Red Sox's Liam Hendriks Makes Statement After Vile Online Comments From Fans

Major League Baseball is an extremely competitive entity, and players and fans all desperately want their teams to win. But a game is still only a game, and more people would do well to remember that.

The Boston Red Sox lost a 5-1 ballgame to the New York Mets on Wednesday night, and reliever Liam Hendriks picked up the loss. The 36-year-old righty, pitching for the first time in five days, allowed three earned runs in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie.

Hendriks, who missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery, has had some bumps in the road this year, including an injury setback that cost him the first three weeks of the season, and now a 5.56 ERA through 11 appearances. But there's absolutely no place in this sport or any other sport for hate comments or threats.

On Thursday, Hendriks posted an Instagram story (via Tyler Milliken on X) calling out fans who made threats against him and his wife after his outing against New York.

"Just as an FYI: Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and 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 and attacking players and their families. Whether you do it from your 'fake accounts' or are dumb enough to do it from your real account.

"I think I speak for all players who have had to deal with this in their career when I say: Enough is enough."

Hendriks was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2022, when he was still a member of the Chicago White Sox. He underwent successful chemotherapy and was declared cancer-free in April of 2023, returning to the mound and winning the Comeback Player of the Year award that season.

Everyone associated with the Red Sox wants Hendriks to pitch better than he did Wednesday night. The Aussie is known as one of the most fiery competitors in the sport, so no one wants it more than him.

But there should not be a single person in the universe frustrated enough over a Red Sox loss to resort to such vile measures. It's disgusting and should be punished if any of the perpetrators are identified.