Why Liam Hendriks Picked the White Sox: He's on the ‘Road to a Ring'

Why Hendriks picked the Sox: He's on the 'road to a ring' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Why did Liam Hendriks choose the White Sox?

Surely, the $54 million helped.

But the new South Side closer laid out numerous selling points during his introductory press conference Friday, pointing to what his new bullpen mate Aaron Bummer said earlier in the week, talking to Our Chuck Garfien on the White Sox Talk Podcast.

RELATED: Why the Sox chose to spend big on Hendriks and the bullpen

"You look at the pieces we’ve added, I would hope we’re an attractive destination for free agents," Bummer said. "I would hope that’s kind of a selling point. We have this window and it’s open, and who doesn’t want to be the closer of a World Series champion?

"I guarantee that’s (Hendriks') goal. He wants to be the last guy standing out there in Game 7, or whatever it is, of the World Series."

It didn't take long — before a single question was asked of him, even — for Hendriks to bring up championship aspirations Friday, suggesting a new slogan for the White Sox by repeating the phrase "road to a ring."

And it's gotten to the point in this rebuilding project where you don't really need to wonder why someone would want to play for the White Sox anymore. With Hendriks in the mix, an already talented roster is looking like the best team, on paper, in the American League. And, as Hendriks pointed out, the long-term contracts for so many of the players could keep the White Sox in a powerful position for years to come.

But committing four years of your life to a new organization and a new city is about more than just one thing — about more than 54 million rectangular green things — and Hendriks rattled off all the things that made the South Side his ideal landing spot.

"At the end of the season, my wife and I sat down and did a list of teams, and on paper the White Sox were the team that I wanted to go to," he said, "purely based on the fact that they've got a bunch of guys, I've heard nothing but good things in the clubhouse, which is a big thing for me, and also they've got the best defensive catcher in baseball in (Yasmani Grandal) behind the plate, which is also huge for a pitcher.

"Talking to guys on the team, talking to guys who have previously been on the team, it's a good group of guys. I'm excited about this.

"And also bringing in Tony La Russa, who is more of that old-school manager, where I like to consider myself somewhat of an old-school pitcher — I want to go out there every single day, and I want to get to 85, 90 innings out of the 'pen — that was a big thing for me, as well, knowing that there's not going to be the limitations on all that."

On more than one occasion during the press conference, Hendriks thanked the A's and their fans, mentioning how the A's clubhouse he was a part of in recent years had been the best of his 10-year big league career. So to hear him, again, multiple times, talk about the positive reviews he heard about the White Sox clubhouse culture makes sense.

But he opted to close his interview session in much the same way he began it: by talking about jewelry.

"I’m glad to be part of this team, and with Tony at the helm, it’s an exciting time for Chicago sports," he said. "If we can put it all together on the field and have that good vibe, and starting in a month we’ll take it from there and start the road to a ring."

Hendriks — like every newcomer and every player who's been a part of this rebuilding effort for the long haul — is here because he's up for a road trip.

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