Liam Hendriks named relief pitcher on All-MLB Team

CHICAGO – Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has been named the relief pitcher on the All-MLB Team for the third consecutive season.

Hendriks, 32, went 8-3 with a 2.54 ERA (20 ER/71.0 IP), 38 saves, 113 strikeouts, a 0.73 WHIP, .174 (45-258) opponents average and just seven walks in 69 relief appearances this season, his first with the White Sox. He joins Gerrit Cole, Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto as the only players to win All-MLB Team honors each season since the award was introduced in 2019.

Hendriks joined Terry Forster (24 in 1974), Goose Gossage (26 in 1975) and Bobby Thigpen (57 in 1990) as the only Sox to lead the AL in saves. He led MLB relievers in strikeouts, and AL relievers in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.14).

Hendriks’ strikeout-to-walk mark established a major-league record (minimum 100 strikeouts), surpassing the previous mark set by Clayton Kershaw (15.64) in 2016. He joined Kenley Jansen in 2017 (109 strikeouts; seven walks) as the only pitchers in history to strike out 100-plus batters with seven or fewer walks in a season.

Hendriks was named the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever on November 10, becoming the first pitcher to earn the award in consecutive seasons following his win with Oakland in 2020. He also was named to his second career American League All-Star team and was named AL Reliever of the Month in both May and September/October.