On this day in 1981 Ben Hendrickson was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He was fresh out of high school when the Brewers took him in the tenth round of the 1999 draft, but didn't make his professional debut until 2000.
Hendrickson's prospect status rise really began in 2002, when he posted a 2.74 ERA across 27 starts in High-A and AA. Baseball America rated him as the #90 prospect in all of baseball before the 2003 season, and in 2004 he was carrying a 2.02 ERA in his first AAA season when the Brewers called him up to the majors.
Unfortunately, Hendrickson's stuff did not translate to the major league game. He made ten appearances for the Brewers in 2004 and got rocked, posting a 6.22 ERA and losing eight of the ten games he pitched in. The Brewers sent him back to the minors in 2005 and, with the exception of a few appearances in 2006, that was it for his major league career.
Thanks to the B-Ref Play Index for reminding me that Hendrickson turns 32 today. We'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- 1986-92 Brewer Dan Plesac, who turns 51. We covered his birthday in this space last year.
- 1982-83 Brewer Rob Picciolo, who turns 60.
- 1977 Brewer Steve Brye, who turns 64.