Saturday, December 21, 2024

Rickey Henderson Was in a Class All His Own


This is a shock to my system.

A short time ago I read of the passing of MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. He died five days shy of his 66th birthday on Christmas Day. Henderson succumbed to pneumonia. 

To me, Henderson had always looked like the picture of health. Among his last public appearances was at the Oakland Coliseum less than three months ago when he and Dave Stewart threw out the first pitch during the A's last home game in Oakland before their move to Sacramento next year. Hell, he looked like he could still play and probably could have. 

Rickey Henderson was in a class all his own. He is best remembered as MLB's all-time stolen bases leader finishing his career with 1406. Henderson had nearly 500 more stolen bases than Lou Brock had been baseball's all-time stolen bases king from 1974 to 1991 finishing his career with 938 thefts. Yet this only scratches the surface.

Born in the back seat of an Oldsmobile in Chicago, Henderson lived in Arkansas before his family moved to Oakland when he was 7. It was in Oakland where Henderson to come into his own excelling in sports - baseball, football, basketball and track. Although Henderson was highly sought after to play college football, his mother persuaded him to play baseball due to longevity. 

Henderson's adopted hometown Oakland A's picked him in the fourth round of the 1976 MLB draft. He would make his MLB debut during the 1979 season when he was only 20 years old. It was in 1980 when Henderson put the league on notice with 100 stolen bases playing under the tutelage of Billy Martin earning the first of AL All-Star Team selections. Henderson would lead the AL in steals every season during the 1980's except for 1987 when Seattle Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds was atop the leaderboard. 

During the strike shortened 1981 season, Henderson finished runner in AL MVP in balloting to Milwaukee Brewers closer Rollie Fingers - himself an A's legend. After reaching the post-season in 1981, the A's would regress in 1982. But Henderson didn't as he set an MLB single season record with 130 stolen bases surpassing 118 stolen bases by Lou Brock in 1974. 

After two more seasons in Oakland, the A's would trade Henderson to the New York Yankees in a six-player deal. The trade would reunite Henderson with Billy Martin. In 1985, Henderson finished third in AL MVP balloting behind Yankees teammate Don Mattingly (who won the award) and Kansas City Royals legend George Brett. Henderson led the AL in steals with 80 and runs scored with 146 as the Yankees fell one game short to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.

While Henderson was productive in a Yankee uniform, they would never reach the post-season during his tenure in the Bronx. In the middle of the 1989 season, the Yankees returned Henderson to Oakland and he proved to be the spark plug they needed to get over the hump. Henderson earned ALCS MVP honors against the Blue Jays and would win the first of two World Series rings. In 1990, Henderson won his lone AL MVP leading the Junior Circuit in stolen bases (65), runs scored (119) and OBP (.439). Henderson would reach his second consecutive World Series appearance but the A's would be swept in four games by the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1991, Henderson would surpass Brock on MLB's all-time stolen base list when he swept his 939th career base on May 1st of that year against the Yankees. During an acceptance speech, Henderson said, "Lou Brock was a symbol of great base stealing. But today, I am the greatest of all-time." Coming from anyone else, it might have come across as arrogant and disrespectful. But Rickey was simply stating a fact which he could back up. Henderson would lead the AL with 58 that season. It was the 11th time in his career he would lead the AL in stolen bases. 

The A's would send Henderson to the Blue Jays during the trade deadline in 1993 and earn his second World Series ring. The trade amounted to a loan as he would return to the A's for his third stint spending two more seasons in his adopted hometown. In 1996, Henderson would join the San Diego Padres where he helped the team make its first post-season appearance since winning the NL pennant in 1984. Henderson would split the 1997 season between the Padres and Anaheim Angels before returning to Oakland for the fourth and final time in 1998. Henderson would enjoy a renaissance season in 1998 leading the AL in stolen bases for the 12th and final time with 66 bags. He also led the AL in walks that season with 118. Not a bad encore for a 39-year-old.

Henderson would spend 1999 with the New York Mets while splitting the 2000 season with the Mets and Seattle Mariners making the post-season both years. In 2001, Henderson would return to the Padres for his second stint surpassing Ty Cobb as MLB's all-time leader in runs scored while collecting his 3,000th hit on the final day of the regular season. In 2002, I would get to see Henderson play in a Boston Red Sox uniform before he finished his big-league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003 at the age of 44. 

In 24 MLB seasons, Henderson was not only MLB's all-time leader in stolen bases with 1406 but MLB's all-time leader in runs scored with 2295. In 3081 games, Henderson collected 3055 hits for a lifetime batting average of .279 with 297 HR and 1115 RBI. Of his 297 HR, 81 of those bombs led off a game. 

The BBWAA elected Henderson to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot in 2009 garnering 94.8%.

Rickey Henderson played for 9 teams but will forever be identified with the Oakland A's. With apologies to the greats on the A's World Series championship teams from 1972-1974, Rickey Henderson is the greatest to wear an Oakland uniform. His passing truly cements the death of the A's in Oakland. R.I.P.




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