Saturday, December 21, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
A couple of hours ago, Rickey Henderson, the base stealer king in major league history, died at 65 of pneumonia. Henderson had a twenty-four-year major league career. He revised the profile of a lead-off hitter should be. Henderson had a unique combination of speed and power.
At 20, Henderson debuted with his hometown team, the Oakland Athletics. He took the baseball world by storm. If the 1981 regular season weren’t strike-shortened, Henderson probably would have won the American League MVP. He stole over 100 bases in 1980, 1982, and 1983. He has the most career stolen bases, unintentional walks, and lead-off home runs.
Henderson won two world championships while with the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays. He had over three thousand hits and 297 home runs. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, his last major league team, and influenced Dodger manager Dave Roberts. In his first year of eligibility, Henderson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Henderson was a flashy character in baseball. He was easily quoted. He liked to refer himself as Rickey.
