RIP Rickey Henderson

Greatest stolen base guy of all time.

Rickey Henderson, Baseball's Career Steals Leader, Dies at 65

 

Such a great player. I don't think it's disrespectful to retell my Rickey story. When he was with the Red Sox, they were in Toronto as was I for the Herald. Inside the Dome, I saw Rickey and Manny Ramirez walking back to the clubhouse from an indoor batting cage. They were deep in conversation and I moved to eavesdrop, eager to learn what two great hitters thought of their art. I got within earshot to hear Rickey tell Manny the following.
"Now when you're going bad, people are going to try and tell you to think up there. That's what's really gonna fuck you up."

 

Damn.

 

Posted on the other thread before I saw this one:

Wow. One of those guys who truly seemed invincible and could come back and swipe a bag or two, even at age 65.

TMZ says pneumonia. Awful. Wonder if he just didn't get to a doc, or an underlying condition.

RIP to a giant of the game.

 

Rickey wasn't going to admit he was dead until Rickey heard it from God himself. RIP, Rickey. Best leadoff batter I've ever seen. Crouched so low he had almost no strike zone, but somehow could generate power that other run-first guys only dreamed of. Everybody in the stands knew Rickey was going to steal a base and still did it anyway.

If there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, Rickey was one arrogant SOB but damn could he back it up.

 

My favorite Rickey Henderson story:

 

Somewhere in a box in storage, I have the ripped out page from SI’s Last Word (or whatever the back page was called back then) the week Rickey broke the stolen base record. I don’t remember who wrote the piece but it was beautiful and I’ve kept it all these years. RIP Rickey.

 

Wow, RIP. Definitely had a poster of him and distinctly remember the day the Yanks traded him back to Oakland...and didn't get anyone high profile in return.

 

The amazing thing about Rickey is that it's been 35 years since he was in his prime, and there really haven't been any "new Rickey Hendersons."

Of course, analytics has just about completely discounted stolen bases, so there probably isn't likely to be, unless some major changes in the conditions of the game suddenly reemphasize the stolen bases.

 

He was the bane of baseball coaches in the 1980s as kids tried to imitate his snap catches of fly balls, his batting stance and his stolen bases.

Cocky? Hell yes. But entertaining and talented as hell. One of the best leadoff hitters ever. RIP.

 

Damn. And I haven’t gotten to Howard Bryant’s book yet. I’ll have to move that up the list now.

 

Not Rickey. No. Just a few days shy of his Christmas birthday. Got his autograph as a kid, he'd wave at us in the left field bleachers at the Coliseum. Truly an icon of the franchise. I almost think his stolen base record overshadowed how great he was with the glove and his hitting. Almost glad he didn't have to witness the A's play a game after leaving Oakland. To go from a stud high school player to an HOF player in the same town you grew up in? Amazing.
I didn't realize he tied Brock's single-season record on a pick-off. He beat the throw from first.

Rickey Henderson's top career moments with the A's | 02/06/2021