Somewhere in heaven Rickey Henderson is jerking a bag from its moorings while Bill King describes the moment. Back here on earth we are still stunned that the greatest Athletic in Oakland’s history is no longer with us.
To the rest of us, December 20th, 2024 was 5 days before Christmas. To Rickey it was 5 days before his birthday. It was Henderson’s 66th birthday he fell less than a week short of reaching, as one year ago today he succumbed to pneumonia following a related surgery.
Because Rickey’s
hospital visits were kept private, A’s fans and baseball fans around the world were stunned when news spread, then was confirmed the next morning, that we had lost a baseball treasure. A year later, it still stings.
Rickey’s career baseball stats read like a misprint. He holds many all-time records including, of course, stolen bases. No has ever stolen more bases than Rickey’s 1,406 and it isn’t even close. Next up on the all-time list is Lou Brock with 938.
His career on base percentage is elite at .401, among a handful of greats to amass as many PAs as he did (13,346) and maintain an OBP over .400. Only 63 big leaguers hold that distinction and of them Rickey has the single most number of plate appearances.
Perhaps less known is that Rickey is also the all-time leader in runs scored with 2,295, 50 more than runner up Ty Cobb. Henderson was as prolific as he was successful — he also holds the dubious mark for caught stealings with 335 foiled attempts, 28 more times than Brock was apprehended. Even this stat holds a positive, as it reflects that on the bases Rickey was fearless.
So great was Rickey that the A’s rightfully renamed the Oakland Coliseum’s field after him. Rickey was often seen standing in the runway behind home plate following the team he had led and he was commissioned by the organization to help young players develop their “inner Rickey”.
The “man of steal” was taken too soon but at least he lived long enough to see the final game played on Rickey Henderson Field. The stadium, and then the man it was named after, drew their final breaths in 2024. We miss Rickey Henderson every day and today we take a moment to remember that our fandom is better for having “known” him.
