked for Circle K, and helped former teammate Rudy May join the company after his baseball career ended.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fresno-bee-finding-life-after-stardo/148358825/ |title=Finding life after stardom |first=Ron |last=Orozco |newspaper=The Fresno Bee |page=C1 |date=January 31, 1990 |accessdate=May 30, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} Henderson's nephew Dave Henderson was also a major-league player.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Phendj102.htm |title=Joe Henderson |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=May 30, 2024}}