Best Rickey story I've heard was when he was at an All Star game and he was taking fly balls with John Olerud who famously wore a helmet even while in the field. Rickey told John "you know I use to have a teammate in Toronto that wore a helmet all the time." John replied, "That was me Rickey."
I love that story! Cracks me up to this day! I was fortunate enough to see Ricky play and steal second in '94-'95 when he was back with the A's. We were sitting a few rows up from first base and I KNEW he would run. That man made stealing bases look easy and I modeled my bases game after him growing up.
NJGuy1973 probably 3, but to me that just proves he probably was a steroid user, and if there's already one and almost certainly more in the hall of fame why not put the rest in?
I am not going to bore you with statistics, but I have a Master's centered around stats... Here are the facts, in 1998 at 34 an aging McGwire managed to put up 70 home runs. There is little doubt from that statistic McGwire was cheating. Given that his AB/HR decreased to 7.2 or 7.3 in comparison to more prime years, it would suggest a clear edge despite his aging. Had this been a performance 5 years later, statistics would suggest with a significant certainty McGwire was an outlier at an even greater magnitude amongst all other MLB players at the time. In either case, McGwire is an outlier accompanied with Bonds. Comparably in 1998, the 39 year old Rickey Henderson managed to out steal a much thinner Tony Womack who was 28 years old. The only difference here is that Rickey has done better than 66 SB's, but for his age he is now an outlier in history to the same degree McGwire was an outlier. The question you will have to answer is, "when will a 39 year old lead MLB in stolen bases, if the answer is never... and if you have seen the trends since 2003, you would know that it's impossible, the evidence is clear Rickey Henderson was cheating in the same way McGwire was cheating. I know you are a reasonable guy, don't you find that a bit suspicious?.
@@stateengineer8760 theyre all on steroids, the testing in the mlb is garbage so its fair game. at the end of the day if you have no definitive proof he took steroids (numbers are irrelevant) then hes innocent until proven guilty.
Derek Jeter broke the Yankees team stolen base record after more than 15 years with the Yankees. He took that record from Henderson. Henderson played for the Yankees for just 4 1/2 years. He set the team record of 326 in less than 600 games (596). To break the team record took Jeter 3043 games, more than 5 times as many games as Henderson player with the Yankees.
Plus Jeter played for the Yankees during his entire prime. Henderson's first 6 seasons were on the A's where his best 3 single seasons were (100, 130, 108) and he totaled 493 before the trade to NY. Lol. Insane.
TheAnanaki It took Jeter 15 years to break the record. He could be considered "in his prime" for a while, but not 15 years. Jeters entire prime playing career wasn't enough to get as many stolen bases as Henderson had with the team when he was already in decline.
That's not at all what I was saying. I was adding to Henderson's legend by showing that he wasn't even in his prime on the Yankees. Jeter was. Ricky's 4 best seasons top Jeter's whole 20 year career. Lol. Hell it didn't even take Ricky 15 seasons to break Brock's MLB record. He did that at the beginning of his 13th season.
Reading up on Ricky, noticed that he had more career stolen bases then the Boston Red Sox had in the history of their ENTIRE franchise when he joined the team.
Famous story that doesn't involve stealing a base. He's at bat, bases loaded, a run wins the game. He stands in the batters box like he's got no intention at all to swing. The pitcher throws 4 straight balls, walking Henderson forcing in the winning run. When asked after the game why he didn't look like he was trying to swing, he said, "I knew the pitcher wouldn't throw me a strike."
The best Rickey story was during his tenure in San Diego. Tony Gwynn and the other veterans sat in the back of the bus, and the younger players sat up front. Rickey sat up front during a bus ride and Tony yelled at him "Rickey, sit in the back, you have tenure" and Rickey yelled back "Rickey doesn't have tenure, Rickey has seventeen year". Dude went to the beat of his own drum. Gotta love it.
Henderson is crazy underrated. Most people don't even consider him when it comes to all time players. The last time he lead the league in steals he was 40. Many base stealers are injury prone because of the wear and tear of base stealing, Rickey was still doing it in his 40s and he slid face first, which you are told not to do.
Rickey was the best. I'm glad I lived through his career. And that of my favorite player of all-time, Ken Griffey, Jr. I only missed Jr's first season, in 1989. Started following him, Rickey, and others in 1990. And fjnly saw him play in person during his final season. He went 3 for 4 with a 1B and two 2B, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Only thing better would have been a HR. Edit: maybe NOT 1990. It may have been 1989. My first Griffey baseball card was a 1990 Upper Deck and that started it all. Also got Kevin Maas in that same pack and he was worth a little more than Jr at the time. Jr was still like $1.00 or something, so I started following him and collecting his cards. I've probably got 200. I quit collecting right when the card companies started over-producing cards and diluting the market, driving down prices.
I saw Rickey play the Rangers in 91. Was a Saturday day game. The night before, i watched on TV as this young Rangers catcher who had been called up a few weeks before threw him out at second, picked him off first, and threw him out at second again in the 8th....this time by a mile. Ricky laid in his back and pulled his helmet down like he was napping. So Saturday afternoon, in true Rickey fashion, he draws a lead off walk. And then the guy who we've all come to know and love for his cocky arrogance broke character. He wouldnt take a lead. Not a step. Left foot didnt leave the bag.... the fans behind the Rangers dugout on the 1B side noticed after a pitch or two and started chanting "Run Rickey Run!" He stood there, foot firmly on the bag shaking his head no. He points in at the plate and then to his own arm , pantomiming his case to the entire crowd of how great an arm the kid behind the plate had.
Rickey Henderson held the New York Yankees stolen base record for 13 years, until it was broken by Derek Jeter in 2011. Rickey played four and a half seasons in the Bronx. It took Jeter 16 seasons to pass his record.
@@GLee-oe3op Do you think Rickey Henderson was hitting home runs to get his stolen bases? Or do you think he was an unbelievably quick "contact hitter"?
I took a class in college called "Advanced Techniques of Baseball" and basically just talked Baseball. We came to agree that the most unbreakable records were Henderson career and season stolen base records, Cy Youngs career wins, and Nolan Ryans career strikeouts.
@@starwalk3r I don't know. Which is less likely, that a player will show up for work every day for 16 1/4 full seasons to play 2633 games in a row, or that a player in today's game will get 200 hits for 21 straight seasons and come back for a 22nd to get 57 more? Although if you could name one active player who you think stands an outside chance at 1407 stolen bases, I'd love to know who.
@@blackoutgstar9949 The old NES games? Yeah, there were speed differences. I remember guys like Cecil Fielder would always be thrown out on an infield ground ball, whereas guys like Ricky and Tim Raines would almost always be safe. You might be thinking of the fielders as they all moved at the same time and speed, but the base runners definitely had different running speeds.
@@SvendleBerries i actually never noticed that and i played that alot. ill look out for it next time. i always used Am and subbed out first hitter for the guy with max home runs
@@blackoutgstar9949 Man Rickey was unstoppable once he got in base in RBI Baseball. I played with the A's. Ricky Henderson was the most dangerous player in that game because he didn't need to hit a home run or to be batted in to score. All he needed was to just get a base hit
I wouldn't be surprised if Rickey was caught stealing more times than the Twins stole bases either. Rickey stole his first 65 bases in only 70 tries. Then he stole his other 65 while being thrown out 37 times. Think about this: Damaso Garcia finished second in the AL with 54 steals that year. After that I think you had Julio Cruz and Paul Molitor. Rickey was caught stealing more times than Paul Molitor had stolen bases. So the top five were, Rickey 130, Damaso Garcia 54, Julio Cruz 46, Rickey "caught stealing" 42, Paul Molitor 41, and Willie Wilson 37.
I just dug this up from baseballreference.com. The Minnesota Twins were 60-102 in their first year in the Metrodome and had 38 stolen bases ALL SEASON LONG. So, YES, Rickey was caught stealing more than the Twinkies had stolen bases!!!
the even better one is that Rickey Henderson joined the Red Sox in 2002. Henderson had more career steals than the entire Red Sox franchise had in their history.
Ricky Henderson is a myth from my childhood in the Bay Area. Like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. A friend told me once that he was yelling to Ricky from the stands, asking him to steal a base for his fantasy team stats. Ricky stole 2nd jumped up and pointed to him. Legend.
@@anaveragejoehanginground Lol. Believe it or not young blood. Fantasy sport teams existed before the internet. You got together on draft night, everyone in the same room. You wrote stuff down with a pencil on paper. And called each other on the phone to make trades. Yahoo chocolate milk was part of the tradition. Like, not just with us. But universally. It was so different. Yet Israel and Palestine still killed one another. So. Kind of the same.
What you didn't mention is HOW Rickey stole all those bases. Yes, he was super fast, but so were many of the other players of that era. Rickey revolutionized the art of getting the biggest possible lead without getting picked off and then he had exquisite timing getting his "jump" when the pitcher started their motion. When you watched him, you could see the science at work while he took his lead, and then there was the turn and the burst of speed that took your breath away. Most exciting player I've ever seen.
I'm glad y'all made this one. Usually Ricky Henderson isn't even mentioned in the conversation of "best players of all time" and this really things into perspective
Rickey Henderson was one of those great things about being a kid growing up in the (east) bay area in the 80s. You always knew it was going to be exciting when he got on base.
Rickey's early years in Oakland were mostly on losing teams. 4 of those first 6 seasons, the A's were sub 500 teams. With Shooty Babbitt manning second, you can understand why. It wasn't until his second stint with the A's, starting in 89, did he contribute to Oakland success. I spent a lot of time in the coliseum during the 80's and 90's. Saw well over a hundred games. My favorite things were watching Stewart kick Roger Clemens ass on a regular basis. Canseco and McGwire launch homers into the back rows on the bleachers. (A couple of times over the bleachers and onto the concourse.) And of course Rickey doing what Rickey did so well. Scare the shit out of pitchers and managers.
I still remember me and my friends sitting around the radio listening to Ricky break the single season record and absolutely loosing our minds when he did it. Great times.
I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but my favorite Rickey moment (moments?) was watching him go nuts on the bases in the 1989 ALCS, stealing at will.
Salutations from Canada. Yeah, the Blue Jays got completely slaughtered by Rickey. Those ALCS nightmares were the biggest reason why the Jays signed him in 1993. They literally were too afraid of his ability to take control of a game to let him go to another team.
I've always heard that Rickey tended to refer to himself in the 3rd person (I think that's the one. I'm stupid and failed English, and I supposedly speak English). One story I think Tony Gwynn used to tell was about Rickey looking for his cleats, and telling Tony "Rickey can't run without Rickey's cleats!" Dude was weird. An amazing player, but weird.
That was Bo Jackson. It may have been RH too, but BJ's book was a favorite of mine as a kid and I remember that about him. It took him a while to get over doing that third person thing. Remember the commercial of him saying in the third person, "Bo knows"?
Darth Smirnoff he did😂😂😂 RH was what literally started me watching baseball. On 1st he just stared the picture down as he started to walk towards second base. Then he stole second base, it was amazing
Here's the thing about Ricky Henderson that I noticed through his career. EVERY YEAR it seemed, he'd be stealing some base for some team IN THE PLAYOFFS. One of the greatest baseball players in my lifetime. Fun to watch. Always.
@@rockaway0beach ? ichiro retired march 2019, at least according to wiki... i guess in the micro sense that's kind of good though, if he'd planned to retire in 2020 covid-19 would have screwed up all the ceremony for him.
Years ago while living in Seattle, Washington I attended a Yankees/Mariners game in the King Dome and bore witness to the following. Rickey beat out a ground ball in the infield for a base hit. He stole second, stole third and came home to score on a sacrifice fly. I just threw up my hands and was glad to see someone that was a great part of baseball history.
The most devastating lead off Man in MLB history and no player was more terrifying on the bases than him. He was also a pioneer in the free agency surge and big contracts.
I could make an argument for Ichiro for best leadoff man of all time, but there's no need to argue the point. Both of them did their jobs with something that will never be paralleled in modern baseball.
RIP to an Oakland legend. You inspired countless young ball players, most of all you played your heart out for us here in the town. Thanks rickey, rest in power💛💚
Always been my favorite Mlb’er since he was a rookie I also molded my game hitting stance and base running from his style of play this guy was ageless and had the best baseball IQ I’ve ever seen
I seem to recall an interview where he said that he thought stealing third was easier than second because you could get a bigger lead off. Also, proud to say I watched him score from first on a single up in Oakland. So, so fast
One thing the video never touched on but should have is the effect that having Henderson on base did to both the pitcher and the position players trying to hold him on base. He would wreak havoc on opposing teams because they were so distracted trying to hold him close. This made the batters following Rickey so much better as the pitchers weren't focused on them, and there were always larger gaps between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd for batters to shoot grounders through. And outfielders had to play in a bit more than they would against everyone else if the game was close and Henderson's score would make the difference in the final outcome. Opposing teams hated playing against Henderson because it felt like he dominated the game.
I think Ricky Henderson might be my spirit animal. Throws with left arm, hits everything right handed, and just doesn't quite 'get' all the rest of the world around him. Mr Henderson, I salute you...⚾️ Edit: December 22nd, 2024. RIP Ricky. Challenge St Peter to a foot race to decide if you are allowed in... my money would be on you. 🙏
What this intro is telling me, and what the videos involving how insane Ichiro is are both telling me, is that baseball is a sport that is close to being 100 percented like a video game would be
RIP to Rickey Henderson. This was the first SB video I ever saw, because the algorithm knew I was a fan and it figured I'd like your stuff too. I have since watched every single you guys have ever made, and it's some of my favorite stuff. Thanks to Rickey Henderson for being my gateway drug to Secret Base!
You didn't mention one of the most important aspects of Henderson being on base. The effect it had on hitters behind him in the line-up. If a pitcher had to deal with the madness that is Henderson, sometimes they'd lose interest in throwing strikes. Ricky Henderson was an absolute phenomenon to watch.
The most amazing stat I heard was Rickey was only thrown out five times in his first 70 attempts in 1982. Butch Wynegar gunned him down twice in that stretch.
I seen Ricky Henderson play live 4 times. 3 of those 4 games, first at bat, first pitch of the game he hits a home run. Man did that ALOT in his career
I grew up watching Rickey he’s not human. Greatest lead off hitter ever, hits tons of homers turns singles into doubles doubles into triples and would throw every pitcher off he’s game AWESOME
Rickey is the greatest player I ever saw or met and top 5 or 10 all time. Add up his total bases, walks and net steals. Not to mention the countless times he could score a run when nobody else could.
The early 80s A's were my childhood exposure to MLB. Saw Rickey play lots of times in person and and TV. Outside 1981, the team kinda sucked, but Rickey made it worth watching. Two things I think you guys didn't mention -- his leadoff homeruns and his fielding ability. He wasn't just a base-runner.
Favorite Rickey Henderson story. In 1987 he had a down year for his standards due to injuries. Harold Reynolds led the league in stolen bases that year with 60. Reynolds gets a call from Henderson and instead of congratulating him, Rickey tells him, "Sixty stolen bases? You ought to be ashamed. Rickey would have 60 at the All-Star break."
I love your channel! You two put a really fresh spin on the horsehide game! Being the statistics fanatic that I am, the adding of your statistics the way that you do them are also done with a really fresh spin as well that I really love as well. Please keep up the incredible work, "Dorktown"! You've made a GREAT, BIG, HUMONGOUS fan out of me!!!
Just as impressive is that Ryan is also the career leader in hits/9 innings, and pretty much everybody else on the leaderboard is either in their prime, had their career cut short, or a closer (in other words they didnt have any "decline years" factored in like Koufax, etc). Ryan, of course, pitched until he was 46
qwerty52676 whats funny is that people act like sandy koufax was a small guy... His height and weight is listed at 6'2 210. And ryan was listed at 6'2 195
My fav Rickey story was in 1999 or 2000 I think - he was playing for either the Mets or the M’s and John Olerud was playing first. Rickey said something like “I used to play with a dude in Toronto that wore a helmet in the field” Olerud replies, “yeah, that was me.”
I once watched a video where Rickey talked about his experience with the Toronto Blue Jays for their 1993 World Series win. In the bottom of the ninth, Rickey had gotten a base hit and then stolen second, which is where he would be located when Joe Carter came up to bat and gave us the greatest World Series moment of all time. To this day, Rickey maintains that his presence on second was keeping Philadelphia's pitcher on edge, which is what allowed Carter to hit his walkoff home run, and I'm inclined to believe him simply because Rickey was one of the most amazing baseball players I've ever seen.
@@edfallon5356 With Rickey, stolen bases were like potato chips; You can't just stop at one. Everyone knew that, and with Philadelphia leading in the bottom of the 9th the pitcher considered Rickey the most pressing threat to score.
I saw my first live MLB game in 1970, when I was 7 years old. It was at the Oakland Coliseum. In all of these years I've been fortunate enough to see many great, great players. In my opinion, Rickey Henderson was the most dominant, complete player I've seen live. I wasn't old enough to see the best all around MLB player to ever play the game, Willie Mays play live, but I did see Rickey many, many times. Not only was he the greatest Base Stealer ever, he was also one of the best ever Leadoff Hitters, for average AND power, and he was a helluva defensive player. Thanks for the video! I enjoyed watching it!.
Ricky holds the all time steals record with 1408 steals. The second place is Lou Brock. Who has 938. Ricky has 500 over the second place. That record will never be broken. Not in a million years.
Ricky story: “Went to a jays game and was in the left field seats, third out is a fly ball to Ricky who turned and tried to throw it up to me, he missed around 15 feet short and it bounced back onto the field, he looks up and goes “I’m not known for my arm.”
Even though I've watched this video before, I want to pay my respects to Rickey. A true legend.
R.I.P to an absolute legend
o7
07
Same. I've seen this video probably twenty times already, I have to watch it again. RIP and happy birthday Rickey Henderson.
Absolutely.
Best Rickey story I've heard was when he was at an All Star game and he was taking fly balls with John Olerud who famously wore a helmet even while in the field. Rickey told John "you know I use to have a teammate in Toronto that wore a helmet all the time." John replied, "That was me Rickey."
Kirk Bounds it was back in NY with the mets
This story is apocryphal. There's a video of John Olerud explaining how the story came to be.
So why did Olerud wear a helmet on the field?
I love that story! Cracks me up to this day! I was fortunate enough to see Ricky play and steal second in '94-'95 when he was back with the A's. We were sitting a few rows up from first base and I KNEW he would run. That man made stealing bases look easy and I modeled my bases game after him growing up.
@@explosivereactionstv7414 I think he had an aneurysm earlier in life and wore it to protect the brain from further complications. something like that
Why, yes, UA-cam algorithm. I will watch this for the fourth time. Thank you!
I don’t see any issue with that
*scoffs* only fourth?!?!
Thank you indeed, UA-cam algorithm -- four times or 40!
Relatable
Same!!!
I was gonna write a comment but Rickey Henderson stole it.
AWESOME!
GAME4WAR wdym you wrote a comment
I was gonna give you a like but....
@@Peezy2x r/woooooosh
negius hegratte r/wooooosh
“They kept that s$!# a secret from me. I wish they had told me. My God, could you imagine Rickey on ‘roids? Oh, baby, look out!” Rickey Henderson
This cannot be real 😂
Bill James once said of Rickey Henderson, “If you could split him in two, you’d have two Hall of Famers.”
NJGuy1973 probably 3, but to me that just proves he probably was a steroid user, and if there's already one and almost certainly more in the hall of fame why not put the rest in?
David Mayberry how you split a guy in two and get 3 people
Albert Liu not quite but okay
I am not going to bore you with statistics, but I have a Master's centered around stats...
Here are the facts, in 1998 at 34 an aging McGwire managed to put up 70 home runs. There is little doubt from that statistic McGwire was cheating. Given that his AB/HR decreased to 7.2 or 7.3 in comparison to more prime years, it would suggest a clear edge despite his aging. Had this been a performance 5 years later, statistics would suggest with a significant certainty McGwire was an outlier at an even greater magnitude amongst all other MLB players at the time. In either case, McGwire is an outlier accompanied with Bonds.
Comparably in 1998, the 39 year old Rickey Henderson managed to out steal a much thinner Tony Womack who was 28 years old. The only difference here is that Rickey has done better than 66 SB's, but for his age he is now an outlier in history to the same degree McGwire was an outlier.
The question you will have to answer is, "when will a 39 year old lead MLB in stolen bases, if the answer is never... and if you have seen the trends since 2003, you would know that it's impossible, the evidence is clear Rickey Henderson was cheating in the same way McGwire was cheating.
I know you are a reasonable guy, don't you find that a bit suspicious?.
@@stateengineer8760 theyre all on steroids, the testing in the mlb is garbage so its fair game. at the end of the day if you have no definitive proof he took steroids (numbers are irrelevant) then hes innocent until proven guilty.
Derek Jeter broke the Yankees team stolen base record after more than 15 years with the Yankees. He took that record from Henderson. Henderson played for the Yankees for just 4 1/2 years.
He set the team record of 326 in less than 600 games (596). To break the team record took Jeter 3043 games, more than 5 times as many games as Henderson player with the Yankees.
That's pretty good right there!
Plus Jeter played for the Yankees during his entire prime. Henderson's first 6 seasons were on the A's where his best 3 single seasons were (100, 130, 108) and he totaled 493 before the trade to NY. Lol. Insane.
TheAnanaki It took Jeter 15 years to break the record. He could be considered "in his prime" for a while, but not 15 years. Jeters entire prime playing career wasn't enough to get as many stolen bases as Henderson had with the team when he was already in decline.
That's not at all what I was saying. I was adding to Henderson's legend by showing that he wasn't even in his prime on the Yankees. Jeter was. Ricky's 4 best seasons top Jeter's whole 20 year career. Lol. Hell it didn't even take Ricky 15 seasons to break Brock's MLB record. He did that at the beginning of his 13th season.
TheAnanaki I understood your point. Maybe I was unclear because I was trying to agree with you.
Reading up on Ricky, noticed that he had more career stolen bases then the Boston Red Sox had in the history of their ENTIRE franchise when he joined the team.
I mentioned that to a friend a few months ago and he almost died laughing.
Pete Rose was the most awesome player I ever saw!
@@mr.wizard2974 sorry for your bad vision
This isn't exactly true. He had more than the team had in the time he'd been playing, but not all the years before that.
Than*
As a Minnesota sports fan just watching this video out of boredom, thanks for embarrassing us even when it really had nothing to do with us.
😂🤣😂😆
Allow me to pile on here, xVipeY. In 1982, Rickey Henderson was CAUGHT stealing (42 times) more than the Twins had stolen bases (38).
Don't worry, Minnesota sports teams are embarrassing themselves as it is.
Look at the bright side, at least you're not a Mariners fan
At least the Twins have won titles. The other three franchises, not so much.
One trait of greatness is when your opponent knows exactly what you’re planning to do and they still can’t stop it. Rickey was great.
Famous story that doesn't involve stealing a base. He's at bat, bases loaded, a run wins the game. He stands in the batters box like he's got no intention at all to swing. The pitcher throws 4 straight balls, walking Henderson forcing in the winning run. When asked after the game why he didn't look like he was trying to swing, he said, "I knew the pitcher wouldn't throw me a strike."
this game: www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK199005090.shtml
That's such a good story! Never heard of that one before
And that losing pitcher for the NYY (Eric Plunk) was acquired from OAK... as part of the Rickey Henderson trade
Can anyone tell me how many throwing errors Steve Sax had in that game?
Cool story. Thanks for sharing it. I thought you were bullshitting at first.
It’s crazy when he broke the record for most stolen bases my dad called sick into work and saw his boss at the game
HAHAHAHAHA..... fUNNY!!
The best Rickey story was during his tenure in San Diego. Tony Gwynn and the other veterans sat in the back of the bus, and the younger players sat up front. Rickey sat up front during a bus ride and Tony yelled at him "Rickey, sit in the back, you have tenure" and Rickey yelled back "Rickey doesn't have tenure, Rickey has seventeen year".
Dude went to the beat of his own drum. Gotta love it.
The longer it takes me to get a joke, the funnier it is.... and.... i can't stop laughing now! Lmao. THAT'S funny!
I don't get it
@@arthurkorff "tenure"= Ten year
@@jamesrustles8670 thanks
Rickie didn't have a big vocabulary
Best Ricky Henderson story I ever heard was that one time he went God Mode against Dave Stieb's Bluejays in the ALCS.
When?
@@windinthewillow1871 1989. It's a reference to the new Dorktown documentary, Captain Ahab: the story of Dave Stieb.
Ah yes, I remember that very short, not-asked-for documentary within a documentary. 😄
Pppppppp
And then the Jays signed him in '93
I'm now watching this video yet again in honor of the late, great Rickey Henderson, the most unique baseball player ever.
"Like drawing your name in a slab of concrete that was poured last month."
Jon, please never stop having your amazing way with words.
But Henderson did that.
yakovgolyadkin yes
Henderson is crazy underrated. Most people don't even consider him when it comes to all time players. The last time he lead the league in steals he was 40. Many base stealers are injury prone because of the wear and tear of base stealing, Rickey was still doing it in his 40s and he slid face first, which you are told not to do.
Statutory Grape
Scott Podsednik was every bit his equal. For a year and a half.
Max Johnson no friggin way. Not even close. lol
Edmund Carter for a year and a half!
Nope, Scott Podsednik was never Rickey's equal ever no matter what his numbers were in that "year and a half"
Edmund Carter did rickey henderson hit a walk-off home run in the world series?
Rickey Henderson should have a steal rating in any baseball game of 150
Austin Full he is my spirit animal but has the record for being thrown out the most too.
999
If you set him as 100, nobody else can even be a 50.
Rickey was the best. I'm glad I lived through his career. And that of my favorite player of all-time, Ken Griffey, Jr. I only missed Jr's first season, in 1989. Started following him, Rickey, and others in 1990. And fjnly saw him play in person during his final season. He went 3 for 4 with a 1B and two 2B, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Only thing better would have been a HR.
Edit: maybe NOT 1990. It may have been 1989. My first Griffey baseball card was a 1990 Upper Deck and that started it all. Also got Kevin Maas in that same pack and he was worth a little more than Jr at the time. Jr was still like $1.00 or something, so I started following him and collecting his cards. I've probably got 200. I quit collecting right when the card companies started over-producing cards and diluting the market, driving down prices.
wakawaka1976 yeah but that’s just through sheer quantity, he’s actually in the top ten all time for stolen base percentage
I saw Rickey play the Rangers in 91. Was a Saturday day game.
The night before, i watched on TV as this young Rangers catcher who had been called up a few weeks before threw him out at second, picked him off first, and threw him out at second again in the 8th....this time by a mile. Ricky laid in his back and pulled his helmet down like he was napping.
So Saturday afternoon, in true Rickey fashion, he draws a lead off walk. And then the guy who we've all come to know and love for his cocky arrogance broke character. He wouldnt take a lead. Not a step. Left foot didnt leave the bag.... the fans behind the Rangers dugout on the 1B side noticed after a pitch or two and started chanting "Run Rickey Run!" He stood there, foot firmly on the bag shaking his head no. He points in at the plate and then to his own arm , pantomiming his case to the entire crowd of how great an arm the kid behind the plate had.
Who else is rewatching this after hearing the news. Rest in Peace to the legend, Ricky Henderson
Rickey Henderson held the New York Yankees stolen base record for 13 years, until it was broken by Derek Jeter in 2011.
Rickey played four and a half seasons in the Bronx.
It took Jeter 16 seasons to pass his record.
Because Jeter was more known for being a contact hitter
whooosh...
@@GLee-oe3op Do you think Rickey Henderson was hitting home runs to get his stolen bases? Or do you think he was an unbelievably quick "contact hitter"?
Seems right Rickey was 4x faster
@@jeremyhanna3852 And Jeter has 5x the number of WS rings.
I took a class in college called "Advanced Techniques of Baseball" and basically just talked Baseball. We came to agree that the most unbreakable records were Henderson career and season stolen base records, Cy Youngs career wins, and Nolan Ryans career strikeouts.
What about Joe DiMaggio's record for consecutive games with a hit
Johnny Vander Meer's back to back no hitters?
How about Nolan Ryan 2,795 walks? With the free swinging today, will anyone ever walk even 2000 batters?
Cal Ripken's iron man record is the most unbreakable record of baseball.
@@starwalk3r I don't know. Which is less likely, that a player will show up for work every day for 16 1/4 full seasons to play 2633 games in a row, or that a player in today's game will get 200 hits for 21 straight seasons and come back for a 22nd to get 57 more?
Although if you could name one active player who you think stands an outside chance at 1407 stolen bases, I'd love to know who.
RIcky also holds the record for most home runs to lead off a game, with 81. Craig Biggio and Alfonso Soriano are tied for 2nd with 53.
They did say, they can talk about Ricky all day, lol
Kamel : So true. This is just one of my favorite Rickey records. Couldn't let it not get mentioned here. :)
Mookie Betts is hot on his tail
Carl Keller yep that record is just as impressive and will never be broken.
I was lucky enough to see him hit numbers 60 and 61 at a doubleheader, back in '93. Boy was he fun to watch.
Rickey was the guy on NIntendo’s RBI Baseball with 99 speed.
Cheat Code, indeed
theres no speed in rbi baseball. everyone is equal speed
your thinking of another game
@@blackoutgstar9949
The old NES games? Yeah, there were speed differences. I remember guys like Cecil Fielder would always be thrown out on an infield ground ball, whereas guys like Ricky and Tim Raines would almost always be safe. You might be thinking of the fielders as they all moved at the same time and speed, but the base runners definitely had different running speeds.
@@SvendleBerries i actually never noticed that and i played that alot. ill look out for it next time. i always used Am and subbed out first hitter for the guy with max home runs
@@blackoutgstar9949 Man Rickey was unstoppable once he got in base in RBI Baseball. I played with the A's. Ricky Henderson was the most dangerous player in that game because he didn't need to hit a home run or to be batted in to score. All he needed was to just get a base hit
That Henderson and Twins stat is the best sports statistic I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Ever.
I wouldn't be surprised if Rickey was caught stealing more times than the Twins stole bases either.
Rickey stole his first 65 bases in only 70 tries. Then he stole his other 65 while being thrown out 37 times.
Think about this:
Damaso Garcia finished second in the AL with 54 steals that year. After that I think you had Julio Cruz and Paul Molitor. Rickey was caught stealing more times than Paul Molitor had stolen bases.
So the top five were, Rickey 130, Damaso Garcia 54, Julio Cruz 46, Rickey "caught stealing" 42, Paul Molitor 41, and Willie Wilson 37.
I just dug this up from baseballreference.com. The Minnesota Twins were 60-102 in their first year in the Metrodome and had 38 stolen bases ALL SEASON LONG. So, YES, Rickey was caught stealing more than the Twinkies had stolen bases!!!
the even better one is that Rickey Henderson joined the Red Sox in 2002. Henderson had more career steals than the entire Red Sox franchise had in their history.
@@TheDieseI My mind still cannot process this. Like what???
@Catharsis Exactly. Nobody cares about little ball anymore.
Ricky Henderson is a myth from my childhood in the Bay Area. Like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.
A friend told me once that he was yelling to Ricky from the stands, asking him to steal a base for his fantasy team stats. Ricky stole 2nd jumped up and pointed to him. Legend.
The hell? Did fantasy bets exist that early? I had no idea it started before being popular
@@anaveragejoehanginground Lol. Believe it or not young blood. Fantasy sport teams existed before the internet. You got together on draft night, everyone in the same room. You wrote stuff down with a pencil on paper. And called each other on the phone to make trades. Yahoo chocolate milk was part of the tradition. Like, not just with us. But universally. It was so different. Yet Israel and Palestine still killed one another. So. Kind of the same.
What you didn't mention is HOW Rickey stole all those bases. Yes, he was super fast, but so were many of the other players of that era. Rickey revolutionized the art of getting the biggest possible lead without getting picked off and then he had exquisite timing getting his "jump" when the pitcher started their motion. When you watched him, you could see the science at work while he took his lead, and then there was the turn and the burst of speed that took your breath away. Most exciting player I've ever seen.
I'm glad y'all made this one. Usually Ricky Henderson isn't even mentioned in the conversation of "best players of all time" and this really things into perspective
Rickey is one of the few, if not the only player who could single handedly destroy a game. What he did in the ALCS against Toronto is legendary.
Rip Rickey. UA-cam recommended this video for a reason ❤️ seen it before but let’s watch again
"I am the greatest of all time, thank you!" Never a more accurate statement
What a speech, that'll be classic forever
The crazy part is that he broke that record 12 years before his final MLB game
People got on his case for being cocky - he was just telling the truth - stating that the goal was reached. I think he was basically a nice guy!
RIP Rickey. Never been another like him.
Rickey Henderson was one of those great things about being a kid growing up in the (east) bay area in the 80s. You always knew it was going to be exciting when he got on base.
Loved growing up watching him play. He was my idol
Absolutely. Back then it was all about Ricky Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, and of course the bash brothers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire
Rickey is the reason why I chose #35 for my baseball uniform.
Rickey's early years in Oakland were mostly on losing teams. 4 of those first 6 seasons, the A's were sub 500 teams. With Shooty Babbitt manning second, you can understand why. It wasn't until his second stint with the A's, starting in 89, did he contribute to Oakland success.
I spent a lot of time in the coliseum during the 80's and 90's. Saw well over a hundred games. My favorite things were watching Stewart kick Roger Clemens ass on a regular basis. Canseco and McGwire launch homers into the back rows on the bleachers. (A couple of times over the bleachers and onto the concourse.) And of course Rickey doing what Rickey did so well. Scare the shit out of pitchers and managers.
I still remember me and my friends sitting around the radio listening to Ricky break the single season record and absolutely loosing our minds when he did it. Great times.
Rickey Henderson is in RBI Baseball 2, and he is a constant threat for an inside-the-park home run. Unparalleled historical accuracy.
I played RBI '93 religiously and always played as the 1990 A's so I could dominate with Rickey.
RIP Rickey!! A truly special talent
I was there at Cooperstown on Rickey Henderson HOF Induction Day and count it as one of the great highlights of my fandom.
I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but my favorite Rickey moment (moments?) was watching him go nuts on the bases in the 1989 ALCS, stealing at will.
Salutations from Canada. Yeah, the Blue Jays got completely slaughtered by Rickey. Those ALCS nightmares were the biggest reason why the Jays signed him in 1993. They literally were too afraid of his ability to take control of a game to let him go to another team.
We apologize if this annoys you and/or ruins your flow.
This is what Rickey does.
Their Dave Stieb doc covers this! You saw the future
I've always heard that Rickey tended to refer to himself in the 3rd person (I think that's the one. I'm stupid and failed English, and I supposedly speak English). One story I think Tony Gwynn used to tell was about Rickey looking for his cleats, and telling Tony "Rickey can't run without Rickey's cleats!"
Dude was weird. An amazing player, but weird.
Kyrie Irving thinks that people who don't refer to themselves in the 3rd person are weird.
Kyrie Irving also think the Earth flat.
This was probably what brought around the episode of 'The Jimmy' on Seinfeld.
That was Bo Jackson. It may have been RH too, but BJ's book was a favorite of mine as a kid and I remember that about him. It took him a while to get over doing that third person thing. Remember the commercial of him saying in the third person, "Bo knows"?
Darth Smirnoff he did😂😂😂
RH was what literally started me watching baseball. On 1st he just stared the picture down as he started to walk towards second base. Then he stole second base, it was amazing
Here's the thing about Ricky Henderson that I noticed through his career. EVERY YEAR it seemed, he'd be stealing some base for some team IN THE PLAYOFFS. One of the greatest baseball players in my lifetime. Fun to watch. Always.
4:05
*see Ichiro*
*know he would have easily had 4000 hits if he had played his entire career in the MLB*
This man is somewhat overlooked.
My favorite player of all time.
Ichiro is easily in the conversation for greatest ever baseball player in my book.
Reading this after the mariners episode, god dammit, He's a beast. Even more astonishing, he's still playing
@@rockaway0beach The Dorktown Mariners recap is pretty good.
@@rockaway0beach ? ichiro retired march 2019, at least according to wiki... i guess in the micro sense that's kind of good though, if he'd planned to retire in 2020 covid-19 would have screwed up all the ceremony for him.
Rickey was the most exciting baseball player I have ever watched!
Years ago while living in Seattle, Washington I attended a Yankees/Mariners game in the King Dome and bore witness to the following. Rickey beat out a ground ball in the infield for a base hit. He stole second, stole third and came home to score on a sacrifice fly. I just threw up my hands and was glad to see someone that was a great part of baseball history.
AMAZING!!!
Rickey brought more excitement to the game than any power hitter - every game, sometimes several times, he was shaking things up
RIP Ricky. I only knew about him through yall's videos, and I'm thankful to have learned about this legend.
Just came to pay my respect. RIP Rickey.
"The Entire State Building"
sensiblechuckle.avi
Ｙｕｎｇ Ｖｕｌｐｉｘ I didn’t get this because I’m rarted, can you explain it to me lol
Jack in Black it's called the empire State building you dense fuck
MrYouarethecancer chill you spaz
That's classic, like Mike Tyson's remark after he realized he was past his prime.
ua-cam.com/video/6tLrIkPK8kg/v-deo.html
Rickey loved TMNT
turtlepedia.wikia.com/wiki/Entire_State_Building
Such a valuable lead off hitter! Throughout his whole career! It makes sense that he talked in third person.
The most devastating lead off Man in MLB history and no player was more terrifying on the bases than him. He was also a pioneer in the free agency surge and big contracts.
I could make an argument for Ichiro for best leadoff man of all time, but there's no need to argue the point. Both of them did their jobs with something that will never be paralleled in modern baseball.
RIP to an Oakland legend. You inspired countless young ball players, most of all you played your heart out for us here in the town. Thanks rickey, rest in power💛💚
Always been my favorite Mlb’er since he was a rookie I also molded my game hitting stance and base running from his style of play this guy was ageless and had the best baseball IQ I’ve ever seen
Your storytelling about Rickey could use some work, mainly because you've forgotten that Rickey always refers to Rickey in the third person.
"There's no such thing as shattering a record like this."
Yeah, my RTTS player begs to differ
😂
I've broke the home run record too
I seem to recall an interview where he said that he thought stealing third was easier than second because you could get a bigger lead off.
Also, proud to say I watched him score from first on a single up in Oakland. So, so fast
One thing the video never touched on but should have is the effect that having Henderson on base did to both the pitcher and the position players trying to hold him on base. He would wreak havoc on opposing teams because they were so distracted trying to hold him close. This made the batters following Rickey so much better as the pitchers weren't focused on them, and there were always larger gaps between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd for batters to shoot grounders through. And outfielders had to play in a bit more than they would against everyone else if the game was close and Henderson's score would make the difference in the final outcome. Opposing teams hated playing against Henderson because it felt like he dominated the game.
My favorite quote is when he couldn’t get a hold of his or a manager I think he left them a phone message “call Ricky about Ricky”
No baseball players more interesting than Henderson or Dunn? Did you forget you made a video about Lonnie Smith?
I think they meant "players who are more interesting in how they play baseball" not "colourful characters who happen to play baseball for a living"
jimbo 2346 Bo Jackson
Al Hrabosky "The Mad Hungarian"
bois has a video on lonnie smith in pretty good. go check it out.
As I mentioned above, I would say Ty Cobb.
actually, the reason I made my comment is because I really want to see a video like this on cobb.
Rickey Henderson was so ripped & chiseled yet admitted he never lifted weights, just did pushups. Truly Amazing!
I think Ricky Henderson might be my spirit animal. Throws with left arm, hits everything right handed, and just doesn't quite 'get' all the rest of the world around him. Mr Henderson, I salute you...⚾️
Edit: December 22nd, 2024. RIP Ricky. Challenge St Peter to a foot race to decide if you are allowed in... my money would be on you. 🙏
my yearly view comes at a solemn time. RIP Rickey
This is one of my favorite videos on UA-cam
What this intro is telling me, and what the videos involving how insane Ichiro is are both telling me, is that baseball is a sport that is close to being 100 percented like a video game would be
Imagine being so well know and respected that someone feels honored to tell your story to someone else.
"Drawing your name in a slab of concrete that was poured last month..." Beautiful!
These are pure poetry, I've cried like a baby watching these.
RIP to Rickey Henderson. This was the first SB video I ever saw, because the algorithm knew I was a fan and it figured I'd like your stuff too. I have since watched every single you guys have ever made, and it's some of my favorite stuff. Thanks to Rickey Henderson for being my gateway drug to Secret Base!
Henderson is one of the most underrated players of all time. It seems everyone has forgotten about him.
You didn't mention one of the most important aspects of Henderson being on base. The effect it had on hitters behind him in the line-up. If a pitcher had to deal with the madness that is Henderson, sometimes they'd lose interest in throwing strikes. Ricky Henderson was an absolute phenomenon to watch.
The most amazing stat I heard was Rickey was only thrown out five times in his first 70 attempts in 1982. Butch Wynegar gunned him down twice in that stretch.
4:34 false, Ricky Henderson's all-time total candle count would exceed 25 on his seventh birthday (1+2+3+4+5+6+7= 28).
You're telling me a one year old is blowing out candles?
@@WhiteWolf-lm7gj Well, Candle
@@DFCwastaken true
Make a video on Bo Jackson!
Colin Robertson there are a lot of really good bo jackson vids on yt, but i would enjoy hearing them talk about his crazy career in sports.
Colin Robertson That’s an interesting player.
Colin Robertson yes ...please do
Colin Robertson but Jon don’t know Bo...
Bo = GOAT
I seen Ricky Henderson play live 4 times. 3 of those 4 games, first at bat, first pitch of the game he hits a home run. Man did that ALOT in his career
I grew up watching Rickey he’s not human. Greatest lead off hitter ever, hits tons of homers turns singles into doubles doubles into triples and would throw every pitcher off he’s game AWESOME
Rickey is the greatest player I ever saw or met and top 5 or 10 all time. Add up his total bases, walks and net steals. Not to mention the countless times he could score a run when nobody else could.
"What do they use to exchange for goods and services on Rickry hendersons planet?" Bases obviously
The early 80s A's were my childhood exposure to MLB. Saw Rickey play lots of times in person and and TV. Outside 1981, the team kinda sucked, but Rickey made it worth watching. Two things I think you guys didn't mention -- his leadoff homeruns and his fielding ability. He wasn't just a base-runner.
Favorite Rickey Henderson story. In 1987 he had a down year for his standards due to injuries. Harold Reynolds led the league in stolen bases that year with 60. Reynolds gets a call from Henderson and instead of congratulating him, Rickey tells him, "Sixty stolen bases? You ought to be ashamed. Rickey would have 60 at the All-Star break."
I love your channel! You two put a really fresh spin on the horsehide game! Being the statistics fanatic that I am, the adding of your statistics the way that you do them are also done with a really fresh spin as well that I really love as well. Please keep up the incredible work, "Dorktown"! You've made a GREAT, BIG, HUMONGOUS fan out of me!!!
I want a video on that kid you used to play stratego with.
Sounds like a Hall of Famer to me...
I’m genuinely curious about Nolan Ryan and his all time strikeout record. Would the charting look similar?
Or his career no hitters record
How about his career walks record
Still the greatest tho
Just as impressive is that Ryan is also the career leader in hits/9 innings, and pretty much everybody else on the leaderboard is either in their prime, had their career cut short, or a closer (in other words they didnt have any "decline years" factored in like Koufax, etc). Ryan, of course, pitched until he was 46
qwerty52676 whats funny is that people act like sandy koufax was a small guy... His height and weight is listed at 6'2 210. And ryan was listed at 6'2 195
RIP Rickey 😢
It's weird coming back to this after the Dave Steib intermission.
Absolutely perfect graphic to evidence number of hits to get on base at 4:03. Great job SB Nation on presenting old (ish) information in a new light.
"A lot of people watch us who don't watch sports!"
...Don't call me out like this ;_;
Got this in my recommended and I don't watch sports... Still watched the whole video.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I miss chart party
But this shall do
My fav Rickey story was in 1999 or 2000 I think - he was playing for either the Mets or the M’s and John Olerud was playing first.
Rickey said something like “I used to play with a dude in Toronto that wore a helmet in the field”
Olerud replies, “yeah, that was me.”
No lead-off man or character will ever match him. Fly high, Man of Steal 🕊️❤️
I once watched a video where Rickey talked about his experience with the Toronto Blue Jays for their 1993 World Series win. In the bottom of the ninth, Rickey had gotten a base hit and then stolen second, which is where he would be located when Joe Carter came up to bat and gave us the greatest World Series moment of all time. To this day, Rickey maintains that his presence on second was keeping Philadelphia's pitcher on edge, which is what allowed Carter to hit his walkoff home run, and I'm inclined to believe him simply because Rickey was one of the most amazing baseball players I've ever seen.
Who else hate defensive indifference! A stolen base is a stolen base!
@@edfallon5356 With Rickey, stolen bases were like potato chips; You can't just stop at one. Everyone knew that, and with Philadelphia leading in the bottom of the 9th the pitcher considered Rickey the most pressing threat to score.
RIP Rickey😪
For those who haven't heard it, please treat yourself to David Cross' bit on Ricky Henderson. It's a riot.
BOIS 2 MEN
Angelos Rizoyannis. Eeuw Jon. Ck the name out!
I need more Rickey Henderson videos
I saw my first live MLB game in 1970, when I was 7 years old. It was at the Oakland Coliseum. In all of these years I've been fortunate enough to see many great, great players. In my opinion, Rickey Henderson was the most dominant, complete player I've seen live. I wasn't old enough to see the best all around MLB player to ever play the game, Willie Mays play live, but I did see Rickey many, many times. Not only was he the greatest Base Stealer ever, he was also one of the best ever Leadoff Hitters, for average AND power, and he was a helluva defensive player.
Thanks for the video! I enjoyed watching it!.
YOU CANT FOOL US JB... WE KNOW THIS IS CHART PARTY 2.0
RIP to the legend
This guy was absolutely amazing!! 💟💟💟
Hey, you just described me at the beginning! I don't watch sports but just discovered SB Nation and have really been enjoying it. Thanks!
Ricky holds the all time steals record with 1408 steals. The second place is Lou Brock. Who has 938. Ricky has 500 over the second place. That record will never be broken. Not in a million years.
Ricky story: “Went to a jays game and was in the left field seats, third out is a fly ball to Ricky who turned and tried to throw it up to me, he missed around 15 feet short and it bounced back onto the field, he looks up and goes “I’m not known for my arm.”
Ricky was an alchemist! Brilliant!
RIP legend
I'm watching this video again after hearing the news of Henderson passing away yesterday. Very sad.
RIP Rickey Henderson. One of the best to ever do it.