Why Liam Hendriks doesn’t like intentional walks: ‘I’m never thinking about putting somebody on,’ the Chicago White Sox closer says

Liam Hendriks is not a fan of intentional walks.

“Don’t ever put anyone on when I’m on the mound,” the Chicago White Sox closer said Wednesday, displaying his competitiveness.

The topic came up in the aftermath of the team’s decision to pitch to Byron Buxton with first base open in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Buxton hit a three-run homer off Hendriks as the Twins beat the Sox 6-4.

“(A) 3-1 (count), he’s 0 for 2 career off me,” Hendriks said. “Obviously it’s not the middle of the stretch that he’s on right now. This is a guy that was drafted (No. 2 overall in 2012) for a reason. He’s got all the talent in the world.

“But I’ve been able to beat him on pitches in similar locations before in my career and I know that I trust my stuff no matter what. I’m never thinking about putting somebody on base or pitching scared because that’s when you get into trouble.”

Hendriks, who is tied for second in the American League with four saves, has been recovering from a “back spasm issue” since Sunday. Kendall Graveman pitched the final two innings of the Sox’s 7-3 win against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“We are taking it day by day and it all depends on how the next step goes,” Hendriks said.

The issue popped up between the ninth and 10th innings at Target Field, he said.

“I don’t know what happened,” Hendriks said. “I went to grab a towel and walked slowly on the tile in cleats and just couldn’t stand up right after that. They tried to take me out and I just kept telling them no. Probably in hindsight it would have been a good thing. But my stubborn (butt) is going back out there no matter what.

“The pain came without slipping. It just clenched while walking on tile. I deal with it every now and then, but this one just didn’t go away. Usually it will happen and then I’ll be able to walk around for a little bit and it’s fine. It just didn’t go away this time unfortunately.”

Hendriks said he felt it “a little bit” while on the mound.

“Not so much actually pitching,” he said. “There were a couple of throw backs (to the mound) that tweaked it a little bit. You see everything was up, a lot higher than usual, and I think it was a little factor of not being able to finish my pitches and stuff like that.

“Still no excuses for what happened in that game. I should have been able to get it done regardless of how I’m feeling. I usually have that tack of being able to throw the pitch when I need to. Unfortunately it didn’t work.”

Hendriks, the AL Reliever of the Year in 2020 and 2021, said of Buxton’s 469-foot home run: “If you’re going to give up a walk-off homer, you might as well make it the longest in Statcast-era history, right?”

Hendriks has one intentional walk this season after having only one in 2021 and one in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Oakland Athletics.

“I have no fault with me attacking (Buxton) because he’s a free swinger,” Hendriks added. “If I get it into a better location, he doesn’t do that much damage with it. And then I have a chance of facing a guy who I have always had tough at-bats with, with (Luis) Arraez (2 for 4 career vs. Hendriks) on deck. I’m not trying to put a guy on for a contact guy with the winning run on second base.”

Hendriks met with reporters before the Sox snapped their eight-game losing streak Wednesday.

“I have complete faith in this group,” Hendriks said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys, bench guys on this team who on any other team are starters. That’s a tribute to the talent level in this clubhouse and what we are able to do.

“If we get those couple of dink hits that will fall in or make a pitch or a lineout here and there, the entire vibe changes. I spoke to (second baseman Josh Harrison) about it (Tuesday). We still need to remain that cocky, that arrogant, that confident group because no matter what, we know we’ve got the talent in this clubhouse and we can go on a run.”