Rickey
—Rickey Henderson's legacy made him a baseball immortal
No one will ever be like Rickey again.
That was my first thought when I heard the news that the legendary Rickey Henderson had passed away this Saturday at the age of 65. Next Wednesday, December 25, Rickey would have turned 66.
The first time I was introduced to Rickey was in the early 2000s, when I was gifted an issue of Sport Ilustrated magazine. An article referenced his key contribution to the Oakland Athletics winning the 1989 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
I was 11 years old, and the image of Rickey raising his right hand with a baseball bat stuck in my mind. But at the time I had no idea of the impressive legacy that the great Rickey Henderson was carving out for the game. Years later, I learned that this moment was historic in Rickey’s career, as he had surpassed the stolen base record of the honored Cooperstown Hall of Famer Lou Brock.
Lou and Rickey’s story have incredible connections. Lou played his last season in 1979 at age 40 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished his career with 900 RBI and 938 stolen bases. Brock led the league in stolen bases eight times. He achieved that milestone during nine seasons between 1966 and 1974. In 1974 at age 35, Brock surprised the baseball world with 118 stolen bases. It was his only season with more than 100 stolen bases, but it was enough for Lou to surpass the “Modern Era” record (1900-present), which belonged to Maury Wills (he stole 104 bases with the 1962 Dodgers).
Brock’s retirement in 1979 with 938 stolen bases—he played his entire career in the National League—left a record that for many seemed unbreakable. However, that same year Rickey Henderson had debuted at age 20 with the Oakland Athletics. His season was seemingly unremarkable offensively, as he posted -0.9 bWAR in 89 games. Rickey slashed .274/.338/.336/.675 with one home run and 26 RBI in 398 plate appearances. His 88 OPS-plus was far from exceeding the league average.
Either way, his ability to put the ball in play sounded interesting: Rickey recorded 34 walks and 39 strikeouts, with a BABIP of .303. That ability and the fact that he stole 33 bases in 44 attempts (75% effectiveness) was a sign of Rickey’s talent for running the bases. And then the breakout didn't take long. The following year, he led the league with 100 stolen bases and raised his OPS-plus from 88 to 135.
Thus began the legend of Rickey, who made history throughout an unmatched 25-season career. Counting that 1980 season, Rickey led the league in stolen bases for seven consecutive years, a streak that was part of nine of the next ten seasons. As Rickey emerged as the best stealer in baseball, he also developed his skills as a hitter. And that's a key point when we talk about stealers. Rickey managed to take base stealing to an unattainable level because he became one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.
Rickey finished his 25-season career with a .401 OBP, which included 18 of his 25 seasons with a .400 or higher OBP. He played for many years, but he was also one of the most consistent hitters in the game. For that reason, no one has been able to match Rickey Henderson when we combine three key statistics: hits, walks and stolen bases. Thanks to his brilliance and consistency, Rickey put up numbers that we could categorize as unattainable: 3,055 hits, 2,190 walks and 1,406 stolen bases.
There is no other player in MLB history who has surpassed the combined marks of 3,000 hits, 2,000 walks and 1,400 stolen bases. I love this list of Rickey's feats, because it seems endless:
10-time AL All-Star (1980, 1982-1988, 1990 & 1991)
AL MVP: (1990)
1989 ALCS MVP
AL Gold Glove Winner (1981)
3-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1981, 1985 & 1990)
1999 NL Comeback Player of the Year Award
AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1990)
AL OPS Leader (1990)
5-time AL Runs Scored Leader: (1981, 1985, 1986, 1989 & 1990)
AL Hits Leader (1981)
4-time AL Bases on Balls Leader: (1982, 1983, 1989 & 1998)
12-time AL Stolen Bases Leader: (1980-1986, 1988-1991 & 1998)
20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1985, 1986, 1990 & 1993)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 13 (1980, 1982-1986, 1988-1991, 1993, 1996 & 1998)
50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 14 (1980-1986, 1988-1991, 1993, 1995 & 1998)
100 Stolen Bases Seasons: 3 (1980, 1982 & 1983)
Won two World Series with the Oakland Athletics (1989) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1993)
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 2009
Now, if I had to pick a couple of amazing Rickey stats, I'd go with these:
Amazing Stat No. 1!
Most seasons with at least 50 stolen bases against different teams:
Rickey Henderson, 13
Lou Brock, 11
Maury Wills, 9
Ty Cobb, 7
Max Carey, 7
Honus Wagner, 7
Tim Raines, 7
Clyde Milan, 7
Bert Campaneris, 7
Joe Morgan, 7
Context: Yes, truly impressive! You read it again, and it sounds even more incredible. Rickey actually went over the top. He stole at least 76 against 13 teams over his career:
110 SB vs Minnesota Twins
110 SB vs Toronto Blue Jays
103 SB vs Cleveland Indians
101 SB vs Texas Rangers
99 SB vs Baltimore Orioles
98 SB vs Kansas City Royals
93 SB vs Chicago White Sox
93 SB vs Seattle Mariners
89 SB vs Boston Red Sox
87 SB vs Milwaukee Brewers
84 SB vs Detroit Tigers
79 SB vs New York Yankees
76 SB vs Anaheim Angels
Amazing Stat No. 2!
Most steals from third:
Rickey Henderson, 322
Lou Brock, 79
Context: 243 more steals from third than Lou! Can you believe it?
Going back to the skill that took Rickey to another level, I think it was his ability to get on base. He did it in so many ways, and we can't forget that he drove in 1,115 runs, hit over 500 doubles (510), 66 triples and nearly 300 home runs (297). Look, I personally love this list. In the history of the Major Leagues, there are only six hitters who managed to hit at least 3,000 hits, scored at least 1,000 runs and recorded at least 2,000 walks. Well, among them, besides being the most sensational stealer in the game, look at another detail that made Rickey special and different:
Walks minus strikeouts
Ty Cobb, 569 BB-SO, 1249 BB, 680 SO
Rickey Henderson, 496 BB-SO, 2190 BB, 1694 SO
Pete Rose, 423 BB-SO, 1566 BB, 1143 SO
Henry Aaron, 19 BB-SO, 1402 BB, 1383 SO
Willie Mays, -58 BB-SO, 1468 BB, 1526 SO
Alex Rodriguez, -949 BB-SO, 1338 BB, 2287 SO
Yes, Rickey was the second hitter with the most walks over strikeouts among that select club of superstars because, well, Ty Cobb is out of this world.
So, getting on base: that's the key point for any baserunner aspiring to become an elite stealer in times when so-called "true results"—home runs, walks, and strikeouts—still rule the game. And, of course, it's also the reason why there aren't any stealers like there were a couple of decades ago.
I'm a big fan of analytics and all that technology can bring when it's on the right track. But I recognize that the trends and philosophy of baseball organizations today have been constantly changing because of the use of sabermetrics. We live in days when it's no longer common to see a player who is inspired by Rickey Henderson.
The changes that MLB has made—especially in the last season—have seen interesting short-term results. The pitch timer, the limitation of defensive shifts, the implementation of bigger bases and the restrictions on pickoffs are part of that important wave of changes. And I believe that these adjustments and perhaps others can once again offer value to baserunners in baseball.
Over the past two seasons, players with base-stealing skills have found some inspiration. The results are noticeable: 3,617 stolen bases were recorded in the past 2024 season, 1,131 more than in 2022. All of these trends could have more changes in the future, as teams begin to use base stealing more frequently as part of their playing philosophy.
So, who knows if we could see a new Rickey Henderson in the future. I think there is enough talent for many prospects to take base stealing to another level again. Rickey would have been happy to see it, as he was happy to take 13,346 trips to the plate in the 3,081 games of his 25-season career.
Now I'm thinking how it was possible that 28 people didn't vote for Rickey Henderson when he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009. I ask myself that question because there hasn't been any player like Rickey. I always say that in baseball there is nothing impossible, but it will definitely be quite difficult to come close to his legacy.
Major League Baseball and the baseball world are mourning today the physical loss of a legend. But we will never forget Rickey Henderson, because he was able to give us a legacy that makes him immortal.
