Sad News, Rickey Henderson Passes

[Snapolit1]

This one really sucks.

Rickey was an amazing talent but to me the greatest thing about him was his personality. He made zero effort to conform to others' wishes. In a sport of great conformity, where guys make it their job to enforce ancient "unwritten rules" -- like they are working towards achieving world peace or curing cancer, as opposed to playing a child's game -- Rickey was who he was. He was thoughtful and kind and 100% genuine. He wasn't afraid to be weird as hell. He wasn't Derek Jeter repeating the same 15 phrases for a career, or Mike Piazza basically doing the same, but 110% this is who am am, like it or lump it. Funny guy and everyone says a great teammate. Imagine being as great as he was and just maintaining your authentic self and not bending to how others want you to act. That's a goal any one in any field could strive for.

Met him once with my son, who was maybe 8. Last day of the season for the Newark Bears. Fans could come on the field and met the players take pictures. I assumed Rickey, one of the greatest of all time wouldn't not be out there with a line up of basically minor league talent. Nope, there he was. Standing off by himself. My son and I approached him and Rickey made small talk and signed my son's hat. A great memory. For such a boisterous guy he seemed incredibly quiet and shy.

So many great Rickey stories. This is a pretty well known one and tells a lot about who he (and the aforementioned catcher) are.

https://not.fangraphs.com/another-re...-the-greatest/

[Bpm0014]

…ancient "unwritten rules"…

These ancient “unwritten rules” are what makes baseball the greatest sport in the world. No other sport has these…

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

…ancient "unwritten rules"…

These ancient “unwritten rules” are what makes baseball the greatest sport in the world. No other sport has these…

Yeah, sure. No touching the buffet in the clubhouse before the veterans eat . . .that's huge. Throw some dude's food on the floor. That's what makes the sport great.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

…ancient "unwritten rules"…



These ancient “unwritten rules” are what makes baseball the greatest sport in the world. No other sport has these…

I don't know. I don't think I've ever said "I'm so in love with this game because XYZ never offends anyone."

I started watching baseball in 1990s. People were saying Griffey was horrible for wearing his hat backward. Griffey is the undeniable favorite modern player for collectors.

Today, there is just something about watching Elly de la Cruz. He is young, a diamond in the rough, but he is bringing people to baseball. His bat flips, eagerness, smile, it's contagious. I've worn Reds hats and jerseys for years. Nobody cared. Now random people walk past me and stop me to say things. And it's no longer, "Are you a Chicago Bears fan?"

Shohei Ohtani is just boring, regardless of his talent. Rickey being Rickey made people love him or hate him.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by todeen

I don't know. I don't think I've ever said "I'm so in love with this game because XYZ never offends anyone."

I started watching baseball in 1990s. People were saying Griffey was horrible for wearing his hat backward. Griffey is the undeniable favorite modern player for collectors.

Today, there is just something about watching Elly de la Cruz. He is young, a diamond in the rough, but he is bringing people to baseball. His bat flips, eagerness, smile, it's contagious. I've worn Reds hats and jerseys for years. Nobody cared. Now random people walk past me and stop me to say things. And it's no longer, "Are you a Chicago Bears fan?"

Shohei Ohtani is just boring, regardless of his talent. Rickey being Rickey made people love him or hate him.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

The problem now is that Rickey Henderson would be very tame in comparison to some players. He wouldn't be flashy now, he'd be average. Some of these celebrations we see now are somewhere between obnoxious and childish. Grown men have choreographed dances for home runs and take 35 seconds to get through it. One of the craziest things people say is let them have fun, as if hitting a Major League home run isn't fun. As if celebrating a home run with your teammates isn't fun. A lot of the celebrations just show a lack of respect for the opponents. No one wants a league full of guys acting like Jesse Winkler, but we could be headed that way.

[Bpm0014]

Yeah, sure. No touching the buffet in the clubhouse before the veterans eat . . .that's huge. Throw some dude's food on the floor. That's what makes the sport great.

This happens in literally every sport. Not just baseball. Your argument is dumb.

[Snapolit1]

"Grown men have choreographed dances for home runs and take 35 seconds to get through it."


Perhaps you are thinking about the NFL?

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

"Grown men have choreographed dances for home runs and take 35 seconds to get through it."


Perhaps you are thinking about the NFL?

I hate football and even I know they don't have home runs.

If you've never seen choreographed dances around the basepaths that take too long then you haven't watched baseball in ten years.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

Yeah, sure. No touching the buffet in the clubhouse before the veterans eat . . .that's huge. Throw some dude's food on the floor. That's what makes the sport great.

This happens in literally every sport. Not just baseball. Your argument is dumb.

I'm going to guess that you think the Yankee's no facial hair policy elevates the game somehow.

[mybuddyinc]

Can only express what has already been said:

65, so sad (and scary that's about my age).
Greatest lead-ff off hitter, no questions.
His stolen base record will never be beaten (they don't steal much these days).

One of my favorite players, and can recall my most favorite play, his "bunt double" ---

Bunted the ball real hard to right side of infield. Ball shoots between charging pitcher and 1B. By the time the 2B (covering first), and the RF (with ball trickling to him), noticed what was happening, Ricky was on second !!!!

Sad, sad, Scott

[todeen]

Originally Posted by z28jd

The problem now is that Rickey Henderson would be very tame in comparison to some players. He wouldn't be flashy now, he'd be average. Some of these celebrations we see now are somewhere between obnoxious and childish. Grown men have choreographed dances for home runs and take 35 seconds to get through it. One of the craziest things people say is let them have fun, as if hitting a Major League home run isn't fun. As if celebrating a home run with your teammates isn't fun. A lot of the celebrations just show a lack of respect for the opponents. No one wants a league full of guys acting like Jesse Winkler, but we could be headed that way.

A league full of Jesse Winkers would be unbearable!

Yeah, just like Rickey, Griffey Jr would be tame by comparison.

But you have to admit, the televised WBC games with Latin teams are entertaining. Randy Arozarena brings that flare. Little Leaguers were loving Arozarena a couple years ago. They were wearing pearls like Joc Pederson. It's fun to see kids finding joy like I did with Griffey.

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[Snapolit1]

This is the scenario I love:

Young guy hits homerun in a big spot, showboats a little going around the bases.

Certain percentage of fan base snickers of is really pissed at the celebration. (Particularly if player has dreads or is wearing a doo rag.)

Reporter asks pitcher after the game if he was pissed at celebration.

Pitchers says "hell, he can celebrate however he wants. He hit a homerun.
Only thing I'm worried about is throwing a better pitch in that spot."

Fans getting their panties in a twist while fellow players shrug and say who cares.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

This is the scenario I love:

Young guy hits homerun in a big spot, showboats a little going around the bases.

Certain percentage of fan base snickers of is really pissed at the celebration. (Particularly if player has dreads or is wearing a doo rag.)

Reporter asks pitcher after the game if he was pissed at celebration.

Pitchers says "hell, he can celebrate however he wants. He hit a homerun.
Only thing I'm worried about is throwing a better pitch in that spot."

Fans getting their panties in a twist while fellow players shrug and say who cares.

This is the scenario I love:

Young guy with dreadlocks or doo rag hits homerun in a big spot, showboats a little going around the bases thus neglecting to touch second. Is thrown out.

[Touch'EmAll]

The anticipation and excitement was tremendous when Ricky was on base! Just loved to see him - the cat/mouse with the pitchers trying to hold him close - his break to second base - his speed - the thrill of his head first slide! A lotta fun !

[D. Bergin]

Amazing, Rickey is basically the Wayne Gretzky of stolen bases. I just realized he played another 12 seasons AFTER he broke Lou Brock's record.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Touch'EmAll

The anticipation and excitement was tremendous when Ricky was on base! Just loved to see him - the cat/mouse with the pitchers trying to hold him close - his break to second base - his speed - the thrill of his head first slide! A lotta fun !

For a good part of his career...the pitcher and catcher KNEW he was going. It was just a matter of whether they could do anything about it.

Saw many Walks turn into Triples. Saw him get picked off a lot to. Also saw him beat a lot of pickoffs (and pitchouts) to 2nd base.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by todeen

A league full of Jesse Winkers would be unbearable!

Yeah, just like Rickey, Griffey Jr would be tame by comparison.

But you have to admit, the televised WBC games with Latin teams are entertaining. Randy Arozarena brings that flare. Little Leaguers were loving Arozarena a couple years ago. They were wearing pearls like Joc Pederson. It's fun to see kids finding joy like I did with Griffey.

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There's a misconception among MLB fans that think Latin players are being unfairly held back in the fun department. I watched winter league ball as part of my job for almost 15 years and I can tell you that the people who hate the Latin celebrations most are opposing Latin players. The amount of brawls in Latin countries (Mexico, Dominican, Colombia and Venezuela were the ones I watched the most) was far beyond anything we have seen in the majors.

They don't like over the top celebrations against them, they don't like guys watching homers. The celebrations where the entire team comes out of the dugout seems to be completely acceptable from what I've seen. I have probably seen at least twice as many winter league brawls in about 750 games total (give or take), than I have in almost 40 years of watching MLB and minor league games religiously, probably close to 10,000 games total. I've also watched about 150-200 games from Australia and I've seen one brawl there.

I thought it was hilarious that they were trying to make it about Latin players celebrating too much and that's why people were against it. They don't let anything go down there if it's disrespectful. MLB is a saint compared to winter ball in policing disrespectful celebrations.

So basically, Latin celebrations can add some excitement (you can't beat the crowds at winter league games) if done how they consider to be "correct", but winter ball celebrations can also lead to wild brawls pretty easy.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by todeen

I don't know. I don't think I've ever said "I'm so in love with this game because XYZ never offends anyone."

I started watching baseball in 1990s. People were saying Griffey was horrible for wearing his hat backward. Griffey is the undeniable favorite modern player for collectors.

Today, there is just something about watching Elly de la Cruz. He is young, a diamond in the rough, but he is bringing people to baseball. His bat flips, eagerness, smile, it's contagious. I've worn Reds hats and jerseys for years. Nobody cared. Now random people walk past me and stop me to say things. And it's no longer, "Are you a Chicago Bears fan?"

Shohei Ohtani is just boring, regardless of his talent. Rickey being Rickey made people love him or hate him.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

I think Acuna plays the game with great flair and joy, without being too obnoxious.

[Vintagedeputy]

One of the most electric ball players I’ve ever seen play.

I hope wherever Rickey is at now, he can see the Entire State Building from there.

[jbsports33]

One of the reasons I got into the hobby at age 9 was Rickey Henderson - he will be missed - my first card that I ever got was 1980 Topps RC card

Jimmy