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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Rickey Henderson is generally regarded as the greatest leadoff man in Major League Baseball history. He's known as a catalyst, agitator, trailblazer, master thief and one-man wrecking crew in a multiskilled package.


CLASS OF 2009
Rickey Henderson will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Jim Rice and Joe Gordon on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. ET in Cooperstown, N.Y. Approximately 51 Hall of Famers are scheduled to be in attendance.
At the peak of his game, Henderson could overwhelm teams with his speed, surprise them with his power and unnerve them with his swagger. He also put front-office executives on edge with his contract-related rants and confounded beat reporters with his diction.

Showman. Hot dog. Prima donna. Rickey being Rickey. We've heard them all at one time or another, in both first- and third-person variations.

"Popular teammate" rarely appears in the Rickey's greatest hits lexicon, but the players, managers and coaches who've shared clubhouses with Henderson through the years paint a more layered portrayal than the one that's typically available for public consumption.

Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez saw the phenomenon nine years ago in Seattle. In 2000, Ibanez was a part-time player trying to gain a foothold with the Mariners at age 28. He spent a big chunk of the season as Henderson's backup, late-inning defensive replacement and all-around caddy.

As the summer progressed, Ibanez came to appreciate an act of generosity by Henderson that went unnoticed by everyone else. More than once upon leaving the game in the seventh or eighth inning, Henderson went to manager Lou Piniella and yielded his final plate appearance of the day to Ibanez.

"Whenever Lou would put me in to give him a [rest] or play defense, Rickey would say, 'Let him get the at-bat,'" Ibanez said. "That was unbelievable. He was a Hall of Famer and I was a young guy coming up, and he treated me like an equal. I loved Rickey Henderson."

Henderson, 50, will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame with former Boston slugger Jim Rice on Sunday in Cooperstown, and there's not enough room on a plaque to do justice to his achievements. Henderson is baseball's career leader with 1,406 stolen bases and 2,295 runs, and ranks second to Barry Bonds with 2,190 walks. His r

dude was a hero for me growin up

Great article.

Yeah man great read, it will be the shit to see Rick inducted

GOAT.

Was having this discussion with some friends the other day, who do you guys consider the closest thing to Rickey playing currently?

One of my favorites of all time, i don't think we will ever see another like him.

Prophecy wrote:One of my favorites of all time, i don't think we will ever see another like him.

Never will be. I love the Bill James quote "you could split Rickey in two and you'd have two Hall of Famers.

The closet to him now would be Jimmy Rollins. Jose Reyes maybe but I think more J-Roll because growing up in Oakland Jimmy used to study every move Rickey did. Jose Reyes, Hanley all have some similarities but I think Jimmy Rollins fits the mold the best.

Philaflava wrote:

Prophecy wrote:One of my favorites of all time, i don't think we will ever see another like him.

Never will be. I love the Bill James quote "you could split Rickey in two and you'd have two Hall of Famers.

as good as Rickey is, you could say the same about Ruth, Bonds, Mays, Williams etc

he's upper tier HoF but likely outside the top10 his walks are what make him great not the SB too

The closet to him now would be Jimmy Rollins. Jose Reyes maybe but I think more J-Roll because growing up in Oakland Jimmy used to study every move Rickey did. Jose Reyes, Hanley all have some similarities but I think Jimmy Rollins fits the mold the best.

Hanley doesn't fit the mold as well but he's clearly the best of the 3 by a good margin and only one that has a shot at being as good as Rickey

though if you add in personality he is the GOAT, truly a one of a kind player/person

dp

Fuck you, eternal.

His Hall of Fame speech is going to be must see tv.

Incredible player who was around at right time to take advantage of the focus on the stolen base in the 80s.

Definitely one of the biggest badasses I saw growing up.

Back in the day, he was my favorite non-white sox player. Amazing talent, amazing career.

"Don't worry, Rickey, you're still the best." - Rickey

Brougham33 wrote:Back in the day, he was my favorite non-white

Rickey Henderson - Leadoff Legend

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Watched the whole thing straight-through last night.

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When was that on the MLB network? I didn't see it anywhere in the schedule.

I don't watch MLB network (no sports snob) but I just did a quick search and it popped up.

Must be within the last coupla days.

Based on the ticker scores it was last week. I found out it's going to air tomorrow at 7PM so I'll tape it. I did watch all 8 clips though and I may or may not have cried. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Last month, before a game against the Frisco Faggots.

Glossy, you should seriously consider flying out for the game on Aug 1st.
The airport is right down the road from the stadium.

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/oak/fa ... derson.jsp



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I'll have to tape that too because I have a prior commitment.. It's about time they retired his number.

Are you going the games 8/1 or 8/2? If so I'd pay you for the Rickey banner or jersey.

Tune in now to the MLB network

the man is dressed like a pimp. i fucking love it.

I wasn't even a huge Rickey fan during his career (in the sense that he was only a Met for a short time, I had nothing against him as a player).

But after watching these 8 clips, I was moved.

I have an entirely new founded respect for him, and I only wish I was "that fan" of his during his playing days. What impressed me the most was him not caring about playing for the Independent league, with all of the accolades he achieved in MLB. He didn't care. He just truly loved the game of baseball.

That's a special player.

He closed his speech perfectly. Nobody expected humility and he gave them that and more. Tons of great quotables and Rickeyisms.

Philaflava wrote:Are you going the games 8/1 or 8/2? If so I'd pay you for the Rickey banner or jersey.

I'll see what I can do for ya J but no promises....

Thanks. First born will be named after you Teddy.

Anyone got a link?

I let my brother borrow my camera for a trip, my cellphone takes shitty ass pictures.



A milestone for two bay area legends.





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Jayou Ayen wrote:A milestone for two bay area legends.





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is that a banner? muthafucker i want one.