Brad Hennessey

American baseball player (born 1980)

Brad Martin Hennessey (born February 7, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants. He stands 6 feet (2 m) tall and weighs He played for the Giants from 2004 to 2008 and threw five pitches: a fastball, a slider, a changeup, a curveball, and a cutter. Hennessey attended Youngstown State University and set several school records during his tenure with the team. In 2001, he was selected by the Giants in the first round of the draft. He did not pitch in 2002 because of surgery to remove a non cancerous tumor from his back. In 2004, he reached the major leagues for the first time. He spent much of the 2005 season in the major leagues, making 21 starts and posting a 4.64 earned run average (ERA). In 2006, Hennessey spent time both in the Giants' starting rotation and the bullpen. He became a relief pitcher full time in 2007, spending the entire season in the majors and closing for the Giants part of the time. After posting a 7.81 ERA with the Giants in 2008, Hennessey was outrighted to the minors; he refused the assignment and became a free agent. He attempted to pitch for the Baltimore Orioles in 2009 but was unable due to injury. Hennessey then spent parts of 2010 and 2011 in the minor leagues.

Hennessey was born on February 7, 1980, in Toledo, Ohio. In 1997, he graduated from Whitmer High School, where he was named a USA Today honorable mention All American and won All Ohio honors for his baseball playing. He went to Youngstown State University, where he played shortstop and pitched until his senior year, when he converted exclusively to pitching. As a senior, he had a 6–5 record and a 4.06 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games while setting school single season records for innings pitched (88 2/3) and strikeouts (126). That year, he was named the Mid Continent Conference co Pitcher of the Year.

Hennessey was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round (21st overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career with the Salem Keizer Volcanoes of the Single A short season Northwest League, where he had a 1–0 record, a 2.38 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 34 innings pitched in nine starts. That year, Salem Keizer won the Northwest League championship. While pitching in an instructional league later that year, Hennessey began experiencing soreness that was initially attributed to a muscle strain but turned out to be a non cancerous tumor in his back. He had it removed in February 2002, but it grew back later that season, and he missed the entire year while undergoing a second surgery. Hennessey began 2003 in extended spring training but pitched for the Hagerstown Suns of the Single A South Atlantic League from June 14 to the end of the season. He made his debut on August 7 against Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs, who was looking for his 300th win. Hennessey allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss in the 8–4 defeat, becoming the first pitcher to lose his debut to a pitcher who won his 300th game since 1901, when Cy Young defeated John McPherson. In his next start, against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 13, he allowed four unearned runs in five innings, got his first career hit (against Brian Powell), and earned his first career win in a 16–6 victory. After another start, he was sent to Fresno on August 18 when Wayne Franklin returned from the disabled list, but he was called up on August 28 when David Aardsma was demoted. On September 16, he threw a season high seven shutout innings in a 4–0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Hennessey finished the season with a 2–2 record, a 4.98 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and 34 1/3 innings pitched in seven starts. After the game, he was returned to Fresno to make room for Jeremy Accardo on the roster, but he was called up on May 12 to replace the injured Jason Schmidt in the rotation. He made four starts on this stint; after he gave up six runs in two innings in a 6–5 loss to the Phillies on June 2, he was replaced in the rotation by Jeff Fassero and returned to Fresno. On July 9, he was called up to rejoin the Giants' rotation as Kirk Rueter was demoted to the bullpen. Facing the St. Louis Cardinals that day, he pitched seven shutout innings and earned the win in the Giants' 2–0 victory. For the rest of the year, he remained in the Giants' rotation. In a start against the Brewers on July 28, Hennessey pitched 7 shutout innings, striking out seven and allowing only three hits, and won the game 3–0. The three runs came on a home run by Hennessey himself against Víctor Santos. He allowed one run over a career high 7 2/3 innings on September 21 and hit a home run against John Patterson as he defeated the Washington Nationals 5–1. He ended up making 21 starts for the Giants, tallying a 5–8 record, a 4.64 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 52 walks in 118 1/3 innings pitched. With Fresno, he had a 4–2 record, a 5.19 ERA, 46 strikeouts, 22 walks, and 67 2/3 innings pitched. Hennessey struggled and began the season with the Grizzlies as Wright won the job. Hennessey was called up on April 16 due to an injury to Noah Lowry. After posting a 2–1 record and a 3.33 ERA, he was sent to the bullpen upon Lowry's return to the starting rotation on May 9, though Hennessey was frequently called upon to make spot starts. He got his first career save on June 5, pitching the final four innings of the Giants' 14–2 victory over the Florida Marlins. On August 11, Giants' manager Felipe Alou announced that Hennessey would replace the struggling Wright in the rotation. In his first start since rejoining the rotation on August 14, he threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, earning the win in a 1–0 victory over the San Diego Padres. He posted an 8.62 ERA over his next four starts and returned to the bullpen when Lowry returned from an injury in September, though he made one more start before the end of the year. In 34 games (12 starts), Hennessey had a 5–6 record, a 4.26 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and 42 walks in 99 1/3 innings pitched. From June 30 to August 31, he converted saves in 14 straight save opportunities, the longest streak by a Giant since Robb Nen had a 28 save streak in 2000; overall, Hennessey converted 17 out of 19 saves from May 30 to August 31. In 2007, he went 4–5 and had a 3.42 ERA and 19 saves (out of 24 opportunities). After he posted a 12.94 in his first 11 games of the season, he got sent down to the minors on May 6 to make room for Billy Sadler. Used as a starter at Fresno, Hennessey posted a 7–10 record, a 4.83 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 37 walks, and 132 1/3 innings pitched in 21 starts. After initially pitching out of the bullpen, he was moved to the rotation to replace Correia. On September 15, he threw the only complete game of his career, allowing three runs in eight innings in a 3–1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. In 17 games (four starts), he had a 1–2 record, a 7.81 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 40 1/3 innings pitched.

Hennessey signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles on November 17, 2008. Spencer Fordin of MLB. com wrote that Hennessey was "consistently hyped as a favorite to break camp in the rotation" for the Orioles. However, an elbow injury kept Hennessey from making any appearances with the Orioles or their affiliates. On June 1, 2009, Hennessey was released. He played for the Double A Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League and the Triple A Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League. His four games with Corpus Christi were all relief appearances; he had an 0–1 record and a 1.80 ERA. In seven games (six starts) with Oklahoma City, he had an 0–3 record, an 11.45 ERA, 10 strikeouts, and five walks in 22 innings pitched. Henessey often was plagued by a big inning, displaying a tendency to allow several runs in an inning during his starts.

Hennessey married a nurse, Erin Bullard, on December 14, 2002. The couple has two children: Emma (born April 18, 2003) and Colin Jacob (born October 26, 2006). Hennessey participated in numerous charitable events during his tenure with the Giants.