‘Thank you, 28′: Cubs fans react to what may be Kyle Hendricks’ final start at Wrigley Field
Class was in session once again Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
For possibly the final time.
Kyle Hendricks is a free agent at the end of the season and will hit the open market for the first time in his career.
The Cubs are at a place where they have 3 starters locked into the rotation next season (Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon) with Javier Assad likely to fill a 4th spot plus the potential for a free-agent signing or other internal depth.
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‘Thank you, 28’: Cubs fans show their support for Kyle Hendricks
Hendricks is the last link to the 2016 Cubs team that won it.
After 11 seasons, 270 starts and nearly 1,600 innings, Saturday marked the potential end of an era.
Cubs fans responded in kind, showing their love for “The Professor” on social media:
Even injured Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay weighed in:
Cubs fans gave a hearty ovation for Hendricks when he trotted out to the bullpen under the left field bleachers about 30 minutes before first pitch.
That ovation continued when Hendricks and his teammates took the field for the top of the 1st inning and stayed steady throughout the afternoon with each out Hendricks recorded.
[Watch every out of Hendricks’ performance Saturday]
Hendricks began the outing with 6 shutout innings, needing only 61 pitches to dispatch the Reds in that span.
After recording an out in the 8th inning, the Cubs gave Hendricks his moment in front of the Wrigley Field crowd in an emotional scene.
He finished with 7.1 shutout innings – the same line he had in the pennant-clinching game against the Dodgers in the 2016 NLCS.
Check out complete coverage of Hendricks’ outing on the Marquee Sports Network app.
