On the campus of Dartmouth College, bookish pitcher Kyle Hendricks fit in so well with the rest of the Ivy Leaguers in his freshman class that baseball coach Bob Whalen caught himself making a mistake he often sees others make.
"People make assumptions about Ivy League schools that, because they're elite academic institutions, they don't take their sports that seriously," Whalen recalled over the phone. "And one of the first times I met Kyle, I asked him one question: 'How important is baseball to you?' "
It seemed like a fair question at the time.
Chicago North Siders have come to know Hendricks as baseball Everyman pitching like nobody expected for the Cubs this unforgettable season, confusing hitters with a crafty changeup and insinuating himself into the debate over who is the ace of the best team in the majors.
But Whalen can be forgiven for initially wondering about baseball's role in Hendricks' future back when he majored in economics at Dartmouth after achieving a 4.0 grade-point average at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, Calif. Math always came easier than baseball for Hendricks, a studious natural athlete who learned well enough from his father, John, a golf pro, to once stay stroke for stroke at an event with pro golfer Rory Sabbatini as a teenager.
Showing maturity impossible to measure with sabermetrics, Hendricks safely chose the collegiate route in 2008 over the circuitous path offered by the Angels when they drafted him in the 39th round. Tall and lean with dark hair parted perfectly to the side, Hendricks the matriculating Dartmouth freshman looked more like Joe College than anybody's image of a future Cy Young Award candidate _ looks that can be deceiving.
"He answered my question by looking me right in the eyes, in a relaxed way, but he had that look and said, 'Coach, baseball is the most important thing to me,' " Whalen said. "You could tell he meant it. There was no false bravado, trying to make me think it was more important than it was. He comes across a humble, understated young man _ and he is.
"But make no mistake, Kyle's confident and competitive. And after he answered, I remember saying to myself, 'I think we have a keeper here.' "
Nine months later, Hendricks proved Whalen right. Dartmouth stood one win from its first Ivy League championship in 22 years and called on Hendricks, who threw seven shutout innings in a 10-0 victory.
Whalen, the son of longtime Pirates scout Chick Whalen, always told recruits major league teams will find talent no matter where they attended school. Hendricks, whose childhood dream of attending Stanford died when the Cardinal recruited a staff of power arms, offered Whalen evidence immediately by outthinking hitters more than overpowering them for the Big Green.
"Baseball always has been what I wanted to try to do with my life, and going to Dartmouth was part of that decision," Hendricks, 26, said in the Cubs dugout. "All Coach Whalen said was, 'You don't have a spot and you'll have to work like everybody else.' I always respected that."
When Hendricks found out last October he was pitching Game 2 in St. Louis in the National League Division Series, he invited Whalen. Hours after Hendricks' one-hit performance against the Cardinals on Monday, his finest major league start, he texted his college coach to arrange a conversation.
You might say Hendricks knows how to finish pitches.
"One of the most loyal kids I've ever had," Whalen said. "He's comfortable with who he is. I don't think he has a chip on his shoulder about his lack of velocity. Everybody talks about the lack of velocity, but all I know is every time I see him pitch, the ball is not put on the barrel."
