You would think Rickey Henderson would finally be satisfied with his baseball career after being inducted -- with nearly 95 percent of the vote -- into baseball's Hall of Fame this week. That's the thing about Rickey, though, he loves the game so much and he's so competitive, he'll want to play when he's 70. Well, he's only 50 now, but it sounds like he's serious when saying he wants to play. Not only that, but he believes he'd be a very productive player and not just some novelty act.
When asked if he was finally retired, he said he was, but with a caveat.
"...but if a club came out and said they needed a left fielder, they needed a guy to get on base and steal a few bases, they can always ring my phone and I'll come on down and help their ballclub, that's how much I love the game."Just a few bases? Where is the Rickey we know and love? Wait, here he is.
"I believe today, and people say I'm crazy, but if you gave me as many at-bats that you would give the runners out there today, I would out-steal every last one of them, I can go out and steal as many bases as [Jose] Reyes steals."Awesome. Seriously, how can you not love this guy?
I don't doubt that he could still play without embarrassing himself, but I'm not quite sure I believe he can steal more than the 56 Jose Reyes swiped last year. Obviously, we all know this, but that's what makes Rickey Rickey.
Later in the article, there are some quotes from Rickey about how he'd like to coach, and gave Reyes as an example. I definitely think his calling, for the next phase in his life, should be working with young base-stealers. He wasn't just fast. You can't steal that many bases with only speed, otherwise he wouldn't have such an enormous lead in career stolen bases. He was also very smart in his craft. Passing this knowledge along would only better his already-immortal legacy.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2009 @ 11:57AM
Larry said...
As old as he may be, Rickey could steal more bases than any other player out there. He doesn't have to worry about his stolen base record being broken. He set the bar so high like Jerry Rice did for having the most yards ever.
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1-14-2009 @ 12:02PM
TheHulk said...
If Rickey Say's he can steal more bases than Jose Reyes given the same # of at bats.... I wouldn't bet against him
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1-14-2009 @ 5:15PM
Rick B said...
Thanks for being serious about Rickey in your post. In my opinion he changed the game in so many ways that are never discussed much. I would love to see one base stealer today get told by their manager, "You are our only weapon. Steal everytime you get on" like Billy Martin told Rickey in the early 80's, and still be successful when everyone knows you are going. This guy is one of the great baseball minds of all time. He stopped people from thinking about batting average and put the focus on OBP. Most sabermetrics were started to figure out how to compare him to the sluggers of his day for MVP consideration. In retrospect, he probably should have won 3 or 4 MVPs.
He totally destroyed records in a sport that is over a 100 years old. He is unbelievable in so many ways, and all people focus on are the dumb stories. Anyone who has played baseball knows it makes no sense for him to be at the top of the all time walks list. Nobody intentionally put him on base. How did he do it? How could the best pitchers and catchers and coaches in the world not stop him from stealing? How did he steal so many bases at 40 years old? He hit for power, too. He had a plan...groove it and it's gone, pitch around me and I'll walk, steal, steal and score on an out. And I'll play a lot of psychological games with you to frustrate, anger, and disrupt you. The man was a marvel, an unstoppable force, and an innovator, and all 28 writers who did not vote for him should have their ballots taken away for good. He is the definition of what a Hall of Famer is. If they had to take a vote for a Super Elite Hall of Fame, he should be a unanimous choice for that too. Check with his teammates who all loved him and whose batting averages went up so much due to all the fast balls he got them (and when every fly out turned into an RBI Sac Fly). See how much they missed him when he was traded...Rickey is the best. He needs to be a coach now and stay in the game. Someone ought to make an instructional video with him too.
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