Very likable pitcher who had potential. If only he started earlier and left basketball behind he may have had more success.

Justin Speier seems like a good trade; looks like a good canidate for the closer role.

Lurch's fastball was decent for a lefty but his secondary pitches were lacking. He could throw strikes but couldn't put them exactly where he wanted them. If he figures out some secondary pitches and improves his command he could be a Mark Redman type. Speier was a solid get for someone who may or may not have a major league future though.

I was always a big Hendrickson fan, especially after I got MVP Baseball 2003 for the PS2. His curve is absolutley unhittable over 6 innings in that game, and I once pitched a 13 inning, 21 K 0 BB shutout with him. Even Zito and Halladay's curves didn't work that well for me in the game, nor did any other pitch. My 260 IP, 330 K, 0 BB - (HBP + IBB), 1.91 ERA, 26-3 Cy Young season is a great video game memory for me. I'll never forget Lurch :'-(

Well, at least now we can look forward to Lurch beating us, as the D-Rays will take the season series 11-8 or 12-7 again.

I just remember too many basketball games when Hendrickson looked like a man against boys against my alma mater in Westwood!

He is still the only Blue Jay pitcher ever to hit a homer, and that will always be what I remember him for.

I remember being at the Dome the first time he pitched for the Fighting Jays. It was against Seattle in August 2002 and we were destroying the Mariners 13 - 2. A good time as any to debut Lurch, the rookie AAA call up... From my recollection he pitched to 3 batters and walked off the mound with an ERA of about 120. Luckily we hung on for a 14 - 12 win. From that point on I routed for the man if only because I felt sorry for him. After a while I started to believe he had the workings to be a great pitcher. Too bad he won't be able to try and turn things around here in Toronto. Good luck in the future.

That 14-12 game is, oddly, the standout in my mind as well, but it really doesn't have a thing to do with Hendrickson. The dude at the ticket window mistakenly gave me and my pal really high-end seats, which we promptly sold. Later that night, after a thoroughly entertaining ball game--which would have been far less entertaining had Hendrickson been much of a pitcher--we ate the profits at Rol San, the best of the approximately 4700 Chinese restaurants on Spadina. Good times.

When he dropped 12 points & 3 blocks against the Bulls in 1997.

Thats it...thats all...

Cheers

At a Jays game last summer, I was sitting behind Michael Bradley, then of the Raptors, and a couple of his friends. After a few innings and a couple of beers, I asked Bradley if he'd ever played any one-on-one with Hendrickson.

"He doesn't want any part of me," boasted the taller, younger Bradley.

"Maybe not," I replied, "but he could strike you out any time." Fortunately, the big fella thought that was funny.

To me, it's what made Lurch special. It is such a remarkable accomplishment to make the Show in two sports; ask Michael Jordan. I was always a big Hendrickson fan, and still believe that he has room to improve, as his "baseball age" is younger than his birth certificate. However, I'm not sure that Tampa is the best place to get the additional experience he needs, playing almost half their games against four very potent AL East lineups. We will never know how good a pitcher he might have been had he not taken the NBA detour.

I'm optimistic that flipping him for Speier will turn out well, but I wish he'd been traded to the other league; it would be easier to continue rooting for him. When Mark comes back to Toronto, I'll give him some appreciative applause, then hope the Jays light him up like a pinball machine.

I've always thought that Lurch doesn't quite have enough stuff to succeed at the major league level. But he always seemed unflappable out there - his lack of rookie jitters has enabled him to survive where others have failed. In particular, he survived about six "pitch well, or you're gone" starts.

And I agree that playing at the major league level in two sports is a remarkable accomplishment. The only other recent athletes I can think of who have done this are Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. That's pretty elite company to be keeping.

Let's hope he pitches well against the O's, Yanks, and Sox, and gets lit up by the Jays :-).

I believed after 2002 that Lurch would ultimately succeed, and become the crafty lefty that gets by on not too much. I still think he will. His best period may yet be 3 or 4 years away.

I liked Hendrickson and just felt he wasn't quite consistent or sharp enough with his pitches. But I always admired his attitude. Pretty bold to go from basketball to pitching at his age.

He may yet have a solid year with Tampa or elsewhere.

I remember one great start in particular against the Yankees. Giambi expressed his admiration for MH after the game.

Not to belittle Hendrickson's accomplishments, but one of the reasons there are so few multi-sport stars is that there are very few guys with the ego to try it (I know Hendrickson didn't do it out of ego, but the other two certainly did). There are plenty of elite athletes who I'm sure could succeed at almost any sport they tried (Rickey Henderson, for example, was a record-setting running back in high school and I believe received about a dozen offers for football scholarships).
Just thinking out loud (or the internet equivalent), I guess. I'd sure have loved to see Barry Bonds use his combination of speed and power as an NFL safety... and then switch to linebacker at the age of 36 when he gained 30 pounds of muscle... =)

I think I remember the Hendrickson games vs. the Yankees that you're talking about -- didn't he no-hit them through seven, and then the game was called due to rain?

Those days when he had his stuff, he really had it. I hope he can find some consistency in Tampa.