Mark Hendrickson, 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee #82

I kind of love the bizarre symbiotic relationship the Orioles have had with journeyman Mark Hendrickson since 2009. They signed the 6'9" ex-Blue Jay/Devil Ray/Dodger/Marlin (and 76er/King/Net/Cavalier...he's a two-sport journeyman!) when Andy MacPhail was still bridging the gap to the future with baling wire and Silly Putty. He spent two seasons and change in Baltimore, largely as a reliever, with middling results: 8-11, 4.80 ERA, 92 ERA+, 1.5 WHIP in 191.1 innings. The O's released him in September 2011, and he wound up sitting out the following season.

But he had a good rapport with manager Buck Showalter, and the Birds were close to his home in York, PA, so he found his way back into the organization in 2013 following a tryout. Mark had developed a new sidearm delivery at Showalter's urging, and it was good enough to earn him a minor-league deal. Though he pitched well at AAA Norfolk (3.06 ERA, 1.06 WHIP in 40 relief appearances), the Orioles did not call him up during the season. They expressed interest in retaining him as a coach, but not as a pitcher, so he went back to York, suiting up in 2014 for the Atlantic League's Revolution club. He further honed his sidearm style and was even better, putting up a 1.54 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and nine saves for the Revs.

That brings us to the present, as the now-40-year-old Hendrickson is throwing submarine-style and has once again tried out for Buck and the Birds. According to Roch Kubatko, the team is "leaning toward" inviting him to spring training. They're still interested in acquiring his services as a pitching coach, when (or maybe if) he does decide to retire. I'll always root for an underdog, and there are few players with stories as unusual as Mark Hendrickson's. But I've almost overlooked the newest twist: Mark's also a new grandfather. Viva Mark Hendrickson.

Mark Hendrickson, 2009 Topps #378

Six times this season, Mark Hendrickson and Kam Mickolio have both pitched in relief for the Orioles in the same game. Both are 6'9", and I'd have to imagine that they hold some kind of quirky, superficial record for the tallest bullpen tandem in major league history. Hendrickson in particular is quite a sight when he's on the mound, as he's pretty thin and most of his height seems to be in his legs. You may or may not know that Hendo was a pretty good college basketball player at Washington State University. He's the second-best rebounder all-time in Cougar history, a two-time All-Pac-10 first-teamer, and averaged 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Mark in the second round (31st overall) in 1997, and he played for four seasons in the NBA with the Sixers, the Nets, the Kings, and the Cavaliers, averaging 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Of course, he was scraping by in basketball, so at that point he turned to baseball. Eight seasons in the big leagues later, he's the second-tallest pitcher to ever win 50 career games (the first is that Randy Johnson guy, who stands 6'10"). My favorite story about Hendo is as follows: last season, he pitched with the Marlins. Some of his teammates found a Michael Jordan poster that pictured His Airness dunking over none other than Mark Hendrickson. Needless to say, that poster hung in the Florida clubhouse all season long!

Picture courtesy of The Fightins

Frankly, I give Mark a lot of credit. As others have pointed out, he played at the highest professional level in baseball and basketball. MJ topped out at AA Birmingham during his short-lived try at baseball.