Austin Sports Guy

On December 1, 2008, the Hall of Fame ballot was released and leading the way is baseball’s all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson.  While being primarily known as a base stealer, it was Henderson’s high on-base percentage, power and ability to score runs that made him perhaps the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of baseball.  Along with his 1406 stolen bases, Henderson ranks first in runs scored (2295), most career leadoff homeruns (81) and the most single season stolen bases at 130.  His 2190 career walks ranks second only to Barry Bonds while his 3055 career hits rank him at 21 on the all-time list behind Craig Biggio.   During his 25 year playing career, Henderson earned 10 trips to the all-star game, and MVP award, three Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove and two World Series rings.

While his on the field achievements have surely earned him a place in the Hall of Fame, it’s his off the field accolaids that have earned him the great distinction of being an egomaniac.  While unofficially inventing the hot dog snatch catch, Henderson also coined the unique ability of refering to oneself in the third person.  Several of his teammates throughout his career have witness him standing fully nude in front of a mirror practicing his swing saying, “Rickey is the best, Rickey is the best.”  When asked once if he was worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, renowned statistician Bill James said, “IF you could split him in two, you’d have two Hall of Famers.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 at 11:18 am and is filed under Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.