He's been on the scene for so long, there is a temptation to take him for granted. Like a security blanket.
In a lot of ways, that's exactly what Elrod Hendricks has been to the Orioles for more than a quarter century. He's spent all but a season and a half of the past 27 years in the organization. He's worn the uniform, first as a player, then as a coach, for more games than anybody else in club history.
Whenever manager Phil Regan and his new staff begin another season, Hendricks will have served with seven of the 11 managers and 35 of the 51 coaches who have been employed by the Orioles in their 41 years.
Such longevity is not achieved by accident.
"Elrod is like a comfortable sofa you would never want to part with," said Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. "I can't think of anyone who has had more impact on the organization over the last 30 years."
Former manager Johnny Oates takes the analogy a step further.
"Elrod isn't a piece of the furniture -- he is the furniture," said Oates.
"Let me tell you the first thing that comes to mind when you mention Elrod Hendricks -- and it says a lot about him," said Oates. "I was a rookie with the Orioles in 1972, and doing everything I could to take his job.
"In those days, if you were a major-league player, you got a contract that entitled you to three pieces of equipment -- shoes or gloves -- every year. If you were a minor-leaguer, you didn't get anything.
"I was using a glove that had about 20 holes in it, and Elrod came up to me with one of his and said, 'Here, you'll need this.' I think that makes a statement about what kind of person he is -- and I think that has a lot to do with his longevity in Baltimore.
"Elrod is a fixture there because of who he is. He's always willing to give his time -- to the manager, coaches, players or the community. He adapts very well, no matter who the manager is, which is why he's ideal to be a part of any transition."
Yet Hendricks hasn't allowed himself to feel too secure.
"I've been in professional baseball 35 years now, and I don't think there's ever been a year when I didn't worry about whether I had a job," he said. "I've never had more than a one-year contract. But I'm not complaining -- it's been good.
"The most secure place for me was Puerto Rico [where he played winter ball between 1960 and 1977]. I knew I could always go back there."
Weaver on his side
A native of the Virgin Islands, Hendricks still ranks second on Puerto Rico's all-time home run list (112, behind former St. Louis Browns outfielder Willard Brown's 120). And it was there he met the person most responsible for jump-starting his career -- former Orioles manager Earl Weaver.
"After three or four years, I never expected to make it to the big leagues -- I thought Mexico would be my big leagues," said Hendricks, who played for Weaver in Puerto Rico after the 1966 and 1967 seasons.
By then, Hendricks had been released by the Milwaukee Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, but that didn't deter Weaver.
"I tried to get [former Orioles general manager] Harry Dalton to draft him in 1966, but it wasn't until Frank Lane saw him hit a couple of home runs the next year that we finally got him," Weaver said.
Lane, the former Chicago White Sox GM, was scouting for the Orioles, who drafted Hendricks from the California Angels' Triple-A Seattle team.
"We needed a left-handed-hitting catcher, and even though Elrod didn't have a strong arm, he kept throwing runners out," Weaver said.
Probably more than anyone else, Orioles GM Roland Hemond understands the odds Hendricks overcame to reach the big leagues.
"I was with the Angels [as farm director] when they had an agreement with the Jalisco club in the Mexican League," Hemond said. "We got to look at him twice at the end of the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and we should have put him on our roster.
"The Angels made a mistake -- and I've been benefiting from it ever since I've been here."
It wasn't until Weaver replaced Hank Bauer as Orioles manager midway through the 1968 season that Hendricks got into the lineup on a platoon basis.
"He just kept doing his job -- I can't say enough about what he did for us in 1969, '70, '71," said Weaver. "I gave him a chance, but he certainly more than justified it. Of the things I did for the Orioles, I'd say that recommending we draft Elrod ranks up there with insisting that we move [Cal] Ripken to shortstop."
Hendricks credits his wife, Merle, for making Baltimore his permanent home -- "I thank her yearly," he said -- and for getting him through the two lowest points of his career -- trades to the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees in 1972 and 1976. The first came 15 days after the birth of the couple's first son, Ryan.
"They were difficult times, and if it hadn't been for Merle, I probably would've been out of baseball by 1972," said Hendricks. "She pulled me through."
Hendricks helped the Orioles each time he was traded. The first time, the Orioles acquired Tommy Davis, who had three productive years. In the second trade, the Orioles got Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor and Tippy Martinez.
After Hendricks completed his year-and-a-half exile with the Yankees, Weaver came to his rescue again.
"When Cal Sr. moved from the bullpen to third base when Billy Hunter got the [managing] job in Texas, Earl kept that coaching spot open for me," said Hendricks. "He was my 'big-league daddy.' "
And, in the process, Hendricks became a favorite son in ZTC Baltimore, where his contributions in the bullpen are rivaled only by those he has made in the community. Julie Wagner, Orioles director of community relations, estimates that Hendricks makes many as 100 appearances -- "that we know of," she said -- in a given year.
"He's willing to do as many as we give him," said Wagner, "and I know he does some on his own. The great thing about Elrod is you can send him anywhere, to be with children or adults, and he's always a hit."
Hendricks said he made his first appearance for the team with former reliever Eddie Watt, followed by stints with Brooks Robinson, Paul Blair, Frank Robinson and Boog Powell.
"What impressed me was the enthusiasm -- not just the fans', but the players', too," Hendricks said. "In those days, I was shy, unsure of myself and didn't communicate well. But, to me, it seemed like it was the Oriole way of doing things, and I wanted to be a part of that.
"It's like the thing about giving Johnny [Oates] a glove -- I didn't look at him as somebody who was trying to take my job; I looked at him as an Oriole. When I came here, Etch [Andy Etchebarren] and Roz [Vic Roznovsky] each gave me a glove. It just seemed to me the way the Orioles did things."
Invaluable in the bullpen
As much as Hendricks means to the club off the field, it isn't enough to keep him in uniform. Nobody knows that more than his peers.
"He understands the game; it's not just that he has a great personality," said Palmer. "I think about how many pitches he's caught, how many times he's gotten himself dirty. He has listened and learned and gotten a lot of mileage out of his ability.
"As a catcher, he could help you when you didn't have your best stuff, and, as a coach, you knew you could get an honest answer -- he'd tell you if you weren't throwing good."
Mike Flanagan is another who knew Hendricks as a player and a coach. This coming season, as Regan's pitching coach, he will rely on Elrod's expertise in a different way.
"To me, he's the pitching coach for the five or six guys who are out there," said Flanagan, who spent the last two years of his career in the Orioles bullpen. "He knows how long it takes each guy to get loose, how close he is and when he's ready. He's also real good at picking up on who might be a little sore. The pitcher might not always be honest and tell you he's OK, but Elrod picks up on it when they're not throwing right.
"He'll also do a lot of the catching when starters throw between starts. He's very good at picking up little things in the delivery. I'll lean on his experience a lot."
When the Orioles resume play under Regan, Hendricks will be the lone carryover from the glory days of the '60s, '70s and '80s.
He has two explanations for the continuity.
"First, I guess the people I work for are satisfied with the job I've done," he said. "The only other thing I can think of is that I'm a survivor. I feel fortunate to be in this position."
Future manager?
Hendricks was one of nine candidates the Orioles interviewed for the manager's job after Oates was dismissed. He said he's interested in managing someday.
"It's something I would love to do -- but it's not a priority," he said. "I'd like to get the opportunity before I retire, but not just with any team."
Does the relative anonymity of being a bullpen coach hurt Hendricks' chances? "I really couldn't tell you, because I haven't given it a thought," he said. "I thoroughly enjoy what I do out there -- I can focus on teaching. Some say it [being bullpen coach] is the safest job, but I don't look at it like that -- a lot of people are paying attention to what goes on out there.
"Maybe if I was on the [coaching] lines or in the dugout, there'd be more attention, but maybe it's also helped my career," said Hendricks.
"Twenty-seven years ago, the big leagues were the farthest thing from my mind. Each year has been special."
Which is as good a word as any to describe Elrod Hendricks and the relationship he's had with Baltimore and the Orioles.