Rickey Henderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Free Agent — No. | |
| Left field | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 24, 1979 for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| AVG | .279 |
| HR | 297 |
| RBI | 1,115 |
| Teams | |
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Oakland Athletics (1979-1984, 1989-1993, 1994-1995, 1998) |
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Rickey Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is baseball's major-league all-time leader in stolen bases, by a very wide margin [1].
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s his on-base percentage and high stolen-base totals made him one of baseball's premier leadoff hitters. He is Major League Baseball's all-time leader in runs scored, stolen bases, and leadoff home runs, and he holds the single-season records for stolen bases and caught-stealing. At the time of his retirement, he was also the career leader in walks, a record since surpassed by Barry Bonds.
Statistician Bill James, once asked if he thought Rickey Henderson was a Hall of Famer, replied: "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."
[edit] Early years
Henderson was born into a single-parent home in Chicago, but Ricky moved to Oakland, California at age 7. He became friends with Oakland Athletics owner Charles O. Finley as a boy.
He graduated in 1976 from Oakland Technical High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and football (he was was an All-American running back). He received two dozen scholarship offers to play football, but turned them down.[2]
[edit] Minor Leagues
Henderson, blessed with speed and explosiveness, was drafted by Oakland in the fourth round in 1976. Rickey worked his way through the minor leagues in just 3 and a half seasons. In those 4 years, each season he batted .309 or better, with an obp of .417 or better, and more walks than strikeouts. In May 1977, Henderson stole 7 bases in one game, tying the minor league record.
[edit] Major Leagues
[edit] Oakland Athletics (1979-84)
Henderson made his big league debut with Oakland on June 24, 1979, going 2-for-4 with a steal.
Henderson batted .274 with 33 stolen bases in a little more than half a season. Despite this strong performance, Henderson did not receive any votes for the Rookie of the Year award, even though his abbreviated numbers compared favorably with both of the co-winners (John Castino and Alfredo Griffin).
Finley hired legendary manager Billy Martin in 1980, and Martin's aggressive "Billy-Ball" philosophy propelled Rickey into stardom. Henderson became the 3rd modern-era player to steal 100 bases in a season (Maury Wills (104) and Lou Brock (118) had preceded him). His 100 steals set a new American League record, surpassing Ty Cobb's 96, set in 1915. That winter, Henderson played in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, where his 44 stolen bases broke that league's record as well.
Henderson was a serious Most Valuable Player candidate a year later, in a season shortened by a players' strike. He hit .319, 4th in the American League, led the league in hits, and again led the league in steals with 56. Finishing second to Milwaukee's Rollie Fingers in the MVP voting, Henderson's flashy fielding that season also earned him his only Gold Glove Award. Rickey Henderson later became known for his showboating "snatch catches," in which he would flick his glove out at incoming fly balls, then whip his arm behind his back.
In 1982, Henderson shattered Lou Brock's modern major league record by stealing 130 bases, a total which has not been approached since. (Three years later, Vince Coleman stole 110 bases.) During the 1982 season, Henderson had an astounding 84 stolen bases at the All-Star break - 21 more than any other player in history. No player has stolen as many as 84 bases in an entire season since 1988, when Henderson himself stole 93. He also continued to develop as a hitter, and even began to hit for some power, eventually owning the record for home runs to lead off a game.
[edit] NY Yankees (1985-89)
In 1985, he was traded to the New York Yankees. That year he led the league in runs scored (146 in just 143 games) and stolen bases (80), was 4th in the league in walks (99) and on base percentage (.419), and had 24 home runs while hitting .314. He also won the Silver Slugger Award, and was 3rd in the voting for MVP.
In 1986 he led the AL in runs scored (130) and stolen bases (87) for the 2nd year in a row, and was 7th in walks (89).
He had an off-season, by his standards, in 1987, beginning a problematic relationship with frustrated Yankee fans and the New York media. Still, he had his till-then career-best obp (.423), and was 5th in the AL in stolen bases (41) despite playing only 95 games.
In 1988 he led the AL in stolen bases (93), was 3rd in runs scored (118), 5th in obp (.394), and 7th in walks (82), while hitting .305.
It took Henderson just three and a half seasons to break the Yankees' franchise record for stolen bases.
[edit] Back to Oakland (1989-93)
After a mid-season trade to Oakland in 1989, Henderson eventually re-established himself as one of the game's greatest players during that postseason. He was MVP of the American League Championship Series with 8 steals in 5 games to go with a 1.000 slugging percentage. Leading the A's to their first World Series title since 1974, he hit .474 with a .895 slugging average.
A year later, he finished second in the league in batting average with a mark of .325, losing out to George Brett on the final day of the season. He had a remarkably consistent season, with his batting average falling below .320 for only one game — the third of the year. Reaching safely by a hit or a walk in 125 of his 136 games, his on-base average was a league-leading .439. With 119 runs scored, 28 homers, 61 RBI and 65 stolen bases, he won the 1990 MVP award and helped Oakland to another pennant. He again performed well in the World Series (.333 batting, .667 slugging, 3 steals in 4 games), but the A's were swept by the underdog Cincinnati Reds.
[edit] Toronto Blue Jays (1993)
In July 1993 he was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Karsay and Jose Herrera.
In 1993 he hit 21 home runs, and was 2nd in the Americal League in walks (120), 3rd in on base percentage (.432), 4th in stolen bases (53), and 5th in runs (114).
[edit] Back to Oakland, Again (1993-95)
In December 1993 he re-signed as a free agent with Oakland.
In 1994 he was 4th in the AL in walks (72), and 8th in on base percentage (.411).
In 1995 he batted .300 and was 8th in the AL in stolen bases (32), and 10th in on base percentage (.407).
[edit] San Diego Padres (1996-97)
In December 1995 he signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
In 1996 he was 4th in the National League in walks (125), 5th in on base percentage (.410), and 6th in stolen bases (37), while scoring 110 runs.
[edit] Anaheim Angels (1997)
In August 1997 he was traded by the Padres to the Anaheim Angels for Ryan Hancock and Stevenson Agosto.
[edit] Fourth Time with Oakland (1998)
In January 1998 he signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
That season he led the American League in stolen bases (66) and walks (118), while scoring 101 runs.
[edit] NY Mets (1999-2000)
In December 1998 he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.
In 1999 he batted .315 and was 7th in the National League in on base percentage (.423; the 9th year in a row in which his obp was .400 or better) and stolen bases (37), and 9th in hbp (10).
In May 2000 he was released by the New York Mets.
[edit] Seattle Mariners (2000)
In May 2000 he signed as a free agent with the Seattle Mariners.
In 2000 he was 4th in the AL in stolen bases (31).
[edit] San Diego Padres, Again (2001)
In March 2001 he signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
That year he was 9th in the NL in stolen bases (25).
[edit] Boston Red Sox (2002)
In February 2002 he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox. That season, at 42, he was the oldest major leaguer.
[edit] LA Dodgers (2003)
In July 2003 he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
[edit] Stolen base king
On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke one of baseball's most famous records when he stole the 939th base of his career, one more than Lou Brock. However, Henderson's achievement was somewhat overshadowed because Nolan Ryan, at age 44, set a record that same night by throwing a no-hitter against Toronto, the seventh of his career. Two years earlier, Ryan had also achieved glory at Henderson's expense by making him his 5,000th strikeout victim.
Rickey also took some heat for his famous speech afterwards where, with Brock looking on from the field, he proclaimed, "Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest!" As it now stands, however, Henderson has 468 more stolen bases than Brock. For his career, Henderson has 50% more stolen bases (1,406) than the sport's all-time runner-up (938). Just the difference in the two men's totals would place in the Top 25 on the all-time modern list. The proportional margin is one of the greatest for any career statistical category in professional sport.
In his prime, Henderson had a virtual monopoly on the stolen base title in the American League. Between 1980 and 1991, he led the league in SB's every season except 1987, when an injury caused him to lose the title to Seattle Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds. He had one more league-leading season after that stretch, with 66 steals in 1998 making him the oldest SB leader in baseball history. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Henderson also owns the record for times caught stealing (335). However, his overall 81% success rate on the basepaths is among the highest percentages in history. (Tim Raines ranks first with 84%.)
On July 29, 1989, Henderson stole 5 bases against the Seattle Mariners' left-handed Randy Johnson, his career high, and one shy of the single-game MLB record. Unusually, Henderson was 0-0 in the game (he had four walks). Henderson had eighteen 4-steal games during his career. In August 1983, in a 3-game series against the Brewers and a short 2-game one versus the Yankees, Henderson had 13 stolen bases in 5 games. No surprise; he'd just done the same thing — 13 steals in 5 games — that July.
Henderson was an All-Star in 10 of his first 12 seasons. He went on to have many more good years, and earned a second World championship ring with the Toronto Blue Jays, who acquired him in midseason from Oakland, in 1993 for Steve Karsay. In fact, Henderson was the first of two men on base (the other being Paul Molitor) when Joe Carter hit his legendary walkoff home run to end the World Series. Henderson's stint in Toronto was nevertheless nothing to write home about. After hitting .215 in 44 games, he returned to Oakland where he remained for two years, and made a 3rd return to Oakland in 1998, where he led the American League in stolen bases for a record 12th time at age 39. He also scored 101 runs, his 13th and final season topping 100. That season he also led the league in walks with 118.
[edit] Later years — career milestones
During the 2001 season, as a member of the San Diego Padres, Henderson broke 2 major league records and reached a career milestone. He broke Babe Ruth's all-time record for walks, Ty Cobb's all-time record for runs (doing so with a home run), and on the final day of the season, he had his 3,000th career hit. That final game was also Padre legend Tony Gwynn's last major league game, and Rickey had originally wanted to sit out so as not to detract from the occasion, but Gwynn insisted that Henderson play. At the age of 42, his last substantial major league season, Henderson finished the 2001 season with 25 stolen bases, ninth in the NL. It is a measure of his skill and longevity that his 25 steals increased his existing lead on all nine of the other Top 10 active stolen base leaders. It also marked Rickey Henderson's 23rd consecutive season in which he'd stolen more than 20 bases.
Rickey played with the Boston Red Sox in 2002, where he became the oldest player to play center field in major league history when he stood in for starter Johnny Damon. Incredibly, dating from 1979-2001, Rickey Henderson had stolen more bases than his new team, the Red Sox, had managed over the identical span: 1,395 steals for Rickey, 1,382 for the Boston franchise.
He started 2003 playing in the independent Atlantic League with the Newark Bears, hoping for a chance with another major league organization. Rickey got that chance (after much media attention) when the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him over the All-Star break. Though Henderson continued to put up good walks, runs, and SB totals in limited action, his last four seasons were spent bouncing among five different teams, and with increasingly limited playing time.
So far, Rickey ranks 4th all-time in games played (3,081), 10th in at-bats (10,961), 20th in hits (3,055), and first in runs scored (2,295) and stolen bases (1,406). His record for most walks all-time (2,190) has since been broken by Barry Bonds. He also holds the record for most home runs to lead off a game, with 81. In 1993, he led off both games of a doubleheader with HRs. At the time of his last major league game, Henderson was still in the all-time Top 100 home run hitters, with 297. Bill James wrote in 2000, "Without exaggerating one inch, you could find fifty Hall of Famers who, all taken together, don't own as many records, and as many important records, as Rickey Henderson."
Rickey Henderson is baseball's all-time leader in stolen bases before the age of 30. He is also its all-time leader after the age of 30. He has the most postseason stolen bases, 33 (Kenny Lofton, still active, currently has 32 in about 45% more plate appearances). Henderson also achieved an odd distinction by having four separate playing tenures with the same team-- the Oakland A's.
Henderson is one of two players to have stolen bases in four separate decades, along with Ted Williams. (Strangely, Williams only had 24 stolen bases in his entire career.)
In 1999, Henderson became the first man to play "left quadrant." This occurred during the "Mercury Mets" promotional "Turn Ahead the Clock Night," in which both teams wore futuristic uniforms. When Henderson's photo was shown on the scoreboard, he had three eyeballs and Mr. Spock ears.
In 1999, before having broken the career records for runs scored and walks, Henderson ranked number 51 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2005, The Sporting News updated their 100 Greatest Players list, and Henderson had moved up to number 50.
[edit] Retirement?
Henderson's last major league game to date occurred on September 19, 2003; he was hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance, and came around to score his 2,295th run. Though it is increasingly unlikely that Rickey Henderson will return to major league action, his status continues to confound, as he has yet to officially retire from professional baseball.
After leaving the Dodgers, Henderson started his second consecutive season with the Newark Bears in the spring of 2004. In 91 games he had a .462 obp, more than twice as many walks (96) as strikeouts (41), and stole 37 bases while being caught only twice.
On May 9, 2005, Rickey signed with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the Golden Baseball League, a Class-A independent league. This was the SurfDawgs' and the Golden Baseball League's inaugural season and Henderson helped the SurfDawgs to the league championship. In 73 games he had a .456 obp, 73 walks while striking out 43 times, and 16 steals while being caught only twice.
Henderson was quoted in May of 2005, still insisting that he is capable of playing in the major leagues. It was reported by NBC and ESPN that Henderson had announced his much-delayed official retirement on December 6, 2005, but this was denied by his agent the following day. On February 10, 2006, Henderson accepted a position as a hitting instructor for the New York Mets. He has left the door open to returning as a player.
On July 2, 2006, Henderson revealed that he had been offered the chance to rejoin the San Diego Surf Dawgs as a player for the 2006 season, which would have been his 31st in professional baseball, but decided he'd had enough. But six weeks later, on August 11, Henderson claimed "It's sort of weird not to be playing, but I decided to take a year off," adding, "I can't say I will retire. My heart is still in it... I still love the game right now, so I'm going to wait it out and see what happens."
Contrary to what some believe, Henderson's refusal to retire is not delaying his eligibility for Hall of Fame induction. Eligibility is based on major league service only, so provided Henderson does not play in the majors again he will be eligible beginning in 2008.
[edit] Unique playing style
Henderson's playing style has one especially unusual feature: he throws left-handed and bats right-handed. Many right-handed throwers bat left-handed, but the opposite is extremely rare, especially among non-pitchers. Another left-handed thrower who batted right-handed was former Yale baseball player and President George H. W. Bush. Explaining how that happened, Rickey once said, "All the other kids playing around me were batting right-handed, so that's the way I thought you were supposed to do it, so that's what I did, too. At one point, I wanted to be a switch-hitter and try the left side, but I was hitting .300, .350 in the minors, and they [the A's] wouldn't let me do it."
[edit] Malapropisms
Many stories have been told about Rickey Henderson over the years, both the player and person. He is well known for his malapropisms, being an illeist (for example, calling Padres GM Kevin Towers to inquire about a contract and leaving a message starting "this is Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey."), and for talking to himself at length when he is up to bat. He has been known to speak to his bats, asking them which one has the next hit inside them. In 2001, he described a long single this way: "I hit it out, but it didn't go out." Another time, Rickey was offered a seat on the team bus, the player saying that he had tenure. To which Rickey replied, "Ten years? What are you talking about? Rickey got 16, 17 years."
Another story occurred while Henderson was playing for the Oakland A's. Team bookkeepers could not account for a $1 million discrepancy in their finances. The mysterious figure was eventually traced to Henderson, who had received the sum as a signing bonus. Instead of cashing the check, he had it framed, where it still hung on his wall.[3]
Henderson has also been reported to take practice swings in the locker room in front of a mirror completely naked while repeatedly saying "Rickey's the best! You tha man, Rickey!"[4]
One widely reported story, however, is by all accounts a fabrication. Supposedly while playing for Seattle in 2000, Henderson went up to John Olerud, and remarked on Olerud's practice of wearing a batting helmet out on the field, noting that "Rickey used to have a teammate in Toronto who did the same thing." To which Olerud was said to have replied, "That was me." The two men had also been together the previous season, with the 1999 New York Mets. The humorous anecdote was much-repeated, but Olerud has denied it ever happened.
This rumor was started inside the NY Mets Clubhouse. It's started off as a joke and reporters heard the Mets staff repeat it and then the legend grew from there.
David Cross' comedy album, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, has an extended bit about Henderson's malapropisms.
[edit] Quotes
"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." - Rickey Henderson
"I did a lot of study and I found that it's impossible to throw Rickey Henderson out. I started using stopwatches and everything. I found it was impossible to throw some other guys out also. They can go from first to second in 2.9 seconds; and no pitcher catcher combination in baseball could throw from here to there to tag second in 2.9 seconds, it was always 3, 3.1, 3.2. So actually, the runner that can make the continuous, regular move like Rickey's can't be thrown out and he's proven it." - Charlie Metro
[edit] Accomplishments
[edit] Career Records
- Record for most stolen bases in a career (1,406)
- Record for most times caught stealing in a career (335)
- Record for most runs scored in a career (2,295)
- Ended his career with the record for most walks in a career (2,190 — since broken by Barry Bonds)
- Record for most seasons by a non-pitcher (25)
- Record for most consecutive seasons with at least one home run (25)
- Record for most postseason stolen bases (33)
- Record for most games led off with a home run (81)
[edit] Season Records
- Record for most stolen bases in a season (130, in 1982)
- Record for most times caught stealing in a season (42, in 1982)
[edit] Season Highlights
- Led the American League 12 times in stolen bases (1980-86, 1988-91, 1998)
- Led the Major Leagues 6 times in stolen bases (1980, 1982-83, 1988-89, 1998)
- Led the Major Leagues 5 times in runs scored (1981, 1985-86, 1989-90)
- Led the American League 4 times in walks (1982-83, 1989, 1998)
- Led the Major Leagues once in times on base (301, in 1980)
- Led the Major Leagues once in on-base percentage (1990)
- Led the American League once in hits (1981 (strike-shortened season), with 135)
[edit] Awards
- American League MVP (1990)
- American League Championship Series MVP (1989)
- Ten-time All-Star (1980, 1982-88, 1990-91)
- Gold Glove for the outfield (1981)
- Three-Time Silver Slugger for outfielder (1981, 1985, 1990)
[edit] Misc
- Had 21 game-ending RBI, the third most since 1957
- Oldest player in the American League (2002, at 43)
[edit] Teams
- Oakland Athletics: 1979-1984, 1989-1993, 1994-1995, 1998
- New York Yankees: 1985-1989
- Toronto Blue Jays: 1993
- San Diego Padres: 1996-1997, 2001
- Anaheim Angels: 1997
- New York Mets: 1999-2000
- Seattle Mariners: 2000
- Boston Red Sox: 2002
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 2003
- Newark Bears (Independent): 2003, 2004
- San Diego Surf Dawgs (Independent): 2005
[edit] See also
- 3000 hit club
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of MLB individual streaks
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- BaseballLibrary.com - biography
- Simply-Baseball-Notebook.com's Tribute to Rickey
- Manager Tom Trebelhorn on Rickey's minor league days
- Atlantic League Baseball
| Preceded by Dennis Eckersley |
American League Championship Series MVP 1989 |
Succeeded by Dave Stewart |
| Preceded by Robin Yount |
American League Most Valuable Player 1990 |
Succeeded by Cal Ripken, Jr. |
| Preceded by Greg Vaughn |
NL Comeback Player of the Year 1999 |
Succeeded by Andrés Galarraga |
| Preceded by Lou Brock |
Major League Baseball single season stolen base record holder 1982–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Lou Brock |
Major League Baseball career stolen base record holder 1991–present |
Succeeded by current |
Categories: Major league players from Illinois | Major league left fielders | Anaheim Angels players | Mayos de Navojoa players | Boston Red Sox players | Los Angeles Dodgers players | New York Mets players | New York Yankees players | Oakland Athletics players | San Diego Padres players | Seattle Mariners players | Toronto Blue Jays players | American League All-Stars | 1989 Oakland Athletics World Series Championship Team | 1993 Toronto Blue Jays World Series Championship Team | Gold Glove Award winners | 1958 births | Living people | African American baseball players | People from Chicago
