Good riddance.  It’s about time.  What took so long?  Those were the sentiments of most Cubs fans after owner Tom Ricketts dismissed Jim Hendry as the team’s General Manager.  
The termination was announced on August 19, although Hendry had been told on July 22 that his tenure with the team was over.  To no one’s surprise, for the next month Hendry continued to give his all to the team he had been a part of for 17 years, including signing players the team had selected in the June amateur draft, players that may one day contribute to the elusive championship that led to Hendry’s doom.  This, after all, is the same Jim Hendry who signed free agent Ted Lilly while hooked up to an EKG machine in his hospital bed after suffering a heart attack during the 2006 Baseball Winter Meetings.
As the former owner of Chicago’s Class A affiliate in Daytona Beach, who has known Hendry since he was hired as the Cubs’ Director of Player Development in 1994, I have seen first hand the kind of person Hendry is; his ebullient personality, his infectious smile, his loyalty to his staff, how he treats people of all stripes.  It came as no surprise that Hendry couldn’t stem a tide of tears during the press conference to announce his termination, nor was it surprising that his weren’t the only moist eyes in the room.            
Hendry enjoyed his share of success while serving the Cubs in various capacities.  At one time during Hendry’s tenure as farm director, the Cubs Minor League system was rated the best in baseball by Baseball America.  The Cubs made three playoff appearances in the nine years Hendry was their GM, better than the team’s historical average but not good enough for a fan base with suddenly high expectations and little patience.  Hendry had the misfortune of presiding over an era when sunny afternoons at Wrigley Field with an Old Style in hand was no longer sufficient for a long-suffering fan base.
If his team wins, the GM receives little credit.  Lose, and you’re labeled an incompetent bum, even if the decisions you’re being judged on were made by others.  The only job that compares to being the GM of an MLB team, especially one like the Cubs who reside in a large market with even larger expectations, is the President of the United States.  Of course, on one level, there is no comparison.  The president deals with life and death daily along with the financial burdens of the country, if not the world.  A GM merely deals with the weight of winning or losing games, although the outcome has been known to be hazardous to one’s health (see, for example, Donnie Moore and Mike Flanagan).
But the positions are similar in other respects.  Each requires a 24/7, 365-day commitment and the stress of the job takes its toll.  The job descriptions also include dealing with media and public scrutiny.  A president has an advantage over a GM in that he can avoid the media and/or have a spokesperson deal with the circling vultures for days on end.  A GM, on the other hand, is expected to respond to inquiries from the press promptly and frequently, at all hours of the day or night.  
Hendry will remain unemployed only for as long as he chooses to be.  You can be sure he was fielding offers, along with condolences, from other MLB teams within minutes after his termination was announced.  Such is his respect in the baseball industry, from rival executives, players, and even a majority of the media that dealt with him.  That’s a trifecta few can pull off.   
Sport is a cruel business; win, and you’re a hero, lose, and there’s always someone willing to take your place.  That’s true both in the executive suite and on the field.  You either produce or you’re discarded, unless your name is Hank Steinbrenner or Jim Dolan and your father was born before you.
Someday, the Cubs will end their World Series drought, which now totals 104 years.  And when they do, two things will be certain.  Jim Hendry won’t be the GM that extinguishes the Billy Goat Curse.  And whoever occupies the GM’s seat at that time couldn’t possibly be a better person than Jim Hendry is.

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