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Rickey Henderson: First Round Pick for Immortality
By Charlie O. Mallonee January 12, 2009 |
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Baseball’s greatest base stealer and possibly its greatest lead off hitter, Rickey Henderson, received the call to the Hall of Frame Monday in first year of eligibility. Henderson was voted into Cooperstown with 94.8 percent of the votes cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the official voting body for the Hall of Fame. Rickey Henley Henderson played 25 seasons of Major League Baseball spending time with nine different teams. Henderson played for the Oakland Athletics on four separate occasions for a total of 13 seasons. He may have been a Yankee, Padre, Angel, Met, Blue Jay, Mariner, Red Sox and Dodger but when you think of Rickey Henderson, you see him in the green and gold of the Oakland A’s. Henderson broke the all time stolen base record as an Athletic. Here are just a few of Henderson’s accomplishments as a major leaguer: · 10x All-Star selection (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991) · 2x World Series champion (1989, 1993) · 3x Silver Slugger Award winner (1981, 1982, 1985) · Gold Glove Award winner (1981) · 1990 AL MVP · 1989 ALCS MVP · 1999 NL Comeback Player of the Year MLB Records · 1,406 career stolen bases · 2,295 career runs · 81 career lead-off home runs · 130 stolen bases, single season Rickey Henderson was a career .279 hitter who accumulated 3055 hits, 297 Home Runs, 1406 Stolen Bases and 2295 Runs Scored in his 25 seasons. Henderson made a lot of money playing baseball, and he earned every dollar of it. As you look at Henderson’s list of accomplishments, one has to be impressed. However, Rickey Henderson’s career is so much more than just a list of statistics. I had the privilege of seeing Rickey Henderson play in person at least 150 times during his career. I watched him as a fan and as a reporter. I never watched a more exciting player than Henderson play the game. When Rickey came to the plate, I made sure to give him my undivided attention because Rickey was always a threat to make things happen. For example, Rickey Henderson holds the major league record for leading a game at the plate with Home Run 81 times in his career. Rickey Henderson was always a difference maker in any game he played. Rickey Henderson loved to play baseball, but I am not sure that baseball loved Rickey but with an equal intensity. Rickey could be aloof, spoke in the third person about himself and never suffered from self-doubt. These traits sometimes alienated Rickey from the fans. In my opinion, Rickey Henderson was not a self-centered, conceited, non-caring Superstar. He was a professional who knew what his bosses expected of him and gave them what they paid him for every game. This did not always make him warm and fuzzy, but it did make him player who always gave the fans their money’s worth for paying to see him play. "I feel great about it. I love the game and I wanted to continue playing. It came to a time that I had to stop. It's been five years and they chose me to go into the Hall of Fame. So I couldn't be any more thrilled or pleased," said Henderson. According to A’s General Manager and former Henderson teammate Billy Beane, “He's the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time. And I'm not sure there's a close second." Rickey Henderson deserves the honor he received on Monday because he earned it over 25 seasons of baseball played at a level, few can ever hope to attain. You can be sure that Rickey is very happy for Rickey! Charlie O. Mallonee reports on baseball, motorsports and whatever else he feels like covering for Sports Radio Service. You can contact him at raydeoman@gmail.com |
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