Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball91Ƶs leadoff position, has died. He was 65.
Henderson died on Friday. The Athletics said Saturday they were 91Ƶshocked and heartbroken by his passing,91Ƶ but did not specify a cause of death.
Known as baseball91Ƶs 91ƵMan of Steal,91Ƶ Henderson had a lengthy list of accolades and accomplishments over his nomadic 25-year career 91Ƶ an MVP, 10 All-Star selections, two World Series titles and a Gold Glove award.
But it was stealing bases where Henderson made his name and dominated the sport like no other.
He broke through with 100 steals in his first full season in the majors in 1980, topping Ty Cobb91Ƶs AL single-season record with Billy Martin91Ƶs 91ƵBilly Ball91Ƶ Oakland Athletics. He barely slowed playing for nine franchises over the next two decades. He broke Lou Brock91Ƶs single-season record of 118 by stealing 130 bases in 1982 and led the league in steals for seven straight seasons and 12 overall.
He broke Brock91Ƶs career record when he stole his 939th base on May 1, 1991, for Oakland. He famously pulled third base out of the ground and showed it off to the adoring crowd before giving a speech that he capped by saying: 91ƵLou Brock was a great base stealer, but today I am the greatest of all time.91Ƶ
Henderson finished his career with 1,406 steals. His 468-steal edge over Brock matches the margin between Brock and Jimmy Rollins, who is in 46th place with 470.
Henderson said in September he would have had many more steals in his career and in the record-breaking 1982 season if had overlapped with his career.
91ƵIf I was playing today, I would get 162, right now, without a doubt,91Ƶ he said. 91ƵBecause if they had had that rule, you can only throw over there twice, you know how many times they would be throwing over there twice and they91Ƶd be going, 91ƵAh, (shoot), can y91Ƶall send him to third? Give him two bases and send him to third.91Ƶ That would be me.91Ƶ
Henderson91Ƶs accomplishment that record-breaking day in 1991 was slightly overshadowed that night when Nolan Ryan threw his record seventh career no-hitter. Henderson already had been Ryan91Ƶs 5,000th career strikeout victim, which led him to say, 91ƵIf you haven91Ƶt been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you91Ƶre nobody.91Ƶ
That was clearly not the case for Henderson. He is also the career leader in runs scored with 2,295 and in leadoff home runs with 81, ranks second to Barry Bonds with 2,190 walks and is fourth in games played (3,081) and plate appearances (13,346). He finished his career with 3,055 hits over 25 seasons spent with Oakland, the New York Yankees, Toronto, San Diego, Anaheim, the New York Mets, Seattle, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He fittingly finished his career with the Dodgers at age 44 in 2003 by scoring a run in his final play on a major league field.
Henderson is the third prominent baseball Hall of Famer with ties to the Bay Area who died this year, following the deaths in June of former Giants stars and .
Henderson was the rare position player who batted from the right side and threw with his left arm 91Ƶ but then again, everything about Henderson was unique.
He batted out of an extreme crouch, making for a tighter strike zone that contributed to his high walk total. He struck fear in opponents with his aggressive leads off first, his fingers twitching between his legs inside his batting gloves as he eyed the pitcher and the next base.
Born on Christmas Day in 1958 in Chicago in the back of his parents91Ƶ Chevy, Henderson grew up in Oakland and developed into a star athlete. He played baseball, basketball and football at Oakland Tech High School and was a highly sought-after football recruit who could have played tailback at Southern California, where he could have played eventually with football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen.
But Henderson said his mother loved baseball and thought it would be the safer career in a decision that proved to be prescient.
91ƵShe didn91Ƶt want her baby to get hurt,91Ƶ Henderson told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2019. 91ƵI was mad, but she was smart. Overall, with the career longevity and the success I had, she made the right decision. Some of the players in football now have short careers and they can barely move around when they91Ƶre done.91Ƶ
Henderson was selected in the fourth round of the 1976 amateur draft by the hometown A91Ƶs and made his big league debut in 1979 with two hits 91Ƶ and, of course, one stolen base.
He became a star for the A91Ƶs the following season and remained in Oakland through 1984 before being traded to the New York Yankees. He was part of some talented teams in New York that never made the postseason. In 1985, he scored 146 runs in 143 games to go along with a league-leading 80 steals and 24 homers, helping start the 91Ƶ80-20 club91Ƶ that season with Cincinnati91Ƶs Eric Davis.
He was traded back to Oakland in June 1989, leading to his greatest successes. He topped the AL that season with 113 runs, 126 walks and 77 steals, was named the ALCS MVP and helped lead the A91Ƶs to the World Series title in the Bay Bridge series against the Giants.
Henderson then won the AL MVP the following season for Oakland before the A91Ƶs lost the World Series to Cincinnati.
He set the career steals record in 1991 and then was traded two years later to Toronto, where he won his second World Series. He spent the final decade of his career bouncing around the majors and still led the AL with 66 steals and 118 walks at age 39 with Oakland in 1998.