Electric Fishwrap

By Kate Martin

Skagit Valley Herald staff writer

MOUNT VERNON — At third base, Trent Henderson’s lanky frame doesn’t cut an imposing figure — yet. But he’s got room to grow, and major league genes in his blood.

His teammates call him Hendu. Yes, that Hendu. Dave Henderson, the Mariners’ first-round draft pick in 1977 and a former broadcaster for the team, is his father.

“He looks the part, there’s no doubt about it,” Milwaukee Brewers scout Brandon Newell said of the younger Hendu.

The 6-4, 205-pound Skagit Valley College sophomore has gained about 20 pounds since joining the Cardinals two years ago, said coach Kevin Matthews.

“He’s got excellent hands and not bad footwork,” he said.

Though Trent doesn’t remember much of his father’s professional career, which ended when Trent was 6, he hung around the Kingdome when his father went to work as a broadcaster.

“I was always around baseball,” Trent said. “I always thought I was always going to play.”

At the Kingdome, Trent took ground balls with Alex Rodriguez and hung out in the Mariners’ clubhouse.

“He didn’t realize that every kid didn’t get to do that,” Dave said. “I think he’s figured it out now that it’s pretty special.”

Trent tried soccer. Once. As he stood shivering and soaking wet on a muddy field, he thought to himself, “This doesn’t make sense.”

But baseball did.

“I love playing baseball,” Trent said. “I’ve never thought about taking a summer off because it would be weird. I’d like to play as long as I can.”

Dave didn’t set out to raise a major leaguer.

“I kept him away from baseball in my career mostly,” Dave said. “He has a handicapped brother. That was more important than anything. I think he realizes that baseball is always second to family and morals and things like that.”

Dave had a hands-off approach when it came to coaching, too.

“I noticed that for dads to coach their sons wasn’t a good idea,” he said. “Professional dads, that is. … They (the children) tend not to listen to their dads.”

Dave owned a batting cage in Bellevue when Trent attended Newport High School. But instead of spending his nights in the cage, Trent played video games — a decision he now regrets.

“I could’ve been in there working on my game,” Trent said. “I could’ve been a lot better than I am now.”

Dave said he couldn’t be a good coach because he’d be too mean. Wait, Henderson, mean? The guy who always seemed to have a smile on his face when he played in the major leagues?

“That was my game face, that smile,” Dave said. “If I was mad, I’d smile. If I was happy, I’d smile. It was my poker face.”

Trent’s demeanor, he said, is different.

Outfielder Eddie Sobczack, who is Trent’s roommate, said he’s is “one of the most likable guys on the team.”

“Some guys are hard all the time and some guys joke all the time,” he said. “He knows how to balance those out.”

First baseman Ben Harty has played baseball with Trent since they were freshmen at Newport High. He said Trent is quiet about his professional prospects.

“I don’t think he wants to talk himself up,” Harty said. “He sees the ball well, he throws hard and he has a good glove. He’s got the chance, if he wants it.”

And want it he does. But how to get there?

The Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball has forced scrutiny on the sport. It’s hard to look at a photo or the stats of a muscle-bound player from earlier years and not wonder.

“A lot of people from (dad’s) era, they were so big,” he said.

And when Trent traveled with the Cardinals on their annual trip for games in Arizona, he saw some professional players at spring training.

“I thought ‘wow these guys are so big. I should take some steroids,’” Trent jokingly said. “I’m lifting weights and I’m lifting weights, and I’m not getting any bigger. But there’s a price (to steroids).”

Dave said he think steroids are going to be phased out of the game.

“I think he saw the affect on our team, the Oakland A’s, (Mark) McGuire and (Jose) Canseco,” Dave said. “I didn’t do steroids and he saw the difference.”

In mid-April, a group of coaches and professional baseball scout Newell hung around the front of a dugout and casually watched batting practice. The clouds threatened rain, and the players were ready to drag the tarp back onto the field to preserve what dryness remained.

But as casual as batting practice looked, some players were tense. One whiffed at a ball and cursed. Another tapped his bat on the front of his helmet with his eyes closed. One young pitcher seemed to float as he was introduced to the scout.

Newell said some players will never make it, no matter how good they are or how much they want it. But it’s easy to see someone like Trent in a professional uniform, he said.
There’s been a spattering of professional interest, said Matthews.

Trent was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 37th round out of high school, but chose to play at Skagit Valley College. Now the goal is to get taken higher in the draft and make the major leagues.

But what’s it going to take to get Trent there?

“If he could put on another 25 pounds of muscle, if he can do that, he becomes a different animal,” Newell said.

“Just wait for his DNA to kick in,” said one coach.

The elder Hendu shares that opinion.

“Oh sure, I’m sure he’ll be professional eventually,” he said. “Because he has the talent and he has the gene pool. My uncle (Joe Henderson) was professional, I was professional and hopefully it passes down to him.”

It will take hard work and determination, and Trent knows it.

“There are no shortcuts to how you get bigger and stronger,” Newell said. “Especially anymore.”

Originally published May 3, 2008.