Postseason hero Dave ‘Hendu’ Henderson dies at 57

Former major league outfielder Dave Henderson, who was best remembered for his postseason heroics with the Boston Red Sox during the 1986 ALCS, died Sunday at the age 57.

Affectionately nicknamed ‘Hendu’ by his friends and teammates, Henderson played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, wearing the uniforms of the Seattle Mariners, Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s and Kansas City Royals. Henderson also worked as a color commentator on Mariners radio and television broadcasts from 1997-2006. In 2011, he returned to the Mariners’ radio booth as part-time announcer following the death of Dave Niehaus.

According to the USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Henderson had recently been in ill health, undergoing a kidney transplant one month ago.

Dave Henderson, the gregarious man known as Hendu, died Sunday, one month after getting a kidney transplant. He will be tremendously missed.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 27, 2015

Hendu died early this morning, according to friends and family. He was 57

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 27, 2015

Henderson’s two-out, two-strike home run in the top of the ninth inning in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS was the stuff legends are made of. Trailing 5-4 in the game and down three games to one in the series, Henderson’s home run gave Boston a fighting chance. He would later deliver the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, which sent the series back to Boston. The Red Sox would go on to win the series in seven games before falling to the New York Mets in a memorable World Series.

Henderson would appear in four World Series during his career, including three straight with the Oakland A’s from 1988-90. It was there Henderson won his lone championship during the 1989 season, as Oakland swept the San Francisco Giants. Henderson was a big contributor again, launching two home runs in Oakland’s Game 3 victory.

For his career, Henderson was a .298/.376/.570 hitter over 36 postseason games, showing he had a knack for coming through when his team needed him most.

Dave Henderson will definitely be missed, but will always be remembered fondly by those who knew him and watched him play.

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