For One Day, 'Humble' Henderson Shelves Rickeyspeak

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The greatest leadoff hitter/hot dog in baseball history came dressed for the part Sunday. Onto a stage full of blue and gray suits strode Rickey Henderson.

Instead of a large bottle of mustard, he wore a cream-colored coat. That helped explain why so many Hall of Famers sitting behind him wore sunglasses on a cloudy day.

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They were there to welcome Rickey to their club, and it was easy to imagine him preparing the way always did. For 25 seasons, Rickey stood naked in front of a full-length mirror before games and repeated one thing.

"Rickey's the best."

He was the best combination of speed, power, cockiness and comedy we'll ever see. The only thing Rickey didn't seem to possess was humility.

Did he have any, and if so could he express it? Even if he did, would it get lost in translation from Rickeyspeak to English? All that made for one of the most anticipated speeches since Abe Lincoln rode the train to Gettysburg.

"Speech and me don't even get along sometimes," Henderson said when he was elected to the Hall of Fame last December. "I wasn't a doctor or a professor."

He was Rickey, just ask him.


Rickey always referred to himself in the third person. So by baseball math there were as many Rickey Hendersons as there are outs in a game:

Three Rickeys x 9 teams = 27. All of them from outer space.

If Rickey stayed in character, Rickey might renounce his Favre-like retirement and tell the crowd he planned to become the first 51-year-old left fielder in baseball history next spring. Instead, Rickey's suit was the only thing that screamed for attention.

Oh, Rickey told a few Rickey stories. Thankfully he didn't tell all of them or the ceremony would have lasted until Albert Pujols III is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"At this moment, I am very, very humble"
-- Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson Rickey grew up in Oakland wanting to play for the Raiders, but a youth-league baseball coach bribed him with doughnuts and hot chocolate. When he got to high school his guidance counselor gave him a quarter for every hit, steal and run he produced.

The poor lady was quickly going broke. If only Rickey had treated her money like he did one of his Oakland bonuses.

The company's books were off by $1 million one year. It turned out Rickey had framed his bonus check and put it on the wall. What else would we expect from a guy who once asked a teammate how long it takes to drive to the Dominican Republic?

After Boston swept the 2004 World Series, Rickey supposedly called the Red Sox organization looking for tickets to Game 6. When Rickey hit a home run to break Ty Cobb's record for most career runs, he celebrated by sliding into home plate.

Rickey said his idol growing up was Muhammad Ali. When he broke Lou Brock's all-time steal record, he pulled the base out of the ground, waved it over his head and proclaimed, "I am the greatest!"

With 3,055 hits, 1,406 steals and 297 home runs, it's hard to argue. All the public saw was Rickey's coiled batting stance, and the way he flipped his bat after home runs or snatched fly balls. All the public heard was stories about Rickey being Rickey and trying to drive to a Caribbean island.

Underneath all that kooky mustard, the hot dog loved and respected the game. That became clear as Rickey referred to Rickey as "I." As in, "I'd like to thank...."

He praised his family, teammates, coaches and team owners from Charlie Finley to George Steinbrenner. It was as if he'd stood naked in front the mirror Sunday morning and repeated, "They were the best!"

His 14 minutes on stage were a bit of letdown if you expected Rickey to slide headfirst into the podium to accept his plaque. But the crowd of 21,000 that gathered in the grassy pasture didn't seem disappointed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Rickey said.

He looked for kids in the audience.

"Follow your dreams," Rickey told them. "Believe in your dreams because they can come true."

Then came the news of the day.

"My journey as a player is complete."

It's finally official. We won't have Rickey to kick around, admire, resent or laugh at any more. Rickey is happy to join all those men in blue and grey suits. Who knows, Rickey might even wear one next year.

"At this moment," he concluded, "I am very, very humble."

It turns out Rickey really could do it all. Even give a nice speech.