[JollyElm]

As a baseball fan, I feel fortunate that my existence coincided with the career of Rickey Henderson. What an absolute monster he became once he reached first base. He was a human aneurism to whoever was on the mound pitching that day, just screwing their head up. As others have said, you knew NO MATTER WHAT he was going to bolt for second. Everyone in the world knew it, yet there was no way to stop the inevitable. Pitchers had no clue who was batting, because they were 100% focused on the vain attempt to keep Rickey from swiping second. And after he stole second? That monstrous lead he took left him seemingly only a few feet away from third base, and it gave pitchers the jitters as he dared them to try to pick him off. "Come on, I dare you." I imagine Cobb had that same effect on the fans and his opponents. This type of stuff can't be accounted for or captured in all the theoretical newfangled stats. You had to witness Rickey Henderson to really understand what an incredible game changer he was.