Baseball legend Rickey Henderson has died at age 65. Henderson passed away on Friday from pneumonia in Oakland, according to TMZ.
Five days short of his 66th birthday, the “Man of Steal” was a 10-time all-star and 12-time stolen bases leader in 25 MLB seasons.
A Chicago, Ill. native, Henderson played for nine teams throughout his career, including four separate stints with the Oakland Athletics (1979-1984, 1989-1993, 1994-1995, 1998). He also played for the New York Yankees (1985-1989), Toronto Blue Jays (1993), San Diego Padres (1996, 1997, 2001), Anaheim Angels (1997), New York Mets (1999, 2000), Seattle Mariners (2000), Boston Red Sox (2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2003). The 1990 American League MVP was a World Series champion in 1989 with the A’s, winning ALCS MVP that year in the A’s 4-1 series win over the Toronto Blue Jays. In the ‘89 ALCS, Henderson batted .400 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI while stealing 8 bases. He also won a World Series in 1993 with the Blue Jays.
Henderson was an all-star each year from 1982-1988, and led the league in stolen bases from 1980-1986, 1988-1991, and in 1998, at age 39. He won a Gold Glove in 1981.
In his lone MVP season, Henderson led all of MLB in runs (119), stolen bases (65), on-base percentage (.439), and OPS (1.016). He stole a career-high 130 bases in 1982, and led MLB in runs (89) and hits (135) in 1981. A career .279 hitter, Henderson batted at least .300 seven times, with a career-best .325 in 1990. He also led MLB in runs in 1985 (146), 1986 (130), 1989 (113) and 1990 (119).
Henderson’s 1,406 career stolen bases are 468 ahead of Lou Brock’s mark of 938. His success rate on stolen bases was 81 percent, and his 130 stolen bases in ‘82 are the most in the 20th century. He finished in the top 10 in stolen bases 21 times, and his 2,295 runs are first all-time.
Henderson retired at age 44 after the 2003 season, spent with the Dodgers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 with a 94.8% vote.
“Lou Brock was a symbol of great base stealing. But today, I am the greatest of all-time. Thank you”. - Rickey Henderson after breaking Brock’s stolen base record on May 1, 1991.
RIP, Rickey Henderson
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