Yankees Remember Rickey, " Who commanded our attention like few players before or since"

@Yankees.

Rickey Henderson, Major League Baseball's all-time stolen base leader and one of the sport's greatest personalities, passed away at the age of 65 on Friday.

In a 22-year career, Henderson played most of his career with the Oakland Athletics and the Yankees among the nine teams he played for. 

Henderson debuted for Oakland in 1979, and he steal 100 bases the next season, the first of three times he would hit that plateau, with the other two in 1982, when he had 130 and 1983, when he had 108.

On December 5, 1984, Henderson was traded to the Yankees, along with pitcher Bert Bradley and cash considerations, for outfielder Stan Javier, and pitchers Tim Birtsas, Jay Howell, Eric Plunk, and Jose Rijo.

An All-Star in each of the four full seasons he spent with the Yankees, Henderson played in 596 games, and had 663 hits, 78 home runs, 255 RBI, and 326 stolen bases. 

Henderson has the three highest single-season stolen base totals in Yankee history - 93 in 1988; 87 in 1986; and 80 in 1985. His 326 career steals are second on the franchise's all-time list, behind Derek Jeter's 358 stolen bases in 2,747 games. 

Jeter also surpassed Henderson's team record for leadoff home runs, as he had 29 to Rickey's 24, which is remarkable, in all fairness to The Captain, considering it's basically 20 years' worth to four.

In 1985, Henderson won a Silver Slugger Award, and led the Major Leagues in runs scored in both 1985, with 146, and '86, when he had 130. 

Henderson was traded back to Oakland during the 1989 season for outfielder Luis Polonia and pitchers Greg Cadaret and Eric Plunk (yes he was in the first Yankee-Oakland Henderson trade too.

The return to Oakland would be a good one for Henderson, as he was part of their 1989 World Championship team, and he would set the stolen base record on May 1, 1991, ironically against the Yankees. That was the 939th stolen base of his career, surpassing Lou Brock's record, and he would rack up 1,406 in his career. (Side note: that mark was thought to be unbreakable, as stolen bases became far less common with analytics taking over the sport, only to return as new rules limited how many times the pitcher can throw over, which has increased them.)

Henderson, who also spent two years with the Mets (1999 and 2000), had 3,055 hits in his career, along with 297 home runs, 1, 115 RBI, 2,295 runs scored.

THE NEW YORK YANKEES RELEASED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ON SATURDAY NIGHT:

FROM THE YANKEES: “Rickey Henderson was an all-time great player who commanded our attention like few players before or since, transcending our traditional understanding of how elite and thrilling a single player could be in in the batter’s box and on the basepaths. When he stepped across the white lines, he was magnetic. Opponents, teammates and fans simply couldn’t take their eyes off him. Though he spent just four and a half seasons in pinstripes, Rickey left an indelible mark on our record book, and he entertained us not only with his baseball talent, but with a no-nonsense personality and knack for showmanship that were ahead of its time. We will deeply miss Rickey for everything he brought to the game, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Pamela, daughters Angela, Adrianna, and Alexis, and all his family and friends.”

 

DON MATTINGLY (YANKEES TEAMMATE 1985-89): “Rickey was simply the best player I ever played with. He could change the outcome of a game in so many ways. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about him. I will miss my friend.”

 

RON GUIDRY (YANKEES TEAMMATE 1985-88): “When you’re old and grey, sitting around with your buds talking about your career in baseball, you are going to talk about Rickey. He was just amazing to watch. There were great outfielders. There were great base stealers. There were great home run hitters. Rickey was a combination of all of those players. He did things out there on the field that the rest of us dreamed of.”

 

WILLIE RANDOLPH (YANKEES TEAMMATE 1985-88): “People always ask me who was the best player I’ve played with. I played with so many tremendous players through the years that I hate picking just one. But pound for pound, Rickey Henderson was the greatest player I ever played with. He possessed so many talents that could positively impact the outcome of a game. I’m going to treasure the memories Rickey and I shared together. He was a special man.”

 

BUCK SHOWALTER (PLAYED AGAINST HENDERSON IN THE MINORS & COACHED HIM DURING YANKEES SPRING TRAINING): “I played against Rickey when he was with Jersey City in the Eastern League in 1978. He batted .310 but didn’t hit a home run in 133 games. People don’t realize how dedicated he was to being the best he could be. He took great care of his body and was ahead of his time in nutrition and conditioning. In my opinion, he was the best leadoff hitter of all time.

 

“He was in my first big league camp, and my first time throwing to big league hitters was to his batting group. He had a strike zone the size of a thimble, and I had never seen anyone run the way he did, with powerful strides that were fluid and violent at the same time. As a young coach working with the outfielders, Rickey laughed easily and made me feel comfortable. I can’t believe he’s gone. He was one of a kind.”