| Jim Henderson | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Henderson with theNew York Mets in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Brewers – No. 61 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1982-10-21)October 21, 1982 (age 43) Calgary,Alberta,Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| July 26, 2012, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||
| October 2, 2016, for the New York Mets | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 10–11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.61 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 177 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Saves | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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James Duffy Henderson (born October 21, 1982) is a Canadian former professionalbaseballpitcher who is the assistant pitching coach for theMilwaukee Brewers ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers andNew York Mets.
Henderson was born inCalgary, Alberta, to Marilyn and Neil Henderson, an auto mechanic at theUniversity of Calgary. Henderson's father died as a result ofLou Gehrig's disease when Henderson was a teenager.[1][2]
As a high school student, Henderson played summer baseball for theOkotoks Dawgs inOkotoks. He graduated fromBishop Carroll High School before playing two seasons atMidland College, ajunior college in Texas, then moving on toTennessee Wesleyan College and theBulldogs of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.[3]
Henderson was drafted by theMontreal Expos in the 26th round of the2003 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He made his professional debut that summer pitching out of thebullpen for theRookie LeagueGulf Coast League Expos andClass A Short SeasonVermont Expos in theNew York–Penn League.[5] He played the entire 2004 season with Vermont and was promoted to theClass ASavannah Sand Gnats of theSouth Atlantic League in 2005.[5] After opening the 2006 season with theClass A-AdvancedCarolina League'sPotomac Nationals, Henderson was sent back to Savannah for three games before returning to Potomac for the rest of the campaign.[6]
TheChicago Cubs selected Henderson in the 2006Rule 5 draft.[4] He played the majority of 2007 with theDouble-ATennessee Smokies in theSouthern League except for eight games in the middle of the season with theTriple-AIowa Cubs in thePacific Coast League.[6] He began the 2008 season at Tennessee but was promoted to Iowa after five games.[6] He pitched three games at Triple-A Iowa before a shoulder injury ended his season and resulted in his release from the Cubs organization in March 2009.[4]
Henderson signed a minor league contract with theMilwaukee Brewers before the start of the 2009 season.[4] He played the majority of that year with the Class AWisconsin Timber Rattlers in theMidwest League but was promoted to theFlorida State League's Class A-AdvancedBrevard County Manatees midseason and the Double-A Southern League'sHuntsville Stars in August.[6] Over 26 appearances for Wisconsin, Henderson held 1.07 earned run average (ERA) with 26 strikeouts in25+1⁄3 innings,[5] which earned him a spot in the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game.[6] He played the entire 2010 season with Huntsville after which he became a free agent.[4][5] After re-signing with the Brewers, he split the 2011 campaign between Huntsville and the Triple-ANashville Sounds in the Pacific Coast League.[5]
After ten years in the minors, Henderson earned his first promotion to MLB when the Milwaukee Brewers summoned him from Nashville on July 26, 2012, making his major league debut that night against theWashington Nationals, pitching one inning and striking out the first batter he faced,Roger Bernadina.[7] At Nashville, he was selected for theTriple-A All-Star Game with a 1.69 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 4 wins, and 15 saves as the Sounds'closer.[6]
In 2013, Henderson replaced struggling fellow Canadian-bornJohn Axford as the Brewers' closer. Henderson went 5–5 with a 2.70 ERA while collecting 28 saves in 32 opportunities.[4] Hisfastball had high velocity, reaching up to 98 mph (158 km/h), and he established hisslider as a strikeout pitch, which established him as a strikeout pitcher, finishing the season with an 11.3 K/9.[4]Francisco Rodríguez closed while Henderson was on thedisabled list (DL) with a hamstring strain, but Henderson regained the role after Rodriguez was traded to theBaltimore Orioles.
Henderson won the Brewers closer job for 2014 out ofspring training despite experiencing a loss in velocity. This was later revealed to be caused by right shoulder inflammation, and he went on the 15-day DL in April after compiling a 7.15 ERA in 14 games pitched.[4] Henderson was later transferred to the 60-day DL following a minor league rehab assignment,[6] and he ended up missing the rest of the season after having shoulder surgery in August.
Still seeking to reclaim his lost velocity after his 2014 shoulder surgery, Henderson was outrighted to the Triple-AColorado Springs Sky Sox on May 21, 2015. He spent over a month on the DL at Colorado Springs and elected to become a free agent after the season.[6]
Henderson signed a minor league contract with theNew York Mets for 2015 that included an invitation to spring training.[8] He made the Mets' roster forOpening Day in 2016 after a spring training in which he posted a 1.69 ERA with 13 strikeouts over10+2⁄3 innings beating outSean Gilmartin for the last spot in the Mets' bullpen.[9] On June 21, he was placed on the DL withtendinitis in his rightbiceps.[10] After 14 minor league rehab appearances, mostly with the Triple-ALas Vegas 51s, he was activated from the DL and added to the active roster on August 20.[11] He was outrighted to Triple-A after the season and elected free agency.[6][12]
Henderson signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs for 2017 with an invitation to spring training,[13] but he was released before the season's start.[14]
In 2018, Henderson signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.[15] He was assigned to the Double-ABiloxi Shuckers in the Southern League and placed on the 60-Day DL.[6] He was released after the season without having appeared in any games.[6]
During the 2018 season, while he was on the Biloxi 60-Day DL, Henderson assisted in Milwaukee's scouting department and served as thebullpen coach for Milwaukee's Class A Short SeasonHelena Brewers in thePioneer League.[16] In 2019, he was thepitching coach with the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.[16] Before the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, he was slated to be the pitching coach for the Brewers' Triple-ASan Antonio Missions.[16] Henderson began serving as pitching coach for the Brewers' new Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, in 2021.[16]
Henderson was promoted to Milwaukee to serve as theirbullpen coach beginning with the 2022 season.[17]
Henderson was a member of the gold medal winningCanadian national baseball team at the2011 Pan American Games.[18] In recognition of the victory, the team was inducted into theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.[19]
· Baseball Almanac
