Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks ([December 22,
1940–December 21, 2005) was a
catcher and
coach in
Major League Baseball. Hendricks
played during a 12-year career that lasted from through for the
Baltimore Orioles (1968–1972,
1973–1976, 1978–1979),
Chicago Cubs
(1972) and
New York Yankees
(1976–1977). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Biography
A native
of Charlotte Amalie
, Virgin Islands,
Hendricks was a superior defensive catcher and a very fine handler
of pitchers on a usually strong Baltimore
Orioles rotation that included Mike
Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Dave McNally, Jim
Palmer and Tom Phoebus. He
also spent most of his playing for the Orioles on teams that went
to three consecutive
World Series from
1969–71, sharing duties with
Andy
Etchebarren.
Hendricks also played briefly for the Chicago Cubs and New York
Yankees. His most productive season came in , when he hit 12
home runs with 41
RBI. Hendricks went 4-for-11 (.364) with a
home run and four RBI to help
Baltimore defeat the
Cincinnati Reds in the
1970 World Series. He also appeared in the
1976 World Series for the
Yankees against
Cincinnati, made the Orioles
bullpen coach following the 1977 season, and was a player-coach in
1978–79.
Hendricks is best remembered for a bizarre defensive play in Game 1
of the 1970 World Series. In a tied game with one out in the sixth
inning, the Reds had runners on the corners. Cincinnati
pinch hitter Ty Cline hit a high chopper in
front of the plate, which Hendricks grabbed with his bare hand.
Bernie Carbo, who was on third base,
was running home on the play. Hendricks lunged toward Carbo,
attempting to tag him out as umpire
Ken
Burkhart moved toward the field to call the ball fair. Burkhart
collided with Hendricks, spinning to the ground as Hendricks tagged
Carbo with an empty glove (the ball was still in his other hand).
The distracted umpire called Carbo out on the basis of the glove
tag. Reds manager
Sparky Anderson
argued the play to no avail. (Ironically, replays showed Carbo had
missed the plate entirely while trying to avoid Hendricks'
tag.)
Hendricks hit a game-tying home run in the top of the fifth inning.
Brooks Robinson hit the go-ahead
home run in the top of the seventh, clinching the Orioles' first
win of the Series, 4–3.
He also played a part in a memorable play from the previous year's
World Series. With the
Mets leading 3–0 and two Orioles
on base with two outs in the fourth inning of Game 3, Hendricks
cracked a hard-hit line drive into the left-center field gap that
most thought would go for extra bases, scoring two runs and putting
the
Orioles back in
the game. But center fielder
Tommie
Agee, who was playing the left-handed Hendricks to pull in
right-center, chased down the ball on a dead sprint, extending his
left arm for a memorable backhanded over-the-shoulder catch in the
webbing of his glove.
In 711
games played, including 658 with
Baltimore, Hendricks was a .220 hitter with 62 home runs and 230
RBI. In nine postseason games, he had .273, two HR, 10 RBI. In 602
games as a catcher, Hendricks collected 2783
outs, 228
assist, 31
double
plays, and committed just only 29
errors for a significant .990
fielding percentage.
Coaching career
Hendricks became a fixture in Baltimore by holding the position as
bullpen coach for 28 years, the longest coaching tenure in Orioles
history. His contract was not renewed for that position as of
October 2005, in part because he had a mild stroke in April. The
2005 season marked the 37th that Hendricks served in a Baltimore
uniform as a player or coach, another club record. He also had the
longest active coaching streak with one club among all major league
coaches. After his stroke, Hendricks was to be reassigned to
another position within the organization, one that would enable him
to take advantage of his huge popularity within the Baltimore
community. He was supposed to be the host in the 2006 Baltimore
Baseball Cruise aboard The Golden Princess.
Death
Elrod
Hendricks died of a heart
attack in Glen Burnie, Maryland
, one day shy of his 65th birthday.
The Orioles wore the number 44 on the sleeves of their jerseys in
2006, to honor Hendricks.
In 2007, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, MD started an annual
baseball tournament in his name.
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search