Mark Hendrickson

Mark Allan Hendrickson (born June 23, 1974) is an American former baseball and basketball player.

Hendrickson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and played power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

He is one of just 13 athletes to play in both MLB and the NBA.

He is a former pitching coach for the Aberdeen IronBirds.

Hendrickson is notable for his size, at 6 ft. Hendrickson was a ground ball pitcher, with a fastball in the high 80s and a decent 12–6 Curveball.

Hendrickson also had a 10–4 slider, but his slider only reached the high 70s to low 80s.

Thus, when Hendrickson had success, it was due to control, movement, and location and not power.

Hendrickson was a three-sport standout in tennis, basketball, and baseball at Mount Vernon High School in the state of Washington.

During his sophomore year, he was a member of the state championship baseball team and the runner-up state basketball team.

He was a member of the state championship basketball team during his junior year, where he earned recognition as the co-MVP of the tournament for his play.

He was also named team captain, team MVP, and named to the All-Area and All-State teams.

A tennis state qualifier, Hendrickson was also named to the baseball All-Area team.

As a senior, Hendrickson led the Bulldogs to a second basketball championship.

He was team captain, team MVP, All-Area, All-State, and the state basketball tournament MVP.

For his performance on the basketball court, he was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year.

In addition to his remarkable basketball play, he was able to help his team win the state championship in baseball, while also qualifying for state in tennis.

He was named the Skagit Valley Herald Athlete of the Year both his junior and senior years.

Hendrickson starred in both basketball and baseball at Washington State University.

In basketball, he was a two-time selection to the All-Pac-10 first team and he ranks second in Washington State history in rebounds.

He averaged 13.9 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game during his four years at Washington State.

He was also selected to All-Conference teams in baseball.

The first time Hendrickson was drafted by a baseball team was right after high school when he was selected in the 13th round of the 1992 draft by the Atlanta Braves, but chose to attend college instead.

He was also drafted, but did not sign, by the San Diego Padres in the 21st round of the 1993 draft, by the Atlanta Braves again in the 32nd round of the 1994 draft, by the Detroit Tigers in the 16th round of the 1995 draft, and by the Texas Rangers in the 19th round of the 1996 draft.

Upon his college graduation he was selected by the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (31st overall pick) of the 1996 draft and MLB's Toronto Blue Jays (20th round) of the 1997 draft.

Hendrickson elected to play basketball and joined the Philadelphia 76ers, playing in 29 games in the 1996–97 NBA season, averaging 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game.

He signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings on December 23, 1997, appearing in 48 games, averaging 15.4 minutes, 3.4 points and 3.0 rebounds as a reserve player.

Unsigned by the NBA prior to the 1998 season, he signed with the La Crosse Bobcats of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) where he played most of the season.

He was picked up by the New Jersey Nets for a couple of brief stints during the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons and by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 1999–2000 season.

Frustrated by his inability to get more consistent work, he decided to give up on basketball and concentrate on baseball.

During his NBA career Hendrickson appeared in 114 games, and recorded 381 points and 316 rebounds.

He continued to play semi-pro baseball in the offseason (in York, Pennsylvania) while he was playing basketball and eventually signed with the Blue Jays on May 22, 1998, electing to play minor league baseball during the summer while continuing his basketball career.

During this period, he pitched for the Blue Jays Single-A affiliate in Dunedin in 1998 (4–3, 2.37 ERA, 16 games, 5 starts) and the Double-A Tennessee Smokies in 1999 (2–7, 6.63 ERA, 12 games, 11 starts).

In 2000, after abandoning basketball and turning to baseball full-time, he had to refocus his energies on his baseball career.

"I was always around baseball," he commented, "but what a lot of people don't realize, and what I didn't realize is that I didn't put in the time and dedication into knowing how to get my arm into shape, how to take care of it, and how to pitch on a regular basis."

He started off the 2000 season back at Dunedin (2–2, 5.61 ERA, 12 starts, one complete game), but was promoted to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies (3–1, 3.63 ERA, six starts).

He spent the next two seasons with the Triple-A SkyChiefs (2–9, 4.66 ERA, 38 games, six starts in 2001; 7–5, 3.52 ERA, 14 starts in 2002).

Hendrickson made his major league debut for the Blue Jays on August 6, 2002, against the Seattle Mariners as a reliever.

It was a rather bleak first appearance.

He worked 1⁄3 of an inning and allowed 5 runs.

The Jays stuck with him and he made his first career start on September 7 against the Boston Red Sox, pitching 5 scoreless innings in a game the Jays lost 4–1.