Something happened three years ago that helped propel the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series in 2008.
Nope, it doesn’t involve Evan Longoria or one of their young stars. This is about an “old-school” player who was known more for the sound of his bat than his voice.
On Nov. 21, 2005, the Rays hired George Hendrick as first base coach.
Throughout the summer’s battle with the Boston Red Sox for supremacy of the American League East, Hendrick and Rays manager Joe Maddon kept the Rays loose, yet focused. They didn’t crack under pressure, they thrived. They didn’t back down from the bully Red Sox; they literally brawled with them and went bean ball for bean ball.
There is a lot of Hendrick in the Rays, you can tell by how they play and conduct themselves.
There’s not a lot of talk, but there is a whole lot of action.
“George Hendrick is probably one of the best clubhouse coaches I’ve ever been around,” Maddon said before this historic year began.
“He is universally liked by every baseball player or person who’s ever been affiliated with him. He’s very introspective and bright. He’s very straightforward and honest. And he’s also a lot of fun. George is a wonderful man and I really enjoy being around him.”
When I was working on the book Whitey’s Boys, I had the honor of traveling to Lake Elsinore, Calif., to interview Hendrick, a member of the 1982 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
I was with Hendrick and the team during a three-game homestand and came away with the same impressions as Maddon.
It was obvious that Hendrick had a future as a manager or bench coach in Major League Baseball. His day as a Big League manager is coming, should he want it.
He had served as the L.A. Dodgers’ Triple-A hitting coach at Las Vegas in 2003-04 before becoming interim hitting coach for the Dodgers during the final two months of the 2003. He was the San Diego Padres minor league hitting instructor in 2000 and 2001 and managed at Lake Elsinore in 2002.
The team had not accomplished much during the previous decade, but Hendrick took over and guided the Storm to a 75-65 record and a berth in the California League Championship Series.
He served as first base coach for the Angels in 1998 and 1999 under former Rays coach Terry Collins and alongside Angels bench coach Joe Maddon. That’s where the winning connection first worked together.
“This was all about (the players),” Hendrick said after the Rays defeated the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS.
“They never backed down. They never quit.”
Folks, that’s a lot of words for “Silent George.”
He didn’t say much in St. Louis either.
One of the best things that ever happened to Hendrick was coming to the Cardinals in 1981 and helping the team win a title in 1982.
One of the best things that ever happened to Hendrick was leaving the Cardinals after two seasons as batting coach (1996-97) because I’m told he was ready to strangle manager Tony La Russa.
That would not look good on his resume.
What does look good, though, is the 2008 All Championship he helped bring to Tampa.
“Man, this was a special season,” he said following the World Series.
And Hendrick is indeed a special person.
