Master Base Thief: Rickey Henderson

On May one, nineteen ninety one, Ricky Henderson of the Oakland Athletics sets the major league record for the most steals in Major League Baseball history and becoming the Ricky Henderson. Let's dive into this iconic player today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day now. Ricky Henderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the backseat of an Oldsmobile on the way to the hospital. Henderson always joked he was already fast and couldn't wait. And Henderson grew up bouncing around with his family, living with aunts, uncles, and grandparents as well as his mother and father. But from an early age, Ricky showed signs that sports was his calling. Not only baseball, he had a knack for football as well. As In high school, he was an All American running back who had multiple thousand yard seasons and had over a dozen scholarship offers to play football, but he also was a great baseball player and was drafted right out of high school in the nineteen seventy six Major League Draft in the fourth round by the Oakland Athletics. So he had to choose between football and baseball, and his mother stepped in and said, if you want to have a long career, that we need to go in to baseball, and Ricky listened to his mama and started to take the baseball world by storm. Now, Ricky started in the minor leagues and showed great talent right away. In his first year with the Boise A's in the Northwest League, his batting average was three hundred and thirty six and he hit three home runs with two triples in only forty six games. Then he moved to the Modesto A's where his batting average went up to three forty five in one hundred and thirty four games and broke the league record for total stolen bases with ninety five during that season and was voted the team's most valuable player. And he continued to move up through the ranks until June twenty fourth, nineteen seventy nine, when he finally made his major league debut for the Oakland Athletics, getting two hits and one stolen base in his first game. His first season with the Oakland Athletics, he had a batting average of two seventy four starting his career with thirty three stolen bases in just eighty nine games, and the next year was his first year playing a whole season in the major leagues, and he came out running, becoming only the third player to ever steal more than one hundred bases in the season that broke the Oakland Athletics franchise record. But not only was he stealing bases, he had his first season hitting over three hundred with a three to zero three batting average and was also second in the American League with one hundred and seventeen walks, and this became a trend for Ricky throughout his career. He would regularly lead the league and steals and walks, all while hitting over three hundred. In the nineteen eighty one season, he came in hitting three nineteen with fifty six steals and finished second in the MVP voting behind Roley Fingers, but also earned his only Gold Glove of his career. But in nineteen eighty two is when he really stood out for his steals, the record for the most steals in a single season, passing the great Lou Brock, who became a friend of Ricky's, stealing one hundred and thirty bases that year, passing Lou Brock's record by twelve and Ricky he still holds that record to this day. And though he was a great player for the Oakland A's, they eventually traded him to the New York Yankees in nineteen eighty four, where he arguably became more famous, becoming the first player to ever hit twenty home runs and have eighty steals in the same season, a feat that no one else has matched since. But he continued his success with the Yankees, averaging over eighty steals a game and hitting well over three hundred every year, and in four and a half seasons. While with the Yankees, he set the franchise record for the most steals with three hundred and twenty six, a record that stood until Derek Jeter passed him. Playing one thousand, seven hundred more games with the Yankees than Ricky, He was eventually traded in the nineteen eighty nine season as the Oakland A's were having a lot of success and were looking to capture another World Series and needed a great leadoff hitter, and despite that year being Nolan Ryan's five thousands strikeout victim, he helped lead the Oakland Athletics to a World Series title, winning his first title over the Kansas City Royals, and he came back the next year on fire, leading the league in runs, stolen bases, on base percentage and finishing sixth in home runs, winning his only MVP of his career and was able to lead the Oakland A's back to the World Series, but unfortunately they lost to the Cincinnati Reds in four games. But he finished that year with nine hundred and thirty six career steals, just three away from breaking the all time record. So the nineteen ninety one season started out with him going after the record. In the opening game of the year, he was able to steal another base and the crowd was expecting for more, but in the second game he stole another base, tying the record, but he got injured, so they had to wait a little while till May one, nineteen ninety one. After coming back the day previously and not having any steals. In the first inning against the New York Yankees, his former team, he was able to make it to base that first inning and took off trying to steal seconds, but was thrown out by the catcher Matt Knox, but that wouldn't be his only try, as in the fourth inning, he was able to get on a base again after the Yankees made an error, and he made it all the way to second and right away. The crowd was excited because they knew history might be made, and he took off the first chance he could, stealing third and set the record for the most steals all time in Major League Baseball history. Roocky immediately stood up and picked up the third base, holding it over his head as if it was a trophy, waving to the crowd of over thirty six thousand fans, and they took a break in the action so they could celebrate as Rocky's family and his friend who he he just beat the record, Lou Brock, all came out to sew their support for Ricky and celebrate this great moment, and Ricky took the mic said it took a long time, huh. And Ricky wasn't even close to being done, as he would play another eleven seasons in the major leagues, bouncing around to multiple teams. In nineteen ninety three, he was traded mid season to the Toronto Blue Jays, who needed a great leadoff hitter, and he helped lead them to a World Series, getting his second World Series ring. Then in nineteen ninety four, he head back to the Oakland Athletics, where he would start bouncing around from team to team, playing for the San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, back to the Oakland Athletics, to the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, back to the San Diego Padres, the Boston Red Sox, and he would finish out his last year in two thousand and three with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over his career, he would set multiple records. His final stolen based total is one thousand and four one hundred and six. He was also caught stealing the most times with three hundred and thirty five, scored the most runs with two thousand, two hundred and ninety five, and has the most leadoff home runs ever at eighty one. He was a ten time All Star, won one MVP, one Gold Glove, three Silver Sluggers, and was the Stolen based champ twelve times, and in two thousand and nine he was voted into the Hall of Fame. And we can always say Ricky was just being Ricky the whole time he played and his mom was right about his career being much longer in baseball than football. Thank you for listening to today's Daily sports History. It means so much that you took the time to listen, and if you want to help support us, all we ask is that you leave a rating or review wherever you're listening. It warns my heart and gives me motivation to keep going every day and come back tomorrow for more daily sports history. Then Pink