Rickey Henderson

Did You Know?

• Henderson was born in the back seat of an Oldsmobile on the way to the hospital and later joked, 'I was already fast. I couldn't wait.'
• He was named after singer-actor Ricky Nelson.
• Henderson died on December 20, 2024, five days before his 66th birthday, following a bout of pneumonia.

Professional career

The Oakland Athletics selected Rickey Henderson in the fourth round of the 1976 draft. He began his minor league career with the Boise A’s, hitting .336 with three home runs and two triples over 46 games. The next season, with the Modesto A’s, he batted .345 in 134 games and stole 95 bases, a league record, earning the Sundial Trophy as the team’s MVP. In 1978, he played for the Jersey City A’s and later appeared in six games for the Navojoa Mayos, who won their first championship.

Henderson started 1979 with the Ogden A’s, batting .309 with 44 steals in 71 games. He debuted for Oakland on June 24, 1979, with two hits and a stolen base, finishing the season at .274 with 33 steals in 89 games. In 1980, he became the third modern-era player to steal 100 bases in a season, breaking Eddie Collins’s franchise mark and Ty Cobb’s American League record. He also batted .303, scored 111 runs, drew 117 walks, and led the AL in times reaching base. That winter, playing in Puerto Rico, he stole 42 bases, breaking that league’s record.

Career statistics

In 60 postseason games, including three World Series (1989, 1990, and 1993), Henderson batted .284 (63-for-222) with 47 runs scored, 12 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 20 RBI, 33 stolen bases, 37 walks, a .389 on-base percentage, .441 slugging percentage, and .831 on-base plus slugging percentage. He played his last major league game on September 19, 2003, being hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance and scoring his 2,295th run. After leaving the Dodgers, he joined the Newark Bears in May 2004, posting a .462 OBP with 96 walks and 37 stolen bases in 91 games.

On May 9, 2005, he signed with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the Golden Baseball League, helping the team win the league championship; in 73 games he had a .456 OBP with 73 walks and 16 steals. Henderson would not accept the end of his major league career, insisting in May 2005 that he could still play. Reports of his retirement on December 6, 2005, were denied by his agent. He accepted a position as a hitting instructor for the Mets in February 2006 while leaving the door open to return as a player. In August 2006 he said he had decided to take a year off but could not say he would retire.

Image and personality

Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci wrote in 2003 that Henderson existed on the narrow margin between fact and fiction, comparing him to figures like Johnny Appleseed and Davy Crockett. Henderson referred to himself in the third person. According to Verducci, Henderson once left a message for Padres general manager Kevin Towers saying, "Kevin, this is Rickey. Calling on behalf of Rickey.

Rickey wants to play baseball," though Henderson denied this in a 2009 interview. Henderson explained his third-person speech as a way of scolding himself, saying, "Rickey says it when Rickey doesn't do what Rickey needs to be doing." He was so proud of a $1 million signing bonus that he framed it instead of cashing it. He refused to spend his per diem money, instead putting the envelopes in a box for his children to choose from as rewards for good school performance.

After an argument with pitcher Orlando Hernández in 2002, Henderson said, "He needs to grow up a little bit. I ain't a kid. When I broke into the game, he was crawling on his hands and knees." Henderson had a reputation for forgetting or not learning people's names, including those of his teammates.

Legacy

On May 1, 1991, Henderson stole his 939th base to pass Lou Brock and become baseball's all-time stolen base leader. In his speech that day, he thanked God and his mother, and because his idol was Muhammad Ali, he used the words "greatest of all time." Years later, Henderson revealed that he had gone over his planned remarks with Brock beforehand, and Brock helped him write what he would say. Brock later told reporters, "He spoke from his heart."

Henderson later felt that the statement overshadowed his accomplishments. At the end of his July 2009 Hall of Fame induction, Henderson again alluded to Muhammad Ali, saying, "He said at one time, quote, 'I am the greatest,' end of quote. That is something I always wanted to be." He then paused and said, "I am ... very, very humble."

Asked if the passage of time would improve his reputation, Henderson said he was simply telling the truth about his accomplishments rather than being cocky.