Sad News, Rickey Henderson Passes

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

For all his hilarious Rickeyisms, he was truly a genius on the diamond. What a wonderful story regarding Mize. It goes to prove that the best are forever learning, always students.

Rickey would have made for a very interesting manager if only he could have learned English! . Imagine Rickey as manager with Yogi as a coach. What I would have given to be at those press meetings.

[Kutcher55]

Wasn’t a big fan for most of his career, although he did seem to mature later on in some ways. Back in 82 the year he stole 130 my dad and I were on a west coast trip and went to a midsummer Oakland game. The A’s fell behind 6-0 early and Henderson drew a walk and immediately tried to steal 2nd. They pitched out and threw him out by a mile. My dad commented (correctly imo) that it was a selfish play and bad baseball given the game situation. I also didn’t like how Rickey seemed to invent that odd glove flip after making routine catches on fly balls. I don’t know if he was the first to do it but I recall seeing him do it. This is unfundamental baseball of course. You’re supposed to catch everything with two hands and it always struck me as unnecessary bombast. I also didn’t love when he hoisted 3rd base in the air when he beat Brock’s record, although in retrospect I’m probably being a snob about that and it was kind of cool and also spoke volumes about his personality. He went to quite a few teams. Just struck me as a mercenary me first type, certainly not humble in any event. Over time, the good, playful side of his personality came out and he seemed to mature with life experience, like most people do. In any event, he was an outstanding player.

[Belfast1933]

“Best ever….”

Not many unarguable “best ever” players in baseball history:

Nolan Ryan - best ever strike out pitcher
Mariano Rivera - best ever closer
Willie Mays - best ever all around player

Rickey Henderson - best ever leadoff hitter

After 140 or so years of history, it’s really something to be be the undisputed best at anything in this game - and Rickey was one of those few.

What a legendary player he was

[GeoPoto]

My son-in-law grew up an Oakland A's fan during Rickey's prime. As a kid he had a poster in his bedroom of the iconic photograph of Rickey holding third base over his head immediately after breaking the record and just before the "I am the greatest" speech. His mother had taken the poster to a show and gotten Rickey to sign it. As you might expect, the poster disappeared between high school and marriage.

Several years ago, I commissioned a mosaic of the poster made from baseball cards and gave it to him. It strikes me as the way that Rickey would like to be remembered:

[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.

[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

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

Wasn’t a big fan for most of his career, although he did seem to mature later on in some ways. Back in 82 the year he stole 130 my dad and I were on a west coast trip and went to a midsummer Oakland game. The A’s fell behind 6-0 early and Henderson drew a walk and immediately tried to steal 2nd. They pitched out and threw him out by a mile. My dad commented (correctly imo) that it was a selfish play and bad baseball given the game situation.

That was all Billy Martin. Billy had burned out the A's starting staff the previous couple of seasons and the offense had the lowest Batting Average in all of baseball that season. Billy was just playing chaos ball to try and stay in games.

They had Rickey and a bit of pop, so they were still about league average in Runs Scored, but their pitching was so horrendous it didn't matter.

Billy gave Rickey the green light to go whenever, wherever, and in all situations. Just try and cause chaos and maybe we'll eke one out here and there.

Also rumors were Billy was trying to get fired to go back and work for Steinbrenner......so....there's that.

Not a coincidence Billy did come back as manager, the same year Henderson came to the Yanks.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

He went to quite a few teams. Just struck me as a mercenary me first type....

Yeah, I wish he'd just stayed with the Oakland Athletics through at least the 2002 season and then perhaps closed out his career in the other League with the New York Mets or somebody. Clearly he didn't need the money, e.g. not cashing his $1 million bonus cheque from the Yankees. Playing musical chairs invariably detracts from a player's legacy.

Still, these records are something with which it's nearly impossible to argue:

Career Runs - 2295
Career Stolen Bases - 1406 (50% ahead of Lou Brock in second place)
Career Unintentional Walks - 2129

Single Season Stolen Bases - 130

Here's a good write-up of Ricky's achievements;

Man of Steal - FOX Sports

I like the one where he had zero At-Bats in a game yet stole five bases and four runs.