Kyle Hendricks announces retirement after 12 year MLB career |
CHICAGO – Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks today officially announced his retirement after a 12-year major league career—including 11 memorable seasons with the Cubs.
"My family and I congratulate Kyle on his retirement after a great career. He was one of the best all-time Cubs pitchers. We would not have won the World Series without his incredible 2016 season where he won the Major League ERA title and started Game 7 of the World Series,” said Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts. “The Professor was always calm, cool and collected on the mound but his great performances excited millions of Cubs fans. From his outstanding playoff starts in 2016 to his memorable final appearance at Wrigley Field in 2024, he gave our fans sweet emotions. Now, it is time for Kyle, his wife, Emma, and his family to make new memories in retirement and we hope they come back to Wrigley Field often.” Hendricks finishes his major league career with a record of 105-91 with a 3.79 ERA (734 ER/1745.0 IP). He pitched last season with the Los Angeles Angels—the team that originally drafted him in 2008. With the Cubs, he went 97-81 with a 3.68 ERA (647 ER/1580.1) in 276 games/270 starts. His 1,259 strikeouts with the Cubs sit seventh in Cubs history while his 270 games started rank 10th in franchise history. In 2016, he finished third in N.L. Cy Young Award voting after leading the major leagues in ERA (2.13) and setting career marks in wins (16), innings pitched (190) and strikeouts (170). That same year, he picked up the win in game six of the NLCS vs. Los Angeles, allowing just two hits and no walks in 7.1 scoreless innings as the Cubs defeated the Dodgers to advance to the World Series. He started game seven of the World Series for the Cubs, allowing two runs, just one earned, in 4.2 innings pitched to help the Cubs win the World Series. Overall, his 11 postseason starts for the Cubs are the most in Cubs history. He was the Cubs Opening Day starter three times—2020, 2021 and 2022—and pitched four seasons with at least 20 games started and a sub-3.50 ERA with the Cubs. Hendricks attended Dartmouth College after being drafted in 2008 by the Angels and was again drafted in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB Draft by Texas.
