Rickey Henderson, ‘the Man of Steal’, has passed away at 65 years old. One of baseball’s
most flamboyant Hall of Famers who is widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball
will be sorely missed but his life and career in the majors will be celebrated.
His death was announced by his family. They did not state a cause or disclose the location
where he died, but they thanked the staff at University of California, San Francisco Medical
center. It’s utterly poetic that his passing occurred in the California Bay area where he made his
mark playing for the Oakland A’s.
Henderson was easily one of the most eccentric and charismatic players of all time, on the
diamond he possessed blazing speed and surprising home run power. His ability to steal bases
is second to none in all of MLB history. He was dubbed ‘the man of steal’ by sportswriters, and
holds the all-time career record for stolen bases with 1,406 – a mark that will not be topped
anytime soon. He stole more than 100 bases in three seasons, and his 130 steals in 1982 is
still the single season record.
‘Run Rickey Run’ also owns the all-time record for runs scored with 2,295. Eighty-one of those
runs came from leadoff home runs – another record Henderson holds. His 2,190 walks are also
nearly a record, only second to Barry Bonds. Bill James, baseball statistician and historian once
wrote, “Without exaggerating on inch, you could find 50 Hall of Famers who, all taken together,
don’t own as many records, and as many important records, as Rickey Henderson”
He was easily one of baseball’s most exciting players of all time, but in addition to that he was
legendarily eccentric.
Though he was often accused of being self-centered, Rickey wasn’t strictly an “I” kind of player.
He was unaware of many of his teammates’ names. During the 1993 season, he missed three
games with frostbite after falling asleep with an ice pack on his injured foot. He also framed a
$1 million bonus check instead of cashing it. He often referred to himself in the third person; he
once said “Rickey don’t like it when Rickey can’t find Rickey’s limo”
Another time, while Henderson was playing for the A’s, catcher Terry Steinbach found him in the
locker room completely naked and mumbling to himself, “Rickey’s gonna have a game” over
and over, 5 minutes before the opening pitch. “I’m pretty sure the anthem is playing” Steinbach
recalled. “He walks down the tunnel, gets his bat, and hits a home run on the first pitch”. That
was Rickey at his best. Calling his own shot, and willing it into existence. One time against the
Orioles, he stood on first base and flashed 2 fingers to the third baseman, Floyd Rayford.
Rayford didn’t know what Rickey meant. But two pitches later, he was standing on third with
Rayford after having stolen two bases.
He won the 1990 AL MVP award. He was selected to the All-Star team 10 times, won 2 World
Series titles, three Silver Slugger awards, one Gold Glove award, and the 1989 ALCS MVP
award. He was elected to the baseball hall of fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility, appearing
on 94.8 percent of ballots.
Though he played for nine Major League teams, Henderson will forever bne remembered for his
time in the green and gold. He spent 14 seasons of his 25-year Hall of Fame career and made
six of his 10 All-Star teams with the A’s. Of the 12 seasons he led the league in stolen bases,
nine came playing for Oakland, including his aforementioned Major League record year of 130
swiped bags in 1982.
Few connections between player and team have carried a love as strong as the one Henderson
developed playing for his hometown team in front of the Oakland faithful. After retiring from
baseball, he remained a mainstay in the A’s clubhouse as a special assistant to the president,
often suiting up in full uniform to take part in pregame drills with the team both in Spring Training
and during the regular season. The A’s honored their organizations greatest player by naming
the Oakland Coliseum playing surface “Rickey Henderson Field’ in 2017. Before the A’s played
their final game at the Coliseum in 2024, Hendersonand former teammate Dave Stewart threw
out the ceremonial first pitches.
Former longtime As GM and executive vice president and current senior advisor to the
managing partner, Billy Beane, who was also a teammate of Henderson’s in ‘89, is one of many
figures around baseball who have declared Henderson to be the greatest leadoff hitter of all-
time, adding “I’m not sure there’s even a close second.”
