Jim Henderson spent 10 years in the minor leagues before getting called up to the major leagues in 2012 with the Milwaukee Brewers at age 30. He struggled with injuries in 2014 and was released, but signed with the Mets in 2015 after rehabbing in the minors. Henderson earned a spot on the Mets' Opening Day roster in 2016 through impressive spring training performances. He has become a key part of the Mets' bullpen through perseverance during many years in the minor leagues and rebounds from injury.

1. T
he virtue of patience is praise
that baseball minds normally
reserve for the men who step
into the batter’s box. Mets
reliever Jim Henderson is living proof
that the men on the mound are more
than capable of having a similar
resolve.
After entering professional baseball
in 2003 with the Montreal Expos
organization, Henderson spent 10 years
in the minor leagues before getting his
promotion in 2012 as a member of the
Milwaukee Brewers.
Nine years is a long time for a
substantial promotion in any field,
let alone baseball. Yet Henderson
continued to pitch in the minors and
had his doubts about where his future
in the sport was headed. “There were
about three or four years there where
I was not certain I would be coming
back on even any type of minor league
deals,” explains Henderson. “Even in
that 10th year, the club (Milwaukee)
didn’t bring me back with a roster spot
and they told me that after our first road
trip, they would try to find me a trade or
I would be released.”
During the 2012 season, Henderson
rose through the ranks, even making
a Triple-A All-Star team, and mid-summer,
his minor league manager Mike Guerrero
called a team meeting, which raised the
reliever’s suspicions. “He rarely used to
call team meetings,” mentions the reliever.
“Coach Guerrero mentioned that there
were people complaining about a tall
Canadian in the bullpen, which had to be
me, but I knew something wasn’t right.
He told me in front of the entire team that
I was getting the call to the big leagues,
which was a really a cool moment.”
Henderson made his big league debut
with the Brewers on July 26, 2012, striking
out a 2016 Spring Training teammate,
Roger Bernadina. Much like how he
spent his time in the minors, Henderson
continued to stay patient and just
approach each outing the same, focusing
on the outs he needed to get to help his
team win.
Then something not normally reserved
for a 30-year old reliever with under a year
of service time happened to Henderson.
He was asked to close. He responded
by saving his first nine opportunities and
finishing the season with 28 saves for
the Brewers.
“It was pretty crazy, because I always
just focused on getting those three outs
and when I was asked to close, I kept the
HENDERSON’S JOURNEY TO THE MAJORS
AND BACK DISPLAYS HIS PERSEVERANCE
BY PHIL BAUSK
127M E T S M A G A Z I N E M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 6
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same mindset,” exclaims Henderson.
“As more time went on I grew into the
role, but still knew it was all about
getting those outs to give my team
the win.”
As quickly as things started coming
up positive for Henderson, they soured
almost as fast in 2014 when he started
to experience a gradual pain in his
throwing shoulder. He struggled to start
the season and was eventually placed
on the 60-day Disabled List after
having surgery in August.
He described the pain in his shoulder
as “gradual,” and as time went on
he “couldn’t get loose in the bullpen
and was scratching my head as to
the velocity concerns.” Henderson
eventually lost the closer’s job in
Milwaukee and it came to a point where
he had to shut it down.
Eventually, things hit a new low when
he was outrighted off the Brewers’
roster and started the 2015 season
rehabbing in their minor league system.
During his rehab with the Triple-A
Nashville Sounds, Henderson had an
outing that reminded him how much of a grind getting back
to the majors was going to be for the veteran.
On May 6, 2015, he left his start against the Memphis
Redbirds after 1.1 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs.
He walked five batters, something he hadn’t done since 2008
while with the Iowa Cubs.
“I had roughly four or five months to try and get back from
this injury, because in this league, if you miss too much time
you could become irrelevant,” says Henderson.
For him, this rehab experience was going to be a defining
moment for the future of his professional baseball career.
He admits, “Right before I was placed on the minor league
disabled list later that season, I started wondering if this was
going to be it.”
As the year progressed, so too did his health. His velocity
started to return, along with his confidence, which allowed
him to do something he has done most of his baseball life,
getting those crucial three outs.
Henderson finished 2015 strong and was signed by the
Mets to a minor league contract on December 3, 2015. He
proceeded to have an impressive spring, putting together a
1.69 ERA in 10.2 innings of work, helping to earn himself an
Opening Day roster spot with the club.
“I had to work on my mechanics this spring and got a lot of
help from Dan Warthen, but I was just focused on doing my
job and fighting for one as well,” is how Henderson explains
his spring training experience. “Honestly, I was probably
more nervous throwing my first pitch of
the spring than I was during the
regular season.”
It was the second chance that most
minor-league journeyman dream of and
Henderson is doing his part as a key
cog in the Mets bullpen this season.
“I just do what I can to get those three
outs and getting another opportunity in
the majors is the best place I can show
people that,” expresses the veteran.
Now 33, Henderson’s unique
journey around professional baseball
is taking a backseat to his task at hand.
Henderson takes from his battles with
adversity, helping him fit seamlessly
into a Mets team that understands the
value of unity and how to fight for a win
night-in and night-out.
“This group of guys showed me a lot
this spring,” says Henderson. “I am here
to do my job and still believe I have a lot
more to give.” So do the Mets, as well
as the Flushing faithful. ■
...IN THIS
LEAGUE,
IF YOU MISS
TOO MUCH
TIME YOU
COULD
BECOME
IRRELEVANT
...IN THIS...IN THIS
BECOME
IRRELEVANT
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