Henderson, Rickey H.
Baseball
b. Dec. 25, 1958, Chicago, IL
Considered by many experts the greatest leadoff hitter in history, Henderson is a rare combination of hitting ability, power, and speed. He has led the AL in stolen bases 11 times, including 7 seasons in a row, in walks 3 times, and in runs scored 5 times. Henderson holds major-league records for most career stolen bases with 1,095, most steals in a season with 130 in 1982, and most home runs leading off a game, 63.
He joined the Oakland Athletics during the 1979 season. In 1980, his first full season, he led the league with 100 stolen bases. Henderson had a league-leading 89 runs scored, 135 hits, 56 stolen bases, and 327 outfield putouts in 1981, when a player strike shortened the season.
With Oakland, Henderson also led in steals with 130 in 1982, 108 in 1983, and 66 in 1984. He was then traded to the New York Yankees. Despite missing nearly a month of the 1985 season with an injury, he again led in stolen bases with 80, and repeated with 87 in 1986.
An injury limited him to only 95 games in 1987, but he bounced back with a league-leading 93 steals in 1988. The Yankees traded him back to Oakland during the 1989 season, when he led in steals with 77, runs scored with 113, and walks with 126.
Henderson was named the league's most valuable player in 1990. He had his highest batting average that season, .325, with a league-leading 119 runs scored and 65 steals in only 75 attempts. Although he slipped to a .268 average in 1991, he was the stolen base leader again with 58.
In 1992, Henderson was on the disabled list three times and appeared in only 117 games. During the following season, Oakland traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays, and he helped lead Toronto to a second consecutive world championship.
Since then, Henderson has played for several teams, including the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels, and the Boston Red Sox. He also served two more tours of duty with Oakland
Henderson has been a consistently good performer in post-season play. In the 1989 AL championship series, he stole a record 8 bases and tied a record by scoring 8 runs and was named most valuable player in the World Series, batting .474 with 3 stolen bases, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBI in 4 games. He hit .333 with 3 more steals, 2 runs, and 1 RBI in the 1990 World Series.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Henderson is a rarity in that he throws left but bats right handed.