Red Sox right-hander Liam Hendriks said he and his wife received death threats following Boston’s recent home loss to the New York Mets.
“Just as an FYI: Threats against me and my wife’s life are horrible and cruel. You need help,” the reliever wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Leaving comments and telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile.”
Hendriks, who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, allowed three straight singles in relief of starter Garrett Crochet in the sixth inning of Boston’s 5-1 loss to New York on Wednesday. He permitted three runs in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss.
“Maybe you should step back and reevaluate your life’s purpose before hiding behind a screen and attacking players and their families,” Hendriks posted. “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.”
His comments come on the heels of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran recently revealing that a fan near the dugout in Cleveland said something “inappropriate” after he flied out during a game against the Guardians. That fan was ejected from the game.
That comment came days removed Duran opening up about his 2022 attempted suicide and depression in an eight-part Netflix docuseries, “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted on Friday that he can empathize with his players. Cora came under fire on social media after he opted to miss Monday’s game against the Mets on the heels of attending his daughter’s graduation from Boston College.
“We’re in the public eye and people feel they have the right to say whatever they want,” Cora said. “Sometimes, it comes from real people. Other times, it comes from burner accounts … fake people. It puts everyone in a tough spot.”
Hendriks, 36, is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA in 11 relief appearances this season.
A three-time All-Star and American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2023, Hendriks owns a 33-35 record with 116 saves and a 3.85 ERA in 487 career appearances (44 starts) with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, then-Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
