Before his May 21 outing against the New York Mets, Liam Hendriks shared that he's been frustrated with how little the Boston Red Sox have used him this season.
The longtime closer has been featured in the earlier innings out of Boston's bullpen, and he's posted a 5.56 ERA over 11.1 frames. Hendriks thinks his limited use has something to do with his struggles.
“I feel like I haven’t been pitching enough,” Hendriks said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “And if you want me to be me, I got to pitch like I will rust before I wear out. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to reward them by getting guys out. And if I’m not doing that, then I don’t deserve to pitch.”
Some Red Sox fans disagree with Hendriks' assessment of his usage, and a select few took their disagreement way too far. Hendriks on May 22 posted a statement to his Instagram story, condemning disgusting statements sent to him by upset Red Sox "fans."
"Threats against my life and my wife's life are cruel. You need help," Hendriks wrote. "Leaving comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile. Maybe you should take a step back and reevaluate your life's purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their families."
Liam Hendriks condemns threats he's recieved from Red Sox fans after rough outing
Hendriks is far from being the first Red Sox player to share stories of brutal treatment from fans and he definitely, and unfortunately, will not be the last. Jarren Duran has been open about his mental health struggles, exacerbated by repulsive comments from fans also telling him to kill himself. Rob Bradford of WEEI said pitcher Lucas Giolito has experienced the same thing.
Some people will excuse this behavior by saying things like "words can't hurt," or call players weak for potentially being offended by such comments. But as the world saw when Duran opened up in the Red Sox's recent Netflix docuseries, "The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox," when someone is already dealing with depression or suicidal ideation, those comments can be the difference between life and death.
Baseball players and all athletes have lives outside the team. They have friends, families, and external commitments and battles fans know nothing about, and players like it that way because some people are so purposefully wicked toward them from behind a screen. Their lives and value as humans do not revolve around their team's outcomes on the field. If yours does, despite never playing an inning of professional sports or knowing any of the players personally, you should follow Hendriks' advice and get some help.
Hendriks did the right thing by publicly calling out the abuse players face at the hands of people with nothing else going on in their lives. Frankly, he should've shared screenshots of any vile messages he received because people should be afraid to speak to others that way — few to none of the commenters would say such ugly things to Hendriks' face, a man who can throw a baseball, and probably a punch, at 90 miles per hour.
If typing behind a screen in the safety of your mom's basement is what gives you the courage to say such disgusting things about any person, you shouldn't speak at all. Everyone deserves better than being told to kill themselves by strangers on the internet, no matter how many hits they give up or how many times they strike out. A few cowardly Red Sox fans give the entire fanbase a bad name, and they need to be better.