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Ricky Henderson-RIP

Greatest lead off hitter of all time and probably would have been valued even more in this era because of the OBP skill.
 
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A dynamic baseball player. Harkens me back to a time when baseball was more fun. I agree dehere23. Greatest leadoff hitter of all time. But I really wonder though if he would be valued the same way because metrics has essentially taken the steal out of the game. Would still be a great player today but with probably 40-50 steals a year. RIP Rickey.
 
A dynamic baseball player. Harkens me back to a time when baseball was more fun. I agree dehere23. Greatest leadoff hitter of all time. But I really wonder though if he would be valued the same way because metrics has essentially taken the steal out of the game. Would still be a great player today but with probably 40-50 steals a year. RIP Rickey.
He was a career .400+ OBP, I think, and probably better than that in his peak. That plus the power and speed - I think he would have been valued even more so today.
 
Tremendous player. Electric is right. Personality too. Talking in the third person cracked me up.

Played in a time when baseball was way more interesting and dynamic, IMO.

RIP.
 
Tremendous player. Electric is right. Personality too. Talking in the third person cracked me up.

Played in a time when baseball was way more interesting and dynamic, IMO.

RIP.
He was a better Mickey Rivers with power. His interviews were almost as much fun as watching him play.
 
A dynamic baseball player. Harkens me back to a time when baseball was more fun. I agree dehere23. Greatest leadoff hitter of all time. But I really wonder though if he would be valued the same way because metrics has essentially taken the steal out of the game. Would still be a great player today but with probably 40-50 steals a year. RIP Rickey.
Steals are actually very much back in and being valued more and on the way up..plus he’s a 400 on base and career 800+ OPS with two seasons over 1000 in his prime

He’d be a big time player now…he also almost never struck out..his power is a little low by todays standards but I bet in todays game he’d have 8-10 more HR a year..however SO might also increase
 
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I recall watching him at Yankee Stadium in 1982 when he was on A’s. Year he stole 130 bases. There was buzz in crowd when he got on base. Of course he proceeded to steal 2nd and 3rd. One of the greats and very exciting player to watch. RIP
 
Became an A’s fan back in 1979 because of him and then Armas in 1980. Never stopped until I had kids and just stayed with the Mets 8 years ago.

Best lead off hitter ever and made you want to pay attention when he was on the base paths.
 
A favorite Rickey story.

As many know, MLB players receive per-diem money for road trips. That money is (was) paid out in cash at the beginning of a road trip with the total depending on the length of a trip. If per-diem was $50 per day, you would receive $500 for a 10-day trip.

Rickey was known for not spending the allowance. He would simply pocket the envelope. What he would do was put the sealed envelopes into a shoe box. When one of his children achieved something or maybe even did the chores, he would direct them to the closet where the shoe boxes were and tell them they could pick one.

From there, it was luck of the draw, there might be $100 or $1,000 in one of those envelopes. You didn't know until it was opened.

FYI. The current per-diem is $117.50 a day.

Rest in peace Rickey and happy heavenly birthday.
 
Growing up in So Cal, Steve Garvey was my all time favorite player. But, Rickey Henderson instantly became a close 2nd. I went with my father on a business trip of his to Oakland and we went to an A's game at night. It was a cold night and there was a small crowd. It was Rickey's rookie year and we waited as the players left the stadium. Rickey spent 10 to 15 minutes talking with me and laughing it up. I was a fan of his for life.

On top of that, Rickey was probably the most exciting player in the game!
 
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I went to a Yankee game sometime in the mid 80s. Ricky was playing for the Yanks and lead off. He hit a towering home run to left field that was going into the upper deck until it hit the foul pole near the top. That was the last hitable ball served up to him on that night. Yanks ended up losing two to one. At least I saw a great player hit a long home run.
 
Such great memories of Rickey from my childhood. Playing Wiffleball as a kid my older brother was the Yankees and my neighbor was the Mets so I chose the A's because of Rickey. I'd mimic his unique crouched over batting stance, leg kick, follow-through and mannerisms.

I vividly remember the excitement I had after reading in The Star Ledger he was traded to the Yankees. Rickey was part of some scary lineups with Mattingly, Winfield and others. Entertaining teams with 3 truly great players that never had the pitching depth to put it all together.

He had a career .401 OBP, 1400 steals, 2295 Runs. Best leadoff man in baseball history and best base stealer in baseball history. An Ironman who played 25 seasons taking a pounding. Led the Majors with 66 SBs at age 39. Truly one of a kind, generational player and personality.

A prime Rickey would steal 150+ bases with today's rules. Hopefully those rules bring base stealing back to the game.

RIP Rickey
 
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