Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks (December 22, 1940 – December 21, 2005) was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and coach. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

from through , most notably as a member of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. He also played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1972) and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1976–1977). In 2001, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

Biography

A native of

Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie ( ; ), located in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas, is the historical Capital city, capital and largest town of the United States Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is located on the island's southern shor ...

, Hendricks was selected by the

from the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on November 28, 1967. He was a superior defensive catcher and a very fine handler of

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

s on a usually strong Orioles rotation that included

Mike Cuellar Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a memb ...

, Pat Dobson, Dave McNally,

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

and Tom Phoebus. Hendricks spent most of his playing career with the Orioles, regularly with the winning teams of manager

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

. They went to three consecutive

from 1969–71, as Hendricks shared catching duties with

Andy Etchebarren Andrew Auguste Etchebarren (June 20, 1943 – October 5, 2019) was an American people, American professional baseball player and minor league Manager (baseball), manager. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and then ...

. Hendricks led all American League catchers in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He was at bat in a pivotal play during the 1969 World Series. With the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

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 backhanded over-the-shoulder catch in the webbing of his glove. His most productive season came in

with the World Champion Orioles, when he hit 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s with 41 RBI. Hendricks went 4-for-11 (.364), hit a solo

in Game 1, decided Game 2 with a two-run opposite-field double and had a total of four RBI to help Baltimore defeat the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in the 1970 World Series. He also appeared in the

1976 World Series The 1976 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1976 Major League Baseball season, 1976 season. The 73rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Leag ...

for the Yankees against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, returned to the Orioles as a bullpen coach following the 1977 season, and served as a player-coach in 1978 and 1979. He was involved in the most controversial play of the 1970 World Series when the

were batting against the Orioles with one out and the score tied at three in the sixth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

of Game 1. With runners Tommy Helms at first base and Bernie Carbo at third,

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

Ty Cline hit a Baltimore chop off

who, while running towards home plate, immediately signaled to Hendricks that Carbo was trying to score from third. Hendricks fielded the ball barehanded, spun around to his left and lunged at an oncoming Carbo in an attempt to tag him out, but collided with umpire Ken Burkhart who, while positioning himself to judge whether the batted ball was fair, accidentally blocked the runner's path to the plate. Carbo slid around Burkhart on the outside but missed touching home plate. With his back to the play and after being knocked down, Burkhart ruled Carbo out even though Hendricks made the tag with his mitt while holding the ball in his bare hand. Having not been properly tagged out, Carbo unknowingly stepped on the plate as he was arguing, but the play was dead once Burkhart made his call. Hendricks also had tied the game at 3–3 with a solo home run one inning earlier in the fifth. Hendricks also played briefly for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, earning a World Series ring with the latter club in 1977. Playing for the Cubs on September 16, 1972, against the Mets at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

, Hendricks received five bases on balls, equaling the league mark at that moment. He had been traded along with

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (November 3, 1945 – April 15, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, ...

, Doyle Alexander, Grant Jackson and

Jimmy Freeman Jimmy Lee Freeman (born June 29, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who made two brief appearances with the Atlanta Braves in the early 1970s. He batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and ...

from the Orioles to the Yankees for

Rick Dempsey John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May and Dave Pagan at the

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

on June 15, 1976. Hendricks made the only pitching appearance in his MLB playing career in a 24–10 loss to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium and nicknamed The Ex) was a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Originally built for Canadian National ...

on June 26, 1978. He was the second consecutive position player used as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

after Larry Harlow when he entered the game with two outs and the Orioles losing 24–6 in the fifth inning. He allowed only a hit and a walk over 2 scoreless innings. In 711

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, including 658 with Baltimore, Hendricks was a .220 hitter with 62 home runs (still the all-time record for a United States Virgin Islands native) and 230 RBI. In nine postseason games, he had .273, 2 HR, 10 RBI. In 602 games as a catcher, Hendricks collected 2783 outs, 228 assists, 31

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s, and committed just only 29 errors for a significant .990

. Hendricks was a big star in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. He played for 17 seasons with the Cangrejeros de Santurce and occupies third place on the all-time list in homers with 105.

Coaching career

Hendricks became a fixture in Baltimore by holding the position of bullpen coach for 28 years, the longest coaching tenure in Orioles history. Hendricks was noted for consistently wearing shin guards in the Orioles bullpen, even when he wasn’t actually catching a potential relief pitcher. 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 reassigned to another position within the organization, one that would enable the club to take advantage of his huge popularity within the Baltimore community; along with his loyalty to the "Oriole Way" and to the traditions of baseball, he was a tireless signer of pre-game autographs and a general good-will ambassador. He was slated to be the host for the 2006 Baltimore Baseball Cruise aboard The Golden Princess.

Death

Elrod Hendricks died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Glen Burnie, Maryland Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 72,891 at the 2020 census. History In 1812, Elias Glenn, a district attorn ...

, one day shy of his 65th birthday. The Orioles wore the number 44 on the sleeves of their jerseys in 2006, to honor Hendricks. Although the number has not been officially retired, no Oriole player has worn it since Hendricks died. In 2007, St. Frances Academy in Baltimore started an annual baseball tournament in his name.

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, Elrod 1940 births 2005 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Charros de Jalisco players Chicago Cubs players El Paso Sun Kings players Major League Baseball bullpen catchers Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the United States Virgin Islands McCook Braves players New York Yankees players Sportspeople from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Seattle Angels players Syracuse Chiefs players Wellsville Braves players Winnipeg Goldeyes players United States Virgin Islands expatriate baseball players in Canada United States Virgin Islands expatriate baseball players in Mexico