Rickey Henderson: Finally Getting His Due
on July 27th, 2009
Growing up rooting for the Orioles, I paid more attention to the American League than the National League. I thought the baseball was more exciting in the American League, even though the National League had the strategy. The American League had the old ballparks while the National League had these “cookie-cutter” stadiums with that ugly Astroturf. Yes, the American League had put in the designated hitter while the National League stuck with the pitcher hitting. The thing is that what the American League definitely had was Rickey Henderson, the ultimate leadoff man in the history of baseball.
Rickey Henderson is known for a lot of things, but somehow, being one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball is not one of them. He is the career leader in runs scored and stolen bases as well as the single season record holder in stolen bases with 130 in 1982. Henderson is also 2nd in career base on balls and has more leadoff home runs (81) than anyone in the history of the game as well. In other words, Henderson was the greatest leadoff hitter of them all and whether it was getting on bases, driving them crazy on the base paths, or hitting for power, pitchers were continually outdone by Henderson.
Among the things that followed Rickey Henderson throughout his career were the quirky/funny stories. How Henderson would start talking in third person about how “Rickey did this” or “Rickey can do that.” How Henderson would have a special routine when he would catch the ball in the outfield sometimes. There’s another story where Henderson once framed a million dollar check bonus instead of cashing the check. All was a part of the Rickey Henderson legend. The only problem with this legend was that a lot of times, this overshadowed his play on the field. His ability to get on base, terrorize pitchers while he was on base and then score more runs than anyone in history is an ability not held by a lot of players. Add in the fact that he could hit for power and you have a total player.
What I hope people understand is that Henderson is now a Hall of Famer for more than his ability to steal bases. You do not have the records Henderson has or have a MVP season like Henderson had in 1990 without being a great all-around player. It is time that Rickey Henderson gets his due and that only could happen as he became a Hall of Famer.
