Special K

WHEN HENDRICKS FIRST ARRIVED IN HANOVER FROM California, few pegged him as a future major leaguer. But in his junior year under coach Bob Whalen, the right-handed pitcher posted a 6-3 record with a sparkling 2.47 earned run average (ERA). The Texas Rangers grabbed him in the 2011 draft, then dealt him to the Chicago Cubs in 2012.

When Hendricks arrived at “the show” in mid-2014 he posted numbers eerily reminiscent of his Dartmouth days: a 7-2 record and a 2.46 ERA. He won a National League Rookie of the Month Award. But he had hedged his bets, finishing his A.B. in econom- ics in 2013.

Fresh off the second day of spring training in February, when he spoke with DAM, Hendricks was entering 2015 with two new realities. First, many said he’d be in the starting rotation. Second, the legendarily luckless Cubs were being called a playoff contender.

Hendricks demurs. “I don’t see myself as a presumed starter,” he says. “There’s going to be a lot of competition. I’m just trying to focus on getting a good feel for all of my pitches as early as possible.” But the Cubs buzz was undeniable: “Be- ing with a team that looks like it’s going to win a lot of games is exciting,” he adds. And yet, some things are constant. “The game is a lot faster than it was in college, but if you make good pitches you can get guys out at any level.”

And no lasting scars from first-year hazing? “We had rookie dress-up day for our trip to Toronto. It wasn’t bad though, be- cause I was Mario from the video game, and we had 15 guys all doing it together.”

The Cubs right-hander earned his degree while pitching in the minors.

“The game is a lot faster than it was in college.”