Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks says "enough is enough" after receiving death threats on social media
Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks is bashing "disgusting" commenters on social media after he and his wife received death threats following Wednesday night's loss to the New York Mets.
Update: Hendriks spoke with reporters on Friday about the "deplorable" threats he received.
Hendriks was tagged with the loss in Wednesday night's 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Mets at Fenway Park. He came on in relief of starter Garrett Crochet in the sixth inning and struck out the first two batters he faced in a 1-1 game, but surrendered three hits without recording an out in the top of the seventh. All three runners scored and were charged to Hendriks over his two-thirds of an inning of work.
Some "fans" took their anger out on Hendriks and his family on social media, as the reliever took to Instagram Thursday morning to lash out at those who sent death threats his way. Hendriks, who missed all of 2024 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery after he missed the majority of the 2023 season while battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said the comments were "horrible and cruel."
"Just as an FYI: Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel. You need help," Hendriks posted to his Instagram story. "Leaving comments to tell me to commit suicide and how you wish I died of cancer is disgusting and vile.
"Maybe you should take a step back and reevaluate your life's purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their family," Hendriks continued. "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."
It's disappointing any player has to deal with such horrible comments, and Hendriks isn't going to stand for it.
Liam Hendriks frustrated with role on Red Sox
Hendriks is a three-time All-Star over his 14-year career, but is still trying to find his footing with Boston after missing all of last season. He's tossed 11.1 innings and has a 5.56 ERA over his 11 appearances out of the Boston bullpen in 2025.
Hendriks had eight straight scoreless appearances for the Red Sox at one point, but has allowed five runs over his last 1.1 innings. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that he has to be better, but voiced frustration over his undefined role out of the bullpen.
"No rhyme or reason. I have no idea," Hendriks told reporters at Fenway Park. "It's actually a source of contention that I've had with [the team] and I've had multiple conversations about.
"The more I pitch, the better I get. If the theory is you want the best me, throw me," he added, saying he wasn't seeking a trade from Boston.
Overall, the 36-year-old Hendriks has allowed seven runs off 10 hits and six walks while striking out 11 batters for the season.
