Rickey Henderson Dead at 65
Rickey Henderson, Hall of Fame left fielder and stolen base king, has died at 65. Rumors surfaced Friday night before the New York Post first confirmed the news Saturday afternoon. Henderson had a stellar 25-season career spread across nine different teams, including four stints with the Oakland Athletics, with whom he spent all or part of 14 seasons. He shattered the career record for stolen bases, ending with 1406, 468 ahead of runner-up Lou Brock, whose record he surpassed on May 1, 1991, 12 years before the end of his career. Henderson is also a member of the 3000 Hit Club and holds the career record for unintentional walks, with 2129, and runs scored, with 2295.
Early Life and Early Career
Rickey Henderson was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1958 in Chicago but moved to Oakland, California at the age of seven. He was born in the back seat of an Oldsmobile en route to the hospital, leading Henderson to joke that he was already fast and couldn’t wait. He attended Oakland Technical High School, where he was a three-sport athlete, and turned down several football scholarship offers to play baseball. Henderson said it was the advice of his mother that convinced him, as she said football players have shorter careers than baseball players.
The Athletics drafted Henderson in the fourth round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. He debuted with them June 24, 1979. In 1980, Henderson became the first American Leaguer to ever steal 100 bases in a season, finishing with exactly 100. He stole 100+ bases twice more, in 1983 (108) and 1982 (130), when he set the still-standing single-season record, and is still the only American Leaguer to ever do it. After the 1984 season, the Athletics traded Henderson to the New York Yankees, where he spent the next four and a half seasons.
Back to Oakland
Midway through the 1989 season, the Yankees traded Henderson back to the Athletics, who were amidst a pennant race. Henderson was the missing piece for the Athletics, guiding them through the stretch run to a second straight AL West title. He was a monster in the 1989 ALCS, slashing .400/.609/1.000 (6-for-15) with a double, a triple, two homers, five RBI, eight stolen bases without being caught, seven walks, a hit-by-pitch, and eight runs scored. This led the Athletics to a four-games-to-one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays for their second straight pennant. Henderson was also a beast in the 1989 World Series against the cross-bay rival San Francisco Giants, slashing .474/.524/.895 (9-for-19) with a double, two triples, a homer, three RBI, three stolen bases out of four attempts, two walks, and four runs scored as the Athletics won in a four-game sweep.
AL MVP, Second World Series Crown, Setting Records
Henderson led the Athletics to two more AL West titles (1990, 1992) and another AL pennant (1990, their third straight), winning AL MVP in 1990. It did not translate into a second straight World Series title, however, as the Athletics suffered a shock loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series in a four-game sweep, the last World Series appearance to date for both franchises. In 1993, the Athletics traded Henderson again, this time to the defending champion Blue Jays. Henderson shone with the Blue Jays as well, playing a large role in their successful title defense. That 1993 World Series championship was the last appearance in the Fall Classic for Henderson and the last, to date, for the Blue Jays.
Henderson returned to the Athletics for his third stint in 1994, playing there for two seasons before signing a free-agent contract with the San Diego Padres. He played there for a season and a half, helping the Padres win the 1996 NL West crown, before the Padres traded him to the then-Anaheim Angels. He played out 1997 with the Angels before spending 1998 with the Athletics again in his fourth and final stint with his boyhood team. Henderson played 1999 and part of 2000 with the New York Mets, helping take the Mets to the 1999 NLCS. The Mets released Henderson in May of 2000, and Henderson signed with the Seattle Mariners, whom he helped reach the 2000 ALCS, his last career postseason appearance.
A Record and a Milestone
Henderson played three more seasons, each with a different team. In 2001, he played for the Padres again, where he broke Ty Cobb’s long-standing career record for runs scored on October 4. Two days later, he notched his 3000th career hit in the season finale, which was also Tony Gwynn’s last game. He played two more seasons in the majors, 2002 with the Boston Red Sox and the latter half of 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2009, the BBWAA elected him to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Legacy of Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson was the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. In addition to holding the career records for runs scored (2295), stolen bases (1406), and unintentional walks (2129), he holds the career record for most home runs to lead off a game (81). He also had a career OBP of .401 and distracted pitchers whenever he was on base. Henderson was known for scoring what became known as “Rickey runs,” where he would reach base by any means necessary, steal second, reach third without the batter recording a hit, and score on a sacrifice fly or groundout.
Henderson’s stolen base records for a career and a single season will likely never be approached, given how far he is ahead of the runner up. He was not only the greatest leadoff hitter and base stealer of all time, but he was one of the greatest players of all time, period. All across baseball, we mourn the death of the “Man of Steal,” a tremendous character that left us far too soon.
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