On December 13, 2025, Elrod Hendricks was one of 13 inductees into the Puerto Rico (PR) Pro Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF). He was born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), on December 22, 1940, and passed away in Glen Burnie, Maryland, on December 21, 2005, one day short of his 65th birthday, and clouted 105 PR Winter League (PRWL) HR, third-best in league history, as a Native. All USVI-born players played as PRWL Natives. Earl Weaver managed him, 1966-68; Frank Robinson for six seasons, 1968-1971 and 1972-75, totaling eight of Hendricks’s 16 Santurce seasons.

Some “Imports” (mostly Stateside players) who were Hendricks’s Baltimore and Santurce teammates were Don Baylor, Paul Blair, Wally Bunker, Mike Cuéllar, Jerry DaVanon, Roger Freed, Larry Haney, Jim Hardin, Reggie Jackson, Davey Johnson, Dave Leonhard, Dave May, Jim Palmer, and Tom Phoebus. Some other PRWL Orioles from the 1960s and 1970s were Don Buford, Rich Coggins, Rick Dempsey, Pat Dobson, Scott McGregor, Dave McNally, Dennis Martínez, Eddie Murray, and Boog Powell. (Cuéllar pitched for 1973-74 Santurce.)

PR Pro Baseball 2025 HOF Class

Five of 13 inductees were imports (Luke Easter, Billy Byrd, Cuban Fernando Díaz Pedroso, Roy Partlow, and Freed). Hendricks was joined by natives Luis Rafael Cabrera, Wito Conde, Iván de Jesús Sr., Luis “Wicho” Figueroa, Carmelo Martínez, plus Juan “Yuyo” González (Ponce Lions team owner, 1960s/1970s), and pioneer Amos Iglesias Van Pelt—founder of PR baseball circa 1896-1898. González’s Ponce tenure coincided with Hendricks’s 1960-61 through 1977-78 PRWL playing career with Santurce, except for 1964-65 and 1971-72.

Hendricks’s 1960-61 PRWL Debut

Hendricks roomed with USVI native Horace Clarke at the San Juan YMCA, 1960-62. Clarke was with the San Juan (SJ) Senators, Santurce’s arch-rival. The YMCA was a few bus stops from Sixto Escobar Stadium, home to SJ and Santurce. Clarke, from St. Croix, recalled his friendship with Hendricks and the importance of the PRWL: “Most of the players from the USVI who got to the big leagues in those earlier years were fortunate to have been allowed to play as natives. That wasn’t a league to really develop players; they played most of the veteran players, with the hope to win.”

Valmy Thomas was the Crabbers’ regular catcher for 10 seasons (1950-1960) when Hendricks was signed. Juan Pizarro was Santurce’s ace. “It was a thrill to catch Pizarro,” recalled Hendricks. “I was his catcher in my first [1960-61] game. He made my whole stay a lot easier.” Hendricks caught Bob Gibson in Santurce’s 1961-62 title season. “Pizarro [154 SO] and Gibson [142 SO] were a great one-two punch [in 1961-62],” noted Hendricks, who went 10-for-36 in 1960-61, and 37-for-150, with six HR, 1961-62.

Hendricks’s First Two PRWL Titles (1961-62 and 1966-67)

Santurce (42-38) finished third of five teams, but won the semi-finals and finals, before going 8-1 in the February 6-14, 1962 Inter-American Series at Escobar. They bested the 5-4 Caracas Lions, 4-5 Mayagüez Indios, and 1-8 Marlboro Smokers in the round-robin. Hendricks caught fireballer Gibson in Game Nine, a 5-4, 11-inning win, and hit a solo HR. Luis Tiant took the loss for Mayagüez. Vern Benson, a St. Louis Cardinals coach, managed Santurce, featuring Orlando Cepeda.

Santurce (41-28) took top honors in 1964-65 sans Hendricks. Jesse Gonder, a 1964 New York Mets backstop, was the Crabbers’ catcher. In 1966-67, Santurce—managed by Earl Weaver—finished second (45-26), before sweeping the Arecibo Wolves in the semis (4 games to none) and topping Ponce, 4 games-to-2, on a game-winning, three-run HR by Paul Blair at the Lions’ Den, on February 1, 1967. Larry Haney did most of the catching, but Hendricks impressed Weaver with six HR in 52 AB, and a .615 SLG.

“That [1966-67] championship was just like winning any other championship, including the World Series,” affirmed Weaver. “Puerto Rico’s baseball fans were outstanding and similar to those who follow the Yankees or Mets.”

The 47-22 Crabbers (1967-68) featured Hendricks’s 12 HR and .508 SLG for Weaver, who benefited from managing Santurce. Orioles executive Harry Dalton, Orioles’ 1966-1971 GM, coordinated the Santurce-Baltimore working agreement with Hiram Cuevas, Crabbers’ owner, 1966-1971 seasons. Dalton was the California Angels GM (1972-1977) when Paul Hartzell was drafted by the Halos in 1975.

Frank Robinson Takes Over and Jim Palmer’s No-Hitter

Frank Robinson managed Hendricks in 1968-69, in the latter’s MVP season: .302 BA, 12 HR, and 35 RBI, for the 49-20 Crabbers—most regular season wins-best winning PCT (.710) in franchise history. Fourth-place SJ nipped Santurce, four games to three, in the semis. On Hendricks’s 28^th birthday, December 22, 1968, he caught Jim Palmer’s seven-inning no-hitter at Mayagüez, a 4-0 win. All four runs came in the first, keyed by Hendricks’s two-run single off starter Ozzie Virgil Sr. The 85-minute contest featured 10 SO and three BB by Palmer, who made a successful 1969 Orioles comeback, including an August 13 no-hitter versus Oakland with Hendricks catching. Hendricks also caught Fred Beene’s January 17, 1970, nine-inning no-hitter against Arecibo.

In 1970-71, Reggie Jackson’s 20 HR (221 AB) for Santurce led the loop. Santurce (37-32) finished third, won the playoffs, and represented PR in the February 1971 Caribbean Series (CS) at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Don Baylor (9 HR, 30 RBI, 231 AB) was Santurce’s CF, with Roger Freed (LF) and Reggie (RF). Freed (9 HR, 165 AB), Tony Pérez (8 HR, 24 RBI, 115 AB), and Hendricks (8 HR, 34 RBI, 219 AB) furnished power.

Hendricks’s 12 HR and 38 RBI paced 1972-73 Santurce (45-25) to the crown and CS in Caracas, Venezuela. Jerry DaVanon loved the chemistry, as did Ron Cey and Hendricks. A sad note was the passing of Roberto Clemente on December 31, 1972. Hendricks disagreed with a January 2, 1973, game being played. “Our owner wanted us to go out and play, and that’s when I started thinking and doing some soul searching. ‘Where is the heart?’ Hendricks asked himself. “Here is an island where the world of baseball lost one of its best players. We lost a great human being, someone who meant a lot to baseball, PR, and the world.”

Santurce Crabbers Ace Paul Hartzell (8-2, 2.92 ERA) Remembers Elrod

On November 17, 1976, starter and winning pitcher Paul Hartzell witnessed Hendricks’s 100^th Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) career HR, in Santurce’s 13-2 romp over Caguas and 1969 AL Cy Young Winner Mike Cuéllar. Caguas (40-20) finished first, with a strong rotation: Cuéllar, Dennis Martínez, Scott McGregor, Mike Krukow, and Eduardo “Volanta” Rodríguez. Hartzell sent the author an in-depth e-mail on Sunday, December 21, 2025—the 20^th anniversary of Elrod’s passing—on what Hendricks meant to him.

Some people come into your baseball life at precisely the right time. Elrod Hendricks was one of those people for me. I first came to know Elrod during the 1976–77 season with Santurce in the Puerto Rico Winter League. He was our catcher, and from the start, it was clear that he was much more than the guy putting down the signs. Elrod knew hitters. He studied opposing lineups, understood tendencies, and had a quiet, steady way of sharing information that made you feel prepared every time you took the mound.

For a pitcher trying to establish himself, that kind of presence matters. Elrod always wanted to help me be better — not by talking too much, but by talking baseball. He had a deep respect for the game and for the craft of pitching, and it showed in the way he worked with me inning to inning. That Santurce team was special. In 1976, Elrod and Sandy Alomar Sr. had just come off their time with the Yankees, and they welcomed me into the clubhouse in a way I never forgot. They helped me acclimate — not just to winter ball, but to playing for one of the best teams in the league, in front of passionate fans who knew the game as well as anyone.

Years later, baseball brought Elrod back into my life from the other side of the fence. When I signed with Baltimore in 1980, Elrod had transitioned into coaching with the Orioles, and his primary responsibility was the bullpen. By then, he had just retired as a player, but you’d never know it — he was fully immersed in the game. He was always talking baseball, always observing, always engaged. The perspective he brought as a former catcher was invaluable, especially to pitchers trying to navigate big-league situations.

What struck me most was the continuity. At the beginning of my career, Elrod was there helping me think my way through hitters. At the later stages, he was there again — this time helping manage the bullpen, sharing insights, and reinforcing the importance of preparation and awareness.

Elrod Hendricks was a wonderful teammate, a trusted baseball mind, and a genuinely good man. His influence on me, both early and late in my career, was meaningful — and lasting. I’m grateful for the time we spent together on the field, and I’m glad to see his contributions being remembered and honored with his induction into the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. He deserves it.

Table I highlights Hendricks’s Santurce hitting stats.

Table I: Elrod Hendricks’s Santurce Hitting Stats

>Led league. Sources: https://beisbol101.com/jugador/elrod-hendricks/ and Tom Van Hyning.

Hendricks Among Top PRWL Career HR Hitters

Bob Thurman clubbed 120 HR in 12 seasons to José “Cheo” Cruz’s 119 in 21 PRWL campaigns. Hendricks’s 105 HR came in 16 seasons. Héctor Villanueva’s 105 took 19 winters. Santurce’s Willard Brown’s 101 were in 10 seasons. They remain the Top Five All-Time PRWL HR sluggers. IF Hendricks played in 1964-65 and 1971-72, he probably cracked 10 HR in 1971-72 and six HR in 1964-65. Another six HR in 1966-67 are likely since he slugged six in just 52 AB.

Post Script

Jim Rivera, Caguas’s 1963-64 player-manager, noticed Hendricks and managed him with Mexico’s Jalisco Charros. Hendricks: “When I was out of [summer] baseball, William de Jesús—my closest friend with Santurce—was in Mexico. Jalisco needed a player, and he recommended me to ‘Jungle Jim’ Rivera, Jalisco’s manager. He gave me the chance to play again. That’s when my career turned around.” Hendricks’s 1964-67 Jalisco summer seasons included a .316 BA, 41 HR, and 112 RBI in 1967, an eye-opener for Harry Dalton and Earl Weaver, followed by a solid 1967-68 Crabbers campaign.

Special thanks and appreciation to Elrod Hendricks, Paul Hartzell, Horace Clarke, Jim Rivera, Frank Robinson, and Earl Weaver. Jorge Colón Delgado did the editing and photo placements.