11/21/24
March 12, 2007
Rickey hangs 'em up.: Rickey could probably put up a .375 OPS in his sleep, but instead, Rickey's calling it a career.
"If nobody signs me, I'm not going to play." That's not news. That's physics. Or at least basic logic. From the link in the link: If Reyes can still 60 bases each of the next 20 seasons, up through his 43rd birthday, he will still be roughly 100 stolen bases shy of Henderson’s record of 1,406. That is just ridiculous. That is like Cy Young's wins record -- I can't see anybody ever approaching that again. Not in my lifetime. Rickey was a hot dog and he referred to himself in the third person, but he is in my starting lineup of guys I would pay to see play baseball. Greatest Leadoff Hitter Ever. Period.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 02:28 PM on March 12, 2007
Rickey's one of the all time players but ever since he broke Lou Brock's record and stated that he was the greatest I haven't even cared about him you know Jerry Rice came across that way to me once and I changed my mind but I don't think I ever will for Rickey I also traded his rookie topps card away in a stupid deal when I was a kid oh boy did I regret it for years but not anymore
posted by luther70 at 02:40 PM on March 12, 2007
...but he is in my starting lineup of guys I would pay to see play baseball. Love him or hate him (and I hate him), you have to give him his due. I fully agree with your assessment, Crafty.
posted by Howard_T at 04:21 PM on March 12, 2007
There will always be a spot for Rickey on the Chico Outlaws!
posted by yay-yo at 04:48 PM on March 12, 2007
Hater liked the way Ricky Henderson played ball. Hater's gonna miss Ricky Henderson.
posted by HATER 187 at 04:53 PM on March 12, 2007
When Rickey started playing I was still a young man.Now I'm deep in middle age,and he's still a young man. Life is so unfair!
posted by sickleguy at 05:54 PM on March 12, 2007
"Somebody asked me did I think Rickey Henderson was a Hall of Famer. I told them, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers." The greatest base stealer of all time, the greatest power/speed combination of all time (except maybe Barry Bonds), the greatest leadoff man of all time, one of the top five players of all time in runs scored...yeah, I think that might make a man a Hall of Famer. Without exaggeration one inch, you could find fifty Hall of Famers who, all taken together, don't own as many records, and as many important records, as Rickey Henderson." - Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, 2000 To me, he's probably the epitome of the perfect baseball player. - speed - power - batting eye - fielding - arrogance - wit - desire to play
posted by grum@work at 07:04 PM on March 12, 2007
kyrilmitch was doing some research and when kyrilmitch does research he is quite possibly the greatest researcher in the history of research. What kyrilmitch found was a nice article about Rickey at wickipedia. kyrilmitch was quick to notice a couple of key points. Rickey is the alltime leader in runs scored and stolen bases but did you know (kyrilmitch is also the most humble person in the world so he will admit that he didn't know this) the A's once had a million dollar discrepancy in their budget and after much research they discovered that Rickey had framed his $1,000,000 signing bonus check without cashing it and hung it on his wall. Truly an enigmatic character. According to the wiki article he is eligable five years after his last mlb game which would be 2008.
posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 07:42 PM on March 12, 2007
>the A's once had a million dollar discrepancy in their budget and after much research they discovered that Rickey had framed his $1,000,000 signing bonus check without cashing it and hung it on his wall. [This is funny.]
posted by Philfromhavelock at 07:56 PM on March 12, 2007
Record for most stolen bases in a season (130), and 1 of only 2 players to have at least 80 stolen bases and 20 home runs in same season. Yikes.
posted by Bishop at 08:16 PM on March 12, 2007
I'll be interested to see what percentage of HoF votes Rickey gets in his first year. He's certainly a first ballot guy, but I would guess he gets a lower percentage than Cal and Gwynn, even though he is more deserving than both, just because he was a bit more of a polarizing figure than either of those two good guys.
posted by holden at 10:12 PM on March 12, 2007
I'll be interested to see what percentage of HoF votes Rickey gets in his first year. He's certainly a first ballot guy, but I would guess he gets a lower percentage than Cal and Gwynn, even though he is more deserving than both, just because he was a bit more of a polarizing figure than either of those two good guys. On that note, anyone who doesn't vote for him deserves to have their ballot taken away. As has already been more eloquently said than I could, he undoubtedly deserves to be in the HoF. I can't think of a single reason he doesn't deserve to be in...save maybe he never pitched? Hmmmmmm
posted by jmd82 at 10:30 PM on March 12, 2007
Texas Red feels that he's a first ballot hall of famer, hands down.
posted by texasred at 05:28 AM on March 13, 2007
Of all the shoo-in Hall of Famers, Rickey is the shoo-est. anyone who doesn't vote for him deserves to have their ballot taken away. And a severe beating. Rickey Henderson was the ultimate leadoff hitter, and should go into the Hall on the strength of his incredible quotable lexicon alone.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:31 AM on March 13, 2007
Even at the age of 103, Rickey Henderson is still a better leadoff hitter than most guys playing right now.
posted by BornIcon at 06:48 AM on March 13, 2007
Incredible player and athlete. Years ago I had the pleasure of meeting him in Arizona during spring training. This is before he was considered a big star, so there wasn't a huge crush of people around. Rickey talked for a while, gave me a couple baseballs, posed for pictures, and really made a lifelong, positive impression on me. What a game it would be if all major leaguers prepared and played the game like Rickey did.
posted by dyams at 07:11 AM on March 13, 2007
Weedy think everything that y'all have said about Rickey is true. Weedy says he's probably, next to Bonds, the most accomplished player Weedy has ever watched play. Another Rickey story. It's 2000 and Rickey's a Mariner. He supposedly approaches John Olerud and inquires about him wearing a helmet in the field. "I had a teammate in Toronto, who used to do that", Rickey says. To which Olerud replies "yeah, that was me." Of course, Rickey was also a Met with Olerud in 1999.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:05 AM on March 13, 2007
That story is covered (and popped as fiction) in TBH's link, Weedy. It's a funny one though - worth keeping alive, even if it's not true.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 08:14 AM on March 13, 2007
THX is a Rickey lover and feels priveleged to have watched him play in person when he spent a brief period with the Mariner's. THX's family also remembers fondly geting to hear all the Rickey quotes that came out of Seattle. Combine that with the quotes we heard from skipper Lou and you had a Yogi-ish summer. THX also likes this 3rd person dealio.
posted by THX-1138 at 01:21 PM on March 13, 2007
I personally believe that bolo165 would vote Rickey Henderson in on the first ballot. I believe that bolo165 would do that if he had a vote. I regret that bolo165 doesn't in fact have a vote, and I want to make it clear that bolo165 humbly apologizes for speaking in the fourth person to make this comment.
posted by bolo165 at 02:26 PM on March 13, 2007
anyone who doesn't vote for him deserves to have their ballot taken away.I wish the baseball writers association actually did this: for example, in 1999 (I think) Pedro Martinez was not the MVP by a tiny margin when one writer left him off the ballot completely, claiming no pitcher should ever win the MVP. Now, the rules clearly state that the MVP is open to all players, so why shouldn't that writer have had his ballot for the MVP permanently removed? They'd certainly do it if a writer said "No non-American born player should ever win an MVP". I guess I'd agree, and argue that there are a handful of players nearing or in retirement for whom any writer not including them on their first available ballot should have their privileges removed (perhaps the writers should have a second ballot one week after the first, noting who should lose their privileges), since they clearly do not understand the concept of Hall of Fame. These include Rickey, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux, among others. This whole "no one should be unanimous" thing is crap, and people with such stupid or superstitious notions shouldn't be voting at all. I'd include Bonds as well, since I believe him to be the greatest hitter who has ever played the game... but you jackals would be all over my ass!
posted by hincandenza at 03:00 PM on March 13, 2007
in 1999 (I think) Pedro Martinez was not the MVP by a tiny margin when one writer left him off the ballot completely, claiming no pitcher should ever win the MVP. George King, who had previously voted for a pitcher as MVP.
posted by yerfatma at 03:34 PM on March 13, 2007
Chico agrees with everyone so far. Rickey is as complete a baseball player, in every aspect of how the game is played, as has ever stepped on a field. There will always be a spot for Rickey on the Chico Outlaws! Chico will watch him play anytime Chico gets the chance. The dude was kind of self-absorbed, sure, but Chico can relate, and Chico understands what Chico wants to see, and Chico wants to see players who love being on the field and playing hard. That's the kind of player Chico appreciates, and damned if Chico had fun watching Rickey play for most of Chico's life here on this, Chico's Earth.
posted by chicobangs at 04:20 PM on March 13, 2007
Ying Yang Mafia hopes that someday YYM can steal 130 bases so YYM can have a valid reason to refer to YYM in third person. And to perhaps have the name Ying Yang Mafia on the back of a baseball jersey because while the one in YYM's profile is nice, it just doesn't quite fit.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:29 PM on March 13, 2007
I'd include Bonds as well, since I believe him to be the greatest hitter who has ever played the game... but you jackals would be all over my ass! First off, I agree with your assessment that Bonds is "the greatest hitter who has ever played the game." No one can take that away from him even though there are plenty of rumors out there but no actual proof of this whole steriod scandal that surrounds him, it's just a cloud of suspicion. Secondly Hal, there's this thing about me that enjoys the company of the female species, so rest assured that your ass is safe.
posted by BornIcon at 12:39 PM on March 14, 2007
THX hopes that we are not going to go there. THX means the Bonds thing. Not Hal's ass.
posted by THX-1138 at 02:12 PM on March 14, 2007
Secondly Hal, there's this thing about me that enjoys the company of the female species, so rest assured that your ass is safe. Female species of what? Spider monkey?
posted by hawkguy at 02:21 PM on March 14, 2007
So does that mean THX means that he does want to go to Hal's ass? This two hour edit thing is amazing by the way.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:09 PM on March 14, 2007
THX has obviously posted himself into a corner here. THX blames the drinking. With all due respect to Hal's "ass", THX would like nothing to do with it. THX loves the ladies. OK, now I just sound even stupider than I am.
posted by THX-1138 at 08:09 PM on March 15, 2007
That's why it's recommended that Rickey, and only Rickey, speak in such a way. Mere mortals like us simply can't handle that kind of heavy diction.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:10 AM on March 16, 2007
He's a lock, & I can't wait to hear his speech. He'll probably have that bag around his neck like Flavor Flav.