Rickey Henderson earns baseball's greatest honor in near-unanimous vote

By Cam Inman
Contra Costa Times columnist
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune
Posted: 01/12/2009 05:16:37 PM PST
Updated: 01/13/2009 05:56:39 AM PST

In this May 2, 1991 file photo, Oakland Athletics' Rickey Henderson holds up third base after breaking Lou Brock's all-time career record for stolen bases during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in Oakland, Calif. (Alan Greth/AP)


FORMER A'S outfielder Rickey Henderson did not celebrate his election Monday to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the stereotypical ways we all craved.

He didn't declare himself the greatest of all time, even though he is baseball's best-ever leadoff hitter, run scorer and base stealer. Rickey didn't speak about Rickey in the third person. Nor did he do a headfirst slide at the nearest ballpark and lift a base over his head.

But he indeed was on the move, driving with his family to the airport when the Hall of Fame called. He hurried to catch a flight to New York, where he'll return for his July 26 induction into baseball's fabled hall in Cooperstown.

"I've got to run. They're about to close the (plane) door," Henderson said to end his conference call with the Baseball Writers' Association of America, whose members welcomed him to the Hall of Fame by naming him on 94.8 percent of their ballots.

Leave it to Rickey — a name that stands by itself in baseball lore, and in his classic third-person quotes — to leave the door cracked on his 25-year, nine-team playing career, including four stints with his hometown A's.

"The Hall of Fame means a great deal for me. It's been a long time waiting," said the 50-year-old Oakland Technical High School product. "I wanted to continue playing ball, but I guess this was my time."

To him, he's served his penance, sitting out the past five seasons to comply with requirements for Hall of Fame entry. He'd like to suit up one last time with the A's, even though he gave their cap only "the edge" as he decides which club's insignia will appear on his Cooperstown plaque.

"My career of playing in Oakland was fantastic," Rickey said. "I wouldn't give it back for anything else. I had a wonderful time. The fans were the best, they were behind me and pulled for me. Even when I left and came back with another team, they cheered.

"We just didn't get an opportunity to say goodbye for the last time. "... When I get inducted, maybe they'll give me that day or two to come back."

A's owner Lew Wolff's statement honored Rickey's past rather than any wild notion of a comeback: "We are proud that much of Rickey's career was spent here in his hometown of Oakland, where he provided Bay Area fans with so many thrills as perhaps the most exciting player of his generation."

It'll be absurd if Rickey doesn't don an A's cap again for at least his Hall induction, where he'll be enshrined with former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice and Veterans Committee selection Joe Gordon. (Rickey can request which hat will be on his plaque, but the Hall gets the final call.)

Denied for a third straight year by Hall voters was Henderson's former A's teammate Mark McGwire, whose support fell from past years. He drew 21.9 percent of the vote this year, 23.6 percent last year and 23.5 in 2007.

Rickey said McGwire deserves to enter the Hall, that he "played the right way." McGwire's suspected steroid use, however, resonates with baseball writers, 28 of whom didn't even vote for Rickey out of 539 ballots cast.

Henderson left Major League Baseball in 2003 atop its all-time lists for runs (2,295), stolen bases (1,406) and walks (2,190; a mark Barry Bonds eventually surpassed). He won two World Series rings — with the 1989 A's and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays — after joining those teams via midseason trades. He was a 10-time All-Star, the 1990 American League MVP and the 1989 American League Championship Series MVP.

His greatest accomplishment: "It's the runs-scored record. That's my vote."

He was at his stolen-base best in 1982, when he swiped a single-season record 130 bases to cap the "BillyBall" era under the late Billy Martin, whom he thanked Monday for being a father figure.

One moment forever etched in the memories of A's fans came when Rickey surpassed Lou Brock atop the all-time stolen base list May 1, 1991. His famous quote to the Coliseum crowd: "Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today I am the greatest of all time."

These days, he's still deemed "the most dangerous player of all time," as described by former A's manager Tony La Russa at his annual Animal Rescue Foundation gala Saturday night when the crowd clamored for Rickey stories.

Henderson was a member of the Athletics (1979-84, '89-93, '94-95, '98), New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres (two times), Anaheim Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and, in his supposed swan song at age 44, Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, he's simply a Hall of Famer. At least until he pops up in uniform again.

Reach Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com.