Chicago White Sox fans emotional as Liam Hendriks is set to return on Monday after battling with cancer: "A true inspiration"
Not much can step in the way of Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, and cancer can be added to that list. The hard-throwing closer beat cancer and will be activated on Monday.
Hendriks started undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January. It will truly be a magical moment when Hendriks gets the ball for the first time this season.
Your journey is an inspiration. We couldn’t be more proud.
Welcome back, Liam Hendriks! https://t.co/fbQ6jwJsks
Hendriks underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which can take a lot out of someone. Despite this, Hendriks stayed active, throwing bullpens in Arizona.
His last day of chemotherapy was April 3rd. Since then, he has been on rehabbing in the minors. He feels great, and it wouldn't be surprising if he hasn't skipped a beat.
"A true inspiration. Welcome back Liam!" one fan tweeted.
a true inspiration welcome back liam! twitter.com/whitesox/statu…
"A truly amazing moment, and an absolutely inspirational Story! See you all there Monday," tweeted another.
A truly amazing moment, and an absolutely inspirational story!! See you all there Monday night! twitter.com/whitesox/statu…
way to go Liam!!@whitesox So damn proud to call him my teams closer💚way to go Liam!!
@whitesox Goosebumps
Chicago White Sox fans can't wait to see Liam Hendriks on the bump again. When he shared his diagnosis, fans weren't sure if he would play at all this season.
@whitesox KING
@whitesox Great to have you back in baseball, from a tigers fan
@whitesox @MLB Y’all made me cry! Welcome back Liam, love from your friends at the @Mets !
@whitesox Absolutely amazing, so excited to see Liam back after all he's gone through
@whitesox LETS GOOOOOOO!! So happy for him! Much Love from an Astros Fan! 🧡💚
It's not just White Sox fans who are happy to see Hendriks return. Fans of basebll in general have reached out on Twitter to welcome back the Australian flamethrower.
Can Liam Hendriks' comeback inspire the Chicago White Sox to turn it around?
The Chicago White Sox have been one of the more disappointing teams this season. They fell flat on their face to start the year, giving themselves a huge hole to climb out of.
Going into the new week, Chicago is fourth in the American League Central. They're six games behind the division-leading Minnesota Twins with their 22-33 record.
This is a far more talented team than they have shown, but injuries are killing them, much like last year. Slugger Eloy Jimenez spent some time on the IL with an appendectomy. He's on his rehab stint and should return to the team soon.
Another player saw some time on the IL, and that was Yoan Moncada. Moncada was fighting a back issue, which was unfortunate because he started the season off great at the plate.
As key players are getting healthy and returning to the roster, the White Sox should turn things around. They have a lineup full of hitters who can change the game and a pitching staff who can potentially be dangerous.
If the White Sox want to turn things around, it has to start this week.