#277 Rod Hendricks - Baltimore Orioles

Elrod James Hendricks
Baltimore Orioles
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  December 22, 1940, Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1968-1972; Chicago Cubs 1972; Baltimore Orioles 1973-1976; New York Yankees 1976-1977; Baltimore Orioles 1978-1979

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1969-1971; New York Yankees 1976
Died:  December 21, 2005, Glen Burnie, MD (age 64)

A fixture in Baltimore for decades, Elrod Hendricks caught for 12 big league seasons, primarily with the Orioles.  Hendricks was a steady catcher for Earl Weaver's (#516) teams, getting the bulk of the club's starts behind the plate and forming a strong backstop duo with Andy Etchebarren (#634) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  He led all catchers in fielding percentage in 1969 and 1975 and handled an All-Star pitching staff that helped the Orioles reach three straight World Series between 1969 and 1971.  They'd win it all in 1970, defeating the Reds in five games with Hendricks batting .364 (4 for 11), including a game-winning two-run double in Game 2.

Hendricks briefly left Baltimore for short stints with the Cubs in 1972 and the Yankees in 1976 and 1977, going to the World Series again in 1976.  He'd retire as a player in 1979, pivoting full-time to the bullpen as the Orioles' bullpen coach for 28 seasons.  The popular Hendricks was also a star in Puerto Rico, playing 17 seasons with the Cangrejeros de Santurce and hitting 105 home runs.  Hendricks collected 415 hits in 710 major league games, batting .220 with 62 home runs and 230 RBIs.  He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2001, and no one on the club has worn his #44 since Hendricks passed away in 2005.

Building the Set / Card #292
November 18, 2023 from The TWP Card Show - Sicklerville, NJ (Sal's Sports Cards & Memorabilia)

I wrote about this show back in December at The Phillies Room.  My wife Jenna found an announcement on Faceback for a baseball card show to be held at St. Charles Borromeo Hall in Sicklerville, New Jersey on November 18th.  That Saturday, I gathered my lists and we made the short drive to what the organizers called the "First Ever Sports Card Show" in Washington Township, which I find hard to believe given the number of baseball card stores in the area back in the 1980s and 1990s.  Potential mislabeling aside, it was a decent-sized show with mostly modern stuff and slabbed Pokemon cards. 

I found the one dealer selling vintage cards, and cleaned him out of every 1969 Topps card I needed for our set, along with a few 1959 Topps cards for our next set build.  This Hendricks card was one of seven cards added to our 1969 Topps set.  Credit to Jenna for finding the show, and if it happens again, I'll gladly make the 10 minute drive over there.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is Hendricks' rookie card.  The back of the card name-checks manager Weaver and contains a dated cartoon representation of Hendricks' success in the Mexican League.

Accuracy Index:  Hendricks' card scores a +5 and Topps must have taken this photo in 1968, or purchased it from a non-Topps photographer.

1969 Season
This was Hendricks' second full season in the majors, and while Etchebarren got the nod on opening day, Hendricks would ultimately start more games behind the plate than Etchebarren.  Hendricks received 80 starts to Etchebarren's 59, with Clay Dalrymple (#151) coming over from the Phillies and starting the remaining 23 games.  Hendricks had his best season offensively, batting .244 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs.  His .998 fielding percentage led all American League catchers and his 46.0% caught stealing percentage was second in the league behind the Senators' Jim French (#199).

Hendricks was 3 for 18 (.167) in the postseason, and was on the receiving end of Tommie Agee's (#364) fantastic catch in Game 3, preserving the win for the Mets.  The Mets would defeat the Orioles in five games.

1970 Topps #528

1971 Topps #219

1972 Topps #508

1975 Topps #609

1976 Topps #371

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #277
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1969-1972, 1975-1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams #71
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  71 in the Beckett online database as of 5/11/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#276 Gary Wagner - Philadelphia Phillies / #278 Gary Geiger - Houston Astros