twenty five years. a quarter of a century. incredibly, that's how long rickey henderson played major league baseball and he played it at such a high level that his first ballot opportunity into the HALL OF FAME brought him the second highest vote percentage in the history of baseball, being named on 511 of 539 ballots for an overwhelming 94.8 percent, trailing only tom seaver, who was named on 98.8 percent of the ballots.
is he the greatest ever? well, if you're talking about likeability, the answer is a resounding 'no' because rickey alienated the press, media, teammates and the fans with his egotism, third person references and his general frostiness towards the general public.
but my oh my, what a career.
without argument, rickey was the greatest leadoff man to ever play the game. a career batting average of .279 was amplified by his incredible on-base percentage of .401. think about that.
for every 10 at bats, rickey reached base four times. when you factor in 2190 walks coupled with over FOURTEEN HUNDRED stolen bases, 510 doubles and 66 triples, you can see the effect rickey had on the opposition. he also cracked 297 home runs and led off a game 81 times with a dinger as he displayed speed and strength to burn.
he led the league 12 times in stolen bases, was a 10 time all star, selected as the 1990 MVP and scored just shy of 2300 runs while winning two world series titles. absolutely staggering statistics which make rickey one of the five best of ALL TIME, if not the best. and he did this for twenty five years.
by the way....baseball was rickey's second best sport. he was a TWO TIME high scholl all-american running back at oakland tech and had 57 scholarship offers before he decided to pursue baseball.
rickey, welcome to the HALL OF FAME. a well deserved honor.
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