Monday, January 12, 2009

Rickey Henderson Heading to Cooperstown



Rickey Henderson was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot today and I want to be the first to say congratulations to the man. Henderson was my favorite baseball player growing up and he is the reason I am still an Oakland A's fan to this day. I skipped school to see him break the all-time stolen base record. I travelled over 250 miles to see him play against the Detroit Tigers. I collected all of his cards I could get my hands on. Simply put, Rickey Henderson was the one and only baseball idol in my life. I wanted his speed but more than anything, I wanted his neon green Mizuno batting gloves (I eventually settled for an all black pair). I know he was cocky, I know he was an illeist but those things cannot take away from what he accomplished in his very long career.



Career Stats and Milestones

Career Stats:

Stolen bases: 1,406 (all-time leader by 468 bases)

Runs scored: 2,295

Hits: 3,055

Games led off with a home run: 81

Single Season Record Stats:

Stolen bases: 130 (1982)

Stolen bases in a single postseason series: 8 (1989 ALCS)

Highlights and Awards:

American League stolen bases leader: 12 times

Major league stolen base leader: 6 times

Major league runs scored leader: 5 times

American League walks leader: 4 times

World Series Champion: 2 times (1989 Oakland A's, 1993 Toronto Blue Jays)

American League MVP 1990

ALCS MVP 1989

All-Star 10 Times: 1980, 1982–88, 1990–91

Glove Glove Winner 1981

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