Mark Hendrickson, now a grandfather, wants a shot with Orioles

Granpda isn’t ready to let the kids have all the fun just yet.

Mark Hendrickson, who recently became a grandfather, is pining for one more chance to pitch in the major leagues.

At 40 years old he’s attempting a comeback with the Orioles, telling Roch Kubatko of MASN.com he feels he still has something to prove:

I still have the desire. To me, it’s unfinished business. The last two years, I’ve come a long way in my delivery and I’m a better pitcher now than I’ve been in a long time. I’m just trying to perfect a new delivery. That’s what I’m doing, and that’s why I’m here

Hendrickson has already had a fascinating professional sports career. The 6-foot-9 left-hander didn’t make his big league debut until 2002 because from 1996 to 2000 he was playing in the NBA. He has 10 years of experience pitching in the majors, but his last appearance came with Baltimore back in 2011.

After spending 2013 in the Orioles’ minor league system, he played independant ball last season for the York Revolution. With the Revolution he posted a 1.54 ERA in 55 appearances. Using a sidearm delivery
suggested to him by Baltimore manager Buck Showalter, Hendrickson reached out to Showalter recently and asked him for a tryout.

He threw in front of members of the Orioles staff on Monday and will take the mound again on Wednesday. It’s Hendrickson’s opportunity, maybe his last one, to show what he can do. If he impresses, he could earn an invite to spring training.

“I’m a grandfather, for goodness sake, and that was two months ago,” Hendrickson said. “Now there’s extra motivation. How many active grandfathers have been in the big leagues? Well, that right there is motivation in itself.”

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Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr