All-Time Indians: George Hendrick

There wasn’t much to get excited about for the Indians between 1958 and 1994, but the 1970’s did feature a few great outfielders including Rick Manning, Charlie Spikes and George Hendrick.

Hendrick was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics first overall in the 1968 draft and he made his MLB debut with the same team just three years later. He played 100 games across two seasons for the A’s and was very unimpressive, particularly for a number one pick. This would be great for the Indians, however, as Oakland’s impatience made Hendrick available for trade and the Indians were able to steal him in exchange for Ray Fosse, who never recovered from his injury in the 1970 All-Star Game and Jack Heideman, who never even played for the A’s and was bought back by the Indians a year later. In this deal, the Indians also got catcher Dave Duncan, who wasn’t great, but did outplay Fosse the next two years.

Hendrick showed how wrong Oakland was by giving up too soon as he had his first solid season in 1973 with 18 doubles and 21 home runs, batting .268 as the starting center fielder. He was a solid defender as well and helped fix some issues the Indians had in previous seasons. By his addition, Buddy Bell was able to move out of the outfield and to third base where he became a Gold Glove winner. In addition, it gave the Indians a more regular outfield Hendrick and Spikes with John Lowenstein coming in that year and ultimately taking over left field in 1974.

In the 1974 season, Hendrick set highs in almost all single season stats including doubles (23), RBI (67), runs (65) and average (.279). Most of those numbers came in the first half where he batted .303/.351/.498 and crushed 19 home runs. For this, he made his first of four All-Star games and his first of three Player of the Week awards. In the week beginning on May 12th, he batted .412 with three runs and three RBI.

Unfortunately, Hendrick missed most of August and ultimately batted just .209 after July 26th. He came back the next year, however, and had his best season yet, scoring 82 runs with 21 doubles, 24 home runs and 86 RBI. This was the player the Athletics thought they were getting when they drafted him first overall and for his effort, he made his second straight All-Star game. A young kid named Rick Manning came up that year and was the starter in center field the second half of the season, moving Hendrick to right with Oscar Gamble the regular in left. Prior to this, Hendrick had played almost exclusively in center, but for the second time he helped another player achieve Gold Glove greatness as Manning won in center in 1976.

He would have one more great season with the Tribe before the Indians made an even greater mistake than the A’s. He improved upon his already impressive numbers one more time, setting a new high with 25 home runs while knocking in another 81 and raising his average back up to the mid .260’s. This year, he was moved from right to left field with Spikes the regular in right. For the fourth straight season, Hendrick was among the Indians top three offensive performers and he didn’t look to be slowing down at just 26 years old in 1976.

Continuing with the genius that kept the Indians in the basement through more than three decades, Hendrick was then dealt to San Diego for Johnny Grubb, Fred Kendall and Hector Torres. Of these, Grubb played just 147 games with the Indians in two seasons, Kendall 103 in one and Torres didn’t play a single game. In fact, Torres was traded to the Blue Jays for the return of Lowenstein who had been sent there originally for Rico Carty.

For the Padres, Hendrick played extremely well in 1977, but was traded half way through 1978 to the Cardinals, who would be the first team to really appreciate what they had. He would play seven seasons with St. Louis, crushing 122 home runs and batting .294 over the duration. He made his final two All-Star teams while with the Cardinals in 1980 and 1983. He also finished in the top 15 in MVP voting each year from 1980 through 1983 with his best finish coming in 1980 when he set a career highs with 109 RBI and 33 doubles. This was essentially his best season since his 1976 campaign with Cleveland and the best in his career. He also won Silver Sluggers in both those seasons for the outfield in 1980 and first base in 1983.

Sensing Hendrick’s future than any of his first three teams, the Cardinals traded him after the 1984 season and he would never play a full year again. By this time he was 35 and would be traded again from the Pirates to the Angels where he would finish his career. He did wind up hitting 24 home runs with the Angels across four seasons, giving him more than 100 in both the American and National League.

As an Indian, Hendrick’s career numbers compare very favorably to other Indians center fielders and his 89 home runs still ranks fifth among regulars at the position. As more of a power hitter than a speed man, he provided a different type of production than most at the position, but he fits in with the mid-quality center fielders like Roy Weatherly and Vic Davalillo. After the 1988 season he would retire as a player finishing a solid 18 year career.

Just five years after ending his playing days, Hendrick joined the Cardinals coaching staff in 1993 and became their Major League hitting coach in 1996 and staying through 1997. He worked for the Angels and Dodgers from 1998 through 2005 before joining the Tampa Bay Rays, where he remains today. Until 2014, he was the first base coach, but he is currently a special adviser to baseball operations, still in Tampa Bay.