January 7, 2009
Hendricks is welcome O's anchor
In a sport with constant change, the Orioles' Elrod Hendricks is the very
soul of stability.
Throughout the majors there are new players, new managers, new league
alignments, even new teams. Two expansion franchises were added during the
strike.
Look at the newness of the Orioles:
The manager (Phil Regan) is in his first year.
Pete Angelos and his partners have owned the club less than two years. The
player roster is constantly altered.
All of Regan's coaches are new this year except one -- Hendricks. Elrod is
in his 27th season in an Orioles uniform, his 18th straight as the club's
bullpen catcher.
If you don't think that's a long time, consider: Brooks Robinson spent
only 21 seasons in an Orioles uniform.
Ellie came to the Orioles in 1968, when they were on the verge of winning
three straight pennants ('69-'71), and he is still with them now as they
struggle to avoid last place in the American League East.
At 9 a.m. yesterday, with the Orioles just back from a disastrous road
trip, Hendricks opened the baseball camp he and Mike McMillan have run on the
beautiful McDonogh School campus for 14 years.
Two of Elrod's sons -- Ryan and Ian -- are McDonogh graduates. Ryan is
playing ball at Huntington, W.Va. Ian is a student-athlete at St. Andrews
College in North Carolina.
Make no mistake about it -- Elrod Hendricks is entrenched here.
Naturally some of the parents delivering campers asked about the
struggling Orioles.
What was wrong?
L How could the club have lost six straight on that road trip?
How could Mike Mussina have given up six runs while facing only ten
hitters?
"We've made too many changes," Hendricks said. "It's good to make maybe
five changes a year, but 12 changes out of 25 players is too much."
Not that Hendricks thinks the Orioles should stand pat.
"I see you got rid of Andy Van Slyke," a camp mother told him. "I liked
Andy because he was more my age."
"We didn't get rid of him," Elrod said. "He was traded to Philadelphia.
Now we need to make about three more changes.
"Our trouble is, we have some young players coming up the hill who are not
sure they belong here, and we have some coming down the hill who aren't sure
they still belong up here.
NTC "Some of our best pitchers -- the ones we look to for help -- are
looking for help themselves."
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Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
