National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Henderson passed away in East Bay, Calif., at the age of 65 from battling pneumonia on Saturday, December 21, before his birthday on Christmas Day.
Henderson holds the all-time records in Major League Baseball with runs scored at 2,295 and 1,406 stolen bases.
He also holds the MLB season record in stolen bases with 130 in 1982, breaking Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock’s record.
Henderson also broke Brock’s record with the most stolen bases in MLB history in the 1991 regular season when he swiped third base for his 939th career stolen base against the New York Yankees at the Oakland Coliseum.
The right-handed slugger played 25 seasons in the majors with the Oakland Athletics in four stints from 1979-84, 1989-93, 1994-1995, and 1998, the New York Yankees from 1985-89, the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, the San Diego Padres from 1996-97 and 2001, the Anaheim Angels in 1997, the New York Mets from 1999-2000, the Boston Red Sox in 2002, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003.
“I love the game of baseball. That’s why it was so hard for me to walk away from the game. I thought if Satchel Paige can be a star and play in Major League Baseball at the age of 45, then with my dedication and hard work and desire, I can play the game until my body said it was time to hang it up,” Henderson said in his Hall of Fame induction speech.
Henderson was inducted into Cooperstown in his first year on the ballot in 2009 after receiving 94.8 percent of the Hall of Fame vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Henderson was a 10-time All-Star in 1980, from 1982-1988, and 1990-91, a two-time World Series champion in 1989 and 1993, a Gold Glove Award winner in 1981, led the American League in stolen bases from 1980-86, 1988-1991, and 1998, a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner in 1981, 1985, and 1990, won the AL MVP in 1990, and the AL Championship Series MVP in 1989.
His No. 24 is retired with the green and gold alongside No. 27 Catfish Hunter, No. 9 Reggie Jackson, No. 43 Dennis Eckersley, No. 34 Rollie Fingers, and Dave Stewart.
Henderson’s number was retired from the Athletics on August 1, 2009.
Henderson made his mark in the Bay Area before being drafted by the Athletics in the fourth round of the 1976 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California.
He progressed through the minor leagues with the Short-Season Boise A’s in 1976, the California League Single-A, Modesto A’s in 1977, the Double-A Jersey City A’s in 1978, and the Triple-A Ogden A’s in 1979 before making his MLB debut on June 24, 1979 with Oakland.
In his 25-year career, Henderson played in 3,081 games with a 111.1 WAR in 13,346 plate appearances, hitting .279, ripping 3,055 hits, 510 hits, 66 triples, 297 home runs, 1,115 RBI, 2,190 walks, 1,694 strikeouts, and a .820 OPS.
Henderson played all three outfield positions during his MLB career, playing in 2,0826 games and 2,754 starts, through 23,672.2 innings. He had 6,740 chances, 131 assists, 141 errors, 23 double plays, and a .979 fielding percentage.
Henderson also took his talents to the Caribbean and played for Leones de Ponce in the Puerto Rico Winter League for two seasons from 1979-81.
He batted .298 for Leones de Ponce and played in 87 games with 313 at-bats, drilling 93 hits, 10 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 24 RBI, 64 walks, and 32 strikeouts.
Henderson broke the PRWL stolen base record in the 1980-81 season when he swiped 44 bases and was selected to the league’s All-Star Team.
Henderson also played in Liga Mexicana del Pacifico for one season in the 1978-79 winter league season with the Mayos de Navojoa organization under manager Chuck Goggin and helped them reach the 1979 Caribbean Series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Henderson batted .348 at the 1979 Caribbean Series and smacked eight hits in 23 at-bats through six games, stealing four bases. This tied the tournament record set by Chuck Connors with Alacranes del Almendares from Cuba in 1949, Sam Bankhead and player-coach Leon Kellman for the Refresqueros de Spur Cola from Panama in 1949, Solly Drake with Tigres de Marianao from Cuba in 1957, and Gonzalo Marquez from the Navegantes del Magallanes in Venezuela in 1970.
Henderson played in left field at the 1979 Caribbean Series and was selected to the 1979 All-Caribbean Series Team.
Luis Salazar of the Leones del Caracas in 1982 and Leonel Carrion for Aguilas del Zulia in 1984 had four stolen bases at the Caribbean Series until Henry Cotto swiped six bases for the Criollos de Caguas at the 1987 tournament at Estadio de Béisbol Héctor Espino in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
During Henderson’s only season for the Mayos de Navojoa franchise, he played in 44 games, hitting .257 with 175 at-bats, 45 hits, four doubles, one triple, and 11 RBI.
Henderson was second in stolen bases in the 1978-79 LMP season with 22, right behind Venados de Mazatlan’s Rudy Law with 31.
The Caribbean winter leagues set the tone for Henderson’s career, and even though he played until he was 44-years old, the landscape of playing during the MLB offseason helped him become one of the most prolific ballplayers of all time and gave him the nickname the “Man of Steal” and the most feared on the basepaths.
Rickey will be missed but his legacy will live on forever with the hearts and people that he has touched so many lives around in the game till this very day.
