Yardbarker
x
A's keep heart in Oakland by honoring Rickey Henderson
Yardbarker Illustration/Getty Images

A's keep heart in Oakland by honoring hometown legend, Rickey Henderson

In news that isn't exactly breaking or surprising, Rickey Henderson is without a doubt the greatest leadoff hitter to ever play the game of baseball. If watching him play that role didn't convince you and looking at his amazing stat sheet didn't convince you, then the man himself probably could if you talked to him for at least two minutes.

He's one of the all-time greats in the game of baseball and he should've been a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame, but instead he had to "settle" for nearly 95% of ballots cast with his name on it. He's one of a select few big-leaguers who can say that they played in four different decades (he made it to the bigs in 1979 and retired in 2003), and he did it all while remaining one of the most entertaining characters in the game, as well as one of baseball's most talented players.

So it's no great surprise that the team that he's associated with the most – the Oakland A's – will be honoring him in a major way this season. On Opening Day, the A's will dedicate the playing surface at the Oakland Coliseum to Rickey Henderson by officially naming it Rickey Henderson Field. It's a fitting tribute to a man who spent plenty of time blazing across the basepaths of that very field, as you could tell just by looking at the astonishing number of bases that he stole over his career.

Rickey Henderson stole bases anywhere and everywhere he played, but his first stint in Oakland was just absolutely absurd. Today, we get excited about guys like Billy Hamilton, Jonathan Villar, and Dee Gordon approaching 60 stolen bases. For Rickey in the 1980s, a stolen base tally in the 60s was considered a down year. In fact, Rickey broke the century mark for stolen bases on three separate occasions in the '80s – including his 1982 season where he nabbed 130 bases. One-hundred-and-thirty. Let's put this in perspective: Jose Reyes stole 78 bases in 2007 in what was a career year for him. That's just one more base than what Rickey stole in 1989, which was his 7th-best season in that category. Simply put, Rickey's stats when it comes to base-stealing are on a completely different level, and he put on his best performances during his first stint in Oakland.

Of course, Rickey was more than just a speedster on the basepaths. In order to even get on base as often as he was, you have to have incredible plate discipline. He had two seasons where he led all of baseball in On-Base Percentage, both of which came in his second stint in Oakland in the early 1990s. Although he finished 1993 with the Blue Jays, he started that season in Oakland and led baseball that year with a .432 OBP. However, he posted his best OBP in 1990 which is when it was at .439.


Rickey Henderson steals second base against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in 1990, a 'down' year for Henderson with only 65 steals that season.  Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Rickey's magnum opus of baseball artistry came in that 1990 season, when The Man of Steal put it all together for an epic year in Oakland. He posted career highs in his batting numbers on his way to his third career Silver Slugger award, and also stole a "paltry" 65 stolen bases. Add to that some solid defensive play, and he ended giving the A's a season for the ages – one that was worth 10.2 WAR according to Fangraphs. That was enough to earn him the MVP trophy as the A's rolled to 103 wins and an AL pennant.

With that being said, it'd probably be safe to assume that while having an MVP trophy is nice, having a World Series ring is even better. He acquired the ring in 1989 during the infamous Earthquake Series, which is when he stole three bases, hit two triples, and a homer on the way to a sweep of the Giants. Unfortunately for Oakland, that was the only World Series that Rickey would win as an Athletic.

However, he still brought more than just trophies and gaudy statistics to Oakland baseball fans during his three stints as an Athletic. He also brought one of the most interesting personalities to ever set foot on the game. Everybody – from fellow teammates to reporters and even fans – who came into contact with the legend has a story to tell about their experience with Rickey, and it probably included him speaking in the third person. Of course, Oakland was the scene of Rickey's most famous (or infamous) moment, when in 1991 he marked breaking the all-time stolen base record by declaring himself "the greatest of all time." This was a man who knew exactly how good he was and he wasn't afraid to let the entire world know it.

Rickey Henderson was roundly criticized for it and even admitted later on that he regretted saying it, but at the same time, he had a legitimate argument. He played 12 more seasons and stretched the stolen base record from Lou Brock's 938 to a now-untouchable 1,406. He ended up having an incredible career and one that was capped off with the aforementioned near-unanimous induction into the Hall of Fame. He may not be the all-time greatest, but there's no denying that he deserved to be in the upper echelon of great baseball players.


Rickey Henderson signing autographs for young fans before a game in 1990 at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

While Rickey had an amazing career playing for multiple teams, he saved his best performances and most memorable moments for his team. It's quite fitting that this was the case when you consider that this was his hometown team. He grew up in the area and became a living legend and a figure that was larger-than-life in Oakland. You'd be hard-pressed to match the star power of a man like MC Hammer – another Oakland native who famously supported the team during those good times in the late '80s and early '90s. Yet, you could argue that Rickey was still the biggest star in the building whenever Hammer decided to peek his head in the Coliseum at Oakland. That was the impact that Rickey had not just on baseball in Oakland, but the culture as well.

Simply put, Rickey Henderson stole the hearts of A's fans about as easily as he stole second base at times. Nowadays, the baseball team has emerged as the last team standing what was once a triumvirate of thriving Oakland sports clubs. The Raiders are off to Vegas, and the Warriors are crossing the bridge, but the Oakland A's remain and they'll be playing on Rickey Henderson Field for as long as they remain. That's how you remain true to the city and one of the city's proudest sons. The only question left now is whether or not Rickey will declare Rickey Henderson Field as the greatest field of all time.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.