As a 26th round draft pick by the Montreal Expos in the 2003 draft, Jim Henderson faced a steep uphill climb to make it to the majors.
He stuck around long enough to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in 2006. He was selected by the Cubs, but he didn’t make the major league roster. The Washington Nationals didn’t want him back, so he pitched two years in the Cubs minor league system before getting released. He then latched on with the Milwaukee Brewers organization which led to another two and a half years of toiling in the minors.
But it all came together for Henderson at the the age of 29 opportunity knocked and he finally got the call to the majors. It all sounded like a nice plot for a baseball movie about persevering, endurance and ultimately accomplishing all your dreams.
Henderson quickly moved up the ranks of the Milwaukee bullpen and eventually became the Brewers’ closer. In 2013, he recorded 28 saves with a 2.70 ERA. Finally, at 30 years of age, Henderson’s career seemed to be taking off.
Unfortunately, disaster struck. He started feeling a dull and throbbing pain and after visiting with team doctors, they gave him the bad news. Henderson needed shoulder surgery. His 2014 season was over.
As he rode along the comeback trail, he got to pitch 35 innings in the minors in 2015. But he was now heading into free agency after not pitching in close to two and a half years.
At that point, he was hoping just to pitch anywhere. Even at 33 years of age, he was willing to do anything a team required just to get another shot in the majors. He decided to sign a minor league contract with the New York Mets, as a few in the front office thought fairly highly of him.
Once again, Henderson seized the opportunity.
During Spring Training, Henderson impressed a lot of Mets coaches as well as team brass but he was still a long shot at best to make the major league squad. Undeterred, Henderson gave it all he had and ended the Grapefruit League season with a sparkling 1.69 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Despite yet another steep uphill climb, Henderson proved himself. Then came the call to Terry Collins‘ office… He had made the Mets’ Opening Day roster.
On Tuesday, the Mets’ skipper tabbed Henderson to pitch in the seventh inning to preserve a 2-0 lead against the same Royals team that beat up on the Mets team in the World Series. Henderson’s first pitch in the majors after a two and a half year absence was a 97 MPH fastball for a called strike. He would strike out his first batter, Alex Gordon en route to a powerful 1-2-3 inning, recording a hold, with two strikeouts.
He pitched another perfect inning during the Mets home opener on Friday afternoon at Citi Field. He picked up his second hold and struck out two in the Mets 7-2 win over the Phillies. In two games he’s tossed 24 pitches, 20 of them for strikes and his fastball has clocked in at 95 mph.
After all he’s been through, Jim Henderson is not just back in the majors, he’s back to dominate at the back end of a very deep and talented Mets bullpen. What a story.
