This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian¡¯s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kyle Hendricks¡¯ career has been defined by defying the odds. In the age of chasing velocity, the Cubs' pitcher has carved his path through precision and deception, growing into a revered veteran who has been trusted with the ball in some of the most important games in team history.

Hendricks¡¯ teammates had the opportunity to celebrate him on Wednesday, when the 34-year-old righty reached 10 years of Major League service time. The Cubs recognized Hendricks in a pregame meeting, and both of the pitcher¡¯s agents also flew to San Francisco to celebrate the milestone with him.

¡°It's pretty crazy, to be honest with you,¡± Hendricks said. ¡°I never imagined it in my wildest dreams. Growing up as a kid, I just wanted to make it to the big leagues. I loved baseball so much that that's all I wanted to do. But to think that far in the future, to think about 10 years? It's honestly pretty cool.¡±

According to the MLB Players¡¯ Association, fewer than 10% of players in baseball history have played for a decade or longer. At the moment, Hendricks is only the third player in team history to have 10-plus years in the Majors exclusively with the Cubs in the modern era (since 1900), joining Ernie Banks (1953-71) and Stan Hack (1932-47).

While the game of baseball has evolved over the decades, one unwavering source of respect within the sport is reaching a decade of service. Among players across eras, that mark carries weight. Cubs manager Craig Counsell is one of the players in that small group.

¡°It's rarefied air to be a Major League Baseball player,¡± Counsell said. ¡°Ten years of service is even more. You do it with one team? That's even more.¡±

Counsell pointed to Hendricks¡¯ performance this season as a fitting example of ¡°what it is about, being a 10-year Major Leaguer.¡± The pitcher struggled to start the season, willingly accepting a role in the bullpen as his slump mounted. Hendricks sought feedback on how to adjust his routine and repertoire, and he has since returned to the rotation with a 1.27 ERA in June.

¡°You get knocked down, you've got to get back up,¡± Counsell said. ¡°It seems like it's all glory. It's a lot of work, it's a lot of adjustments, it's a lot of adapting and it's a lot of finding a new way to do things. That's what Kyle has given us all an example of, and it's a really valuable example.¡±

In parts of 11 seasons with the Cubs, who acquired Hendricks as a Minor Leaguer in a trade with Texas in 2012, the righty has a 3.61 ERA in 261 games. He won the MLB ERA title (2.13) in 2016, when he finished third in National League Cy Young Award voting and started Game 7 in the Cubs¡¯ World Series triumph over Cleveland. Hendricks recently became the sixth Cubs pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to reach at least 1,500 innings with the franchise.

¡°Obviously, he's a great pitcher, a great player, a World Series champion,¡± Cubs lefty Justin Steele said. ¡°But I think the legacy Kyle Hendricks will leave behind is the teammate he was, the person he is and the friend he is to everybody that came in touch with him.¡±

It is unlikely that anyone has seen as many of Hendricks¡¯ pitches as Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.

Hottovy was with the Cubs as a pitcher in Spring Training 2014 -- the season Hendricks made his MLB debut. By '15, Hottovy was a part of Chicago¡¯s pitching group as a run-prevention coordinator, paving the way to his eventual promotion to pitching coach. He has been along for nearly the entire ride with Hendricks.

¡°I feel just fortunate to be able to be part of it,¡± Hottovy said. ¡°It's just the rare combination of a guy who has been around a long time, has had success, has pitched in enormous games for our organization and then just continues to want to get better.¡±