Rickey Henderson

From SoSH

Rickey Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958), was arguably the best leadoff hitter ever to play the game.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Quotes 5 Trivia 6 External Links

Overall Career

Rickey was drafted in the fourth round of the amateur draft in 1976, by the Oakland Athletics. He was called up to the majors by the Athletics during the 1979 season, and would spend 25 years in the majors, with 9 different clubs. Beginning under manager Billy Martin and his aggressive "Billy-Ball" style, Henderson would bring leave an indelible mark on the game and it's record book. In 1980, his first full season, Henderson hit .303, stole 100 bases (the first of three times he would reach that milestone in a season), and scored 111 runs. He would finish second in the AL MVP voting, and win his only Gold Glove, in the strike-shortened 1981 season. In 1982, he would shatter Lou Brock's single season stolen base record (118), stealing 130 bases.

Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees in 1985, and scored 146 runs in 143 games that year. 1987 would be an off year, and would lead to a sometimes uncomfortable relationship with the New York fans and media.

A midseason trade in 1989 would bring him back to the Athletics, and the top of the game, as he won his first of two World Series rings that postseason. He was named MVP of the ALCS, hitting .400, slugging 1.000, hitting two home runs and stealing 8 bases in five games.

He would win his lone AL MVP award in 1990, posting a .325 average, 28 home runs, 119 runs scored and 65 stolen bases

On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke Lou Brock's career stolen base record. He greeted the accomplishment with typical Henderson humility, proclaiming, "Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest!"

The second half of his career is not without it's moments, but is perhaps remembered more for it's seemingly endless address changes, as well as his amusing quotes and malapropisms.

Awards

• Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers in 2008 (94.8%)

• 1981 American League Gold Glove - OF
• 1989 American League Championship Series MVP
• 1990 American League MVP
• 3-time American League Silver Slugger (1981, 1985, 1990)
• 10-Time American League All-Star (1980, 1982-88, 1990-91)

Achievements

• Member of the 3,000 Hit Club (3,055 Hits)

• Record for most home runs leading off a game (81)
• Record for most Stolen Bases in a Career (1,406)
• Record for most Runs Scored in a Career (2,295)
• Record for most seasons by a non-pitcher (25)
• Led the Major Leagues for Stolen Bases (1980, 1982-83, 1988-89, 1998)
• Led the Major Leagues for Runs Scored (1981, 1985-86, 1989, 1990)

Quotes

• “I like playing for Oakland, they have a very colorful uniform”
• "All I'm asking for is what I want."
• In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.
• Rickey… on referring to himself in the third person: “Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”
• In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”
• Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”
• Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.
• A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”
• On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”
• Rickey was playing with John Olerud in Seattle. The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.” Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.” Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.
• Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”
• During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”
• In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman – then a low-level nobody with the organization – called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, “I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”
• In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”
• During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to Billy Beane’s. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”
• To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.
• In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift. Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.” Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly car is on the field?”
• "I have a great view of the Entire State Building" - Rickey when asked about his new apartment in Manhattan.

Trivia

• Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.
• One of a very few players to hit right-handed and throw left-handed. His explanation: "All the other kids playing around me were batting right-handed, so that's the way I thought you were supposed to do it, so that's what I did, too. At one point, I wanted to be a switch-hitter and try the left side, but I was hitting .300, .350 in the minors, and they [the A's] wouldn't let me do it."

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Rickey Quotes: Good Rickey quotes... so good we stole a few of em!
• BaseballLibrary.com - biography
• Simply-Baseball-Notebook.com's Tribute to Rickey
• Manager Tom Trebelhorn on Rickey's minor league days