Rickey Should Get His Just Due

by Shooty Babbit on Sep 3, 2007 11:39 AM PDT Comment 20 comments

Rickey Henderson wants to go out in an A's uniform and with Oakland hopelessly out of it why not get it done?

Rickey Henderson weekend -- September 28-30th against the Angels.

Bat him leadoff and let him and the fans have some fun. The Angels will have won by then and with all the A's injuries he's not going to be taking any AB's away from a promising player.

Why should the A's honor Rickey?

Because he was Oakland A's baseball -- he changed the game. He once scored on a popup to the shortstop in KC.

Beyond that he destroyed the single season and career stolen base records. He's the best leadoff hitter of all time.

Career records
Most stolen bases in a career (1,406)
Most runs scored in a career (2,295)
Most consecutive seasons with at least 20 stolen bases (23)
Most consecutive seasons with at least 40 stolen bases (14)
Most postseason stolen bases (33)
Most games led off with a home run (81)

Single-season records
Most stolen bases in a season (130, in 1982)

Season highlights
Led the American League 12 times in stolen bases (1980-86, 1988-91, 1998)

Poll

Should the A's Honor Rickey and Let Him Play a Game?

Yes, he is the best Oakland A's of all time.

107 votes

No

13 votes

120 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 20 comments

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Comments

agree that the A's should honor him

but letting him play would re-start his HOF clock at zero so i voted no to giving him an at-bat.

by cvdoug on Sep 3, 2007 12:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He hasn't officially retired

When he announces his retirement, then the clock starts.

I think he's going after Minnie Minoso's "age record".

"I never predict anything, and I never will." Paul Gascoigne, English footballer

by One won lost won on Sep 3, 2007 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No thats not true

His HOF eligibility starts the day he plays his final game, which was in 2003. If he did play a game for the A's that would re start his Hall of fame eligibility date, which of right now is 2009. I think the fact that Rickey Henderson is the first base coach on a playoff bound team would be another factor in this idea. I highly doubt that Rickey would even have the slightest interest in leaving the Mets right now, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he probably has a contract with with Mets.....

"I Will Not Relent, I Am Driven"... Clutch

Bring Back The Bash!!!

by Shippee33 on Sep 3, 2007 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Besides...

If given a chance, Rickey would rather postpone his induction and play a game or two, that's his choice.

I wasn't in favor of this move in past years but given that the A's are going down the crapper this year, why not?

I love you, k^2. -Poppy*

by kaweahkaweah on Sep 3, 2007 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

rickey should get a day

Who cares about HOF. He knows he will be in it someday, whats the difference to him. i think rickey would rather play. and showoff then have a HOF introduction ceramony. it would put fans in the seats. i seriously think a one day contract would be worth it enough just to hear rickey talk in third person again.

by skalordes on Sep 3, 2007 2:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He's the Mets 1b coach..Rickey Day won't happen..

this year. The Mets most likely will be in the playoffs, so no chance for Rickey playing or being honored by the A's this year

"just a beating heart ... plasma that we'll put into our uniform." Billy Beane

by athleticsBB4life on Sep 3, 2007 4:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Isn't he like third all time

in unintentional walks, too?

The thing people don't realize about Henderson when they see knockoffs like Juan Pierre is how disciplined a hitter he was. His value to the A's was less that he stole a lot of bases and more that he consistently got on base at a rate way above league average. Somehow over time the notion that a leadoff hitter should be a great on-base guy has become perverted into the notion that he should simply be fast. Alfonso Soriano is a fast #4-5 hitter, not a leadoff man. He is, admittedly, a unique case, but batting him leadoff probably costs his team 10-20 runs a season relative to hitting him cleanup.

by PaulThomas on Sep 3, 2007 4:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The walks

What makes those walks and his OBP so great is that he was the last guy in the world that you would want to give a free base to.

by Archaeologist on Sep 3, 2007 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not really ...

stolen bases just aren't that valuable ...

Along with holding the record for most swipes, he also holds the record for most caught stealing -- which is sort of inevitable, given that he successfully stole more bases than anyone else attempted.

He was a career 80% base stealer, which is solid -- but all those failed attempts kill a ton of the value of the successes.

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Sep 3, 2007 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You couldn't be more off-base.

(Pun intended). . .

Seriously, did you ever actually watch Henderson play? He almost singlehandedly took apart the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 ALCS offensively (the A's pitching did the rest).

Perhaps far more significant, however, was Rickey's contribution to the A's offense in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series (that was the first game played after the earthquake and also the first game played in San Francisco).

Recall the situation. I think it was the 3rd inning (I have the game on video-tape of declining quality, but the images and sounds are clear enough). Henderson was on second base, Lansford was on first. Canseco was at the plate. Kelly Downs was pitching for the Giants. The A's were up by at least one run, but the Giants had scored a few of their own off of Dave Stewart and the game was close.

Downs kept throwing fastballs to Canseco, because Rickey kept dancing off of second base. The threat of Henderson stealing third base made it less desirable for Downs to throw an off-speed or breaking pitch to Canseco, lest Rickey get a good jump.

Recall that Carney Lansford, though not particularly fast, was a careful and high percentage base stealer himself. A breaking pitch could have resulted in a steal of third base by Henderson and/or a steal of second by Lansford.

Downs had to choose between mixing up his pitches and allowing the A's to get more runners in scoring position or serving up a fat pitch to Canseco. Naturally, he (or Giants Manager Roger Craig more likely) chose the latter, a gamble that the Giants lost horribly, because Canseco smacked a fastball into the stands for a three-run moonshot.

Now consider what would have happened had someone like, say, Scott Hatteberg had been on second base. Would Canseco have been served a bunch of Kelly Downs fastballs? I seriously doubt it.

Don't try to tell me that stolen bases aren't that valuable.

Where's Ricky Henderson when you need him?

by intexile on Sep 3, 2007 11:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stolen bases aren't that valuable.

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Sep 4, 2007 1:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe a stolen base

isn't that valuable, BUT the threat of a stolen base can be. You don't have to look at just Rickey, try Jackie too or even Cobb. A pitcher and his defense cannot hold 100 per cent of their attention on both the base runners and the batter at the plate. A great distraction on the bases, with cause a great distraction in the pitching.

I'm not saying that we need a team built entirely around base stealing, but if we have some legitimate, smart base stealers it might help out the batters at the plate a bit. Baseball is not just about the offense doing its best, but it is also about forcing the pitching and defense to perform at less than that.

by Archaeologist on Sep 4, 2007 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I sort of accept your point on stolen bases,

but it is basically true that "he was the last guy in the world you would want to give a free base to."

For his career, he scored 40% of his non-HR times on base, which is an extremely high rate, especially for a career as long as his. Furthermore, on the SB point, tons of SBs at 80% is a non-negligible benefit over a player who never attempts SBs (although I guess maybe his CSs were extra-costly given general high relative likelihood of scoring once on base.)

by mikeA on Sep 4, 2007 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's second all-time

in walks, overall and first in unintentional walks.

It'd take Barry three more more or less healthy seasons in order to take the unintentional crown.

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Sep 3, 2007 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I assume the Mets situation is the obstacle.

If it's not, then the A's should abso-freakin-lutely do this, and HoF clock be damned. If Rickey wants Rickey Day, Rickey should get Rickey Day.

The Mets are good sports, right? Give him a couple days off. Please?

"Ten times thy self were better than ten Hattebergs" -- Monkeyball, channeling Shakespeare

by iglew on Sep 3, 2007 10:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Sounds great, but. . .

. . .is there a MLB prohibition against someone coaching for one team while simultaneously playing for another, even in a ceremonial fashion such as this?

I've heard of players also serving as manager at the same time for the same team (as did Pete Rose for the Reds in the late 1980s), but is that even allowed anymore?

How about this: Why don't the A's sign Rickey Henderson as a coach? I'm almost certain that if Billy Beane would turn off his perpetual red light and the A's signed Rickey Henderson, their base stealing and run scoring would probably improve. How much is debatable, because of Beane's penchant for drafting, signing, and trading for station-to-station base runners, but it's still a future I'd like to see.

Could you imagine Rickey Henderson as a mainstay as an A's first-base coach for the next three or four decades (assuming that he didn't have aspirations as a manager or something else)? I could, and it would be a fitting reward for all that Rickey did for Oakland. It's certainly a dream of mine, having watched Henderson play for so many years as an A's fan.

Where's Ricky Henderson when you need him?

by intexile on Sep 3, 2007 11:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That is a fantastic idea!

by Archaeologist on Sep 4, 2007 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Honor Him, But

...don't let him play. I don't want to see the baseball version of those hideous PBS oldies shows.

As others have written he works for the Mets who are in the playoff hunt so the timing is off for an eand of this season tribute. I would like to see a Rickey day early next seson with lots of advance notice. Put together a highlight reel, invite former teammates and players with Oakland baseball roots. Turn it into an event that apys tribute to Oakland and jump starts youth baseball in Oakland.

by NoeValley on Sep 4, 2007 9:35 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Stolen bases

If stolen bases aren't valuable, then runs aren't valuable. I have never heard anyone tell me that runs are overrated. I saw a Fox game about a month ago, and the announcer said that Billy Beane would love to have a Ricky Henderson type guy at the front of the lineup.

by jayberwanger on Sep 4, 2007 11:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

in his record stolen base

year stole 130 caught 42 net 88. vince coleman 1986 sb 107 cs 14 net 93. always wondered why sb's not figured like rushing yards by a running back in football. lose yards, total comes down accordingly. love the rick as much as any man can. but, caught stealings not penalized as they should. says here, vince coleman best all time sb season. (wrote a diary on this and others raines, brock, etc... but still haven't figured how to create with this mozilla...)

jesus saves. and espo scores on the rebound.

by oakath on Sep 5, 2007 8:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs