ANAHEIM, Calif. — Liam Hendriks showed strength and resilience as he inspired the baseball world and beyond by returning to the mound after battling stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The Chicago White Sox reliever will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance during the 2023 ESPY Awards.
“In one of the most challenging years of my life, receiving the Jimmy V Award from ESPN is beyond my wildest dreams,” Hendriks said in a statement provided to the Tribune.
The 2023 ESPYs will take place July 12 in Los Angeles and air live at 7 p.m. on ABC-7.
The honor is “a symbol of (Hendriks’) strength and resilience in his fight against non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” according to a news release.
Hendriks disclosed in an Instagram post in January he was beginning treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, later detailing it was stage 4.
Support poured in from everywhere. Hendriks said a Jan. 30 text from Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon, once diagnosed with testicular cancer, served as motivation.
“His was: ‘It’s your journey. Nobody can tell you what to feel or what to do baseball-wise. Do whatever you feel is right,’” Hendriks said on May 3.
Hendriks threw a bullpen session in the days after the text. He completed treatment on April 3 and announced he was cancer-free on April 20.
A minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte followed, which included players stepping out of both dugouts to clap for Hendriks before his first outing in Gwinnett County, Ga.
Hendriks made his first relief appearance of the season on May 29 against the Los Angeles Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field. He received multiple standing ovations during the evening, and members of both teams stood and clapped when he entered the game in the eighth inning.
A ceremony before that game recognized the more than $100,000 raised in the “Close Out Cancer” T-shirt campaign. The Sox partnered with the Lymphoma Research Foundation, and the funds raised provided financial assistance to lymphoma patients.
The New York Yankees recognized Hendriks before a June 8 doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, with the team donating $10,000 to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in his honor. Hendriks announced he would match the donation.
Now the three-time All-Star and two-time reliever of the year — who made five appearances this season before landing on the injured list with right elbow inflammation — will be honored at the ESPYs.
Past recipients of the Jimmy V Award include Dick Vitale (2022), Chris Nikic (2021), Craig Sager (2016), and Stuart Scott (2014).
The ESPYs helps raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the charity founded by ESPN and the late basketball coach Jim Valvano at the first ESPYs in 1993. According to the release, ESPN has helped raise more than $195 million for the V Foundation over the past 30 years.
“My goal was always to focus on my health and get back out on the mound with my teammates, and I’m glad to have been able to do that this year,” Hendriks said in the statement. “It’s all about focusing on positivity, and I thank ESPN for recognizing me for that.”
