"I am the greatest of all time"

[derFunkenstein]

In honor of Rickey Henderson getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame today, I thought we should visit some of the best Rickey Henderson moments. I particularly enjoyed #14, as it shows how oblivious to non-Rickey topics he was/is.

Oh, and, uh, Jim Rice got elected, too. Odd that he wasn't worthy in 1995 but he is today, don't you think?

[Lucky Jack Aubrey]

My two favorite Ricky Henderson moments were:

-- as Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout victim; and
-- the fact that Nolan Ryan pitched his seventh no-hitter the same day that Ricky broke Lou Brock's stolen base record, which completely stole Ricky's thunder.

To his credit, I seem to recall that Ricky was pretty complimentary about both incidents.

[Turkina]

I am anxious to see if Ricky tries to steal the podium after he is done giving his acceptance speech. Perhaps, this will only pave the way for another comeback?

[derFunkenstein]

The Ryan Express just had it in for Rickey. Rickey is not amused.

I'm starting to think that blackinches fella is Rickey - he talks in the third person as well.

[UberGerbil]

Odd that 28 writers didn't think Rickey was worthy today.

[brsett]

How is Ricky not unanimous. Its ridiculous. He probably is the greatest player of all time. (Hands down the greatest rotisserie player of all time).

[derFunkenstein]

at least one of them was to ensure that he wasn't unanimous, apparently.

[Captain Ned]

Odd that 28 writers didn't think Rickey was worthy today.

If Hank Aaron wasn't a unanimous choice, Rickey certainly isn't. Too many members of the BBWAA are hacks working at small-town papers and use their vote as a tool to boost the homies over the truly worthy. Because of that I don't think we'll ever see a unanimous Baseball HOF electee. For players about to hit HOF eligibility, Greg Maddux is about the only chance for unanimity.

[Pettytheft]

Odd that 28 writers didn't think Rickey was worthy today.

If Hank Aaron wasn't a unanimous choice, Rickey certainly isn't. Too many members of the BBWAA are hacks working at small-town papers and use their vote as a tool to boost the homies over the truly worthy. Because of that I don't think we'll ever see a unanimous Baseball HOF electee. For players about to hit HOF eligibility, Greg Maddux is about the only chance for unanimity.

Trust me, if Ricky didn't get it then Maddux wont. Ricky is hands down the greatest leadoff hitter in the game and holds a record that will never be matched. Like you said there will always be some ahole looking to get attention by not voting him in.

[mattsteg]

Trust me, if Ricky didn't get it then Maddux wont. Ricky is hands down the greatest leadoff hitter in the game and holds a record that will never be matched.

Not really relevant - it's not like he was left off for lack of merit. Do you really think that he was left off of "honest ballots"?

Like you said there will always be some ahole looking to get attention by not voting him in.

All of which has nothing to do with him being the greatest leadoff hitter or having an untouchable record. If anything, his persona might attract such voters.

[PRIME1]

I'm still waiting for Pete Rose to get in.

[ifittakesforever]

I'm still waiting for Pete Rose to get in.

Once he pays his admission, I'm sure they'd be happy to let him look around.

[brsett]

I love Hank Aaron. Great player -- one of my favorites. Not even close to Ricky in terms of quality though. Ricky, Willie Mays, Joe D, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams. Those are the people in that conversation. Just a few points in Ricky's favor.

The greatest base stealing threat ever.
The greatest leadoff hitter ever.
An excellent left fielder (1 gold glove, and gg's usually only go to right fielders).
Excellent power for his position (most leadoff homeruns).
2 world series wins. Appeared in 3 more I think.
Most walks (ex Bonds). And remember, a Ricky walk was always a mistake by the pitcher, never an accidental intentional walk.
I believe, though I can't find the stats to back this up, that Ricky had more steals in a couple seasons than the next several runner's up combined.

He says lots of clownish things, but on the diamond, the man was ridiculous.

[Captain Ned]

I'm still waiting for Pete Rose to get in.

Once he pays his admission, I'm sure they'd be happy to let him look around.

He'll never pay that price, and will forever remain outside looking in. At best I expect a reluctant deathbed confession that still doesn't contain the key admission; that he bet on his team to lose.

[UberGerbil]

Odd that 28 writers didn't think Rickey was worthy today.

If Hank Aaron wasn't a unanimous choice, Rickey certainly isn't.

See, that's just fundamentally stupid reasoning (which I'm accusing them of, not you). "We made a mistake before, so that justifies continuing to make that mistake forever." Earlier, better Negro League players weren't allowed to play in the Majors, so by that reasoning Jackie Robinson shouldn't have been either.

Too many members of the BBWAA are hacks working at small-town papers and use their vote as a tool to boost the homies over the truly worthy. Because of that I don't think we'll ever see a unanimous Baseball HOF electee.

That deadspin article derFunk linked probably has it nailed, unfortunately: it's a fraternity that demands a certain amount of humiliation on every pledge it allows in.

Personally, I think they should take voting rights away from every person that didn't vote him in: they clearly can't be trusted to competently handle this responsibility.

Edit: Here is more on that a$$ derFunk linked, who apparently now wants his vote back.

Saw this on another site I frequent:

The only argument I’ve heard in favour of not voting for guys like Rickey that makes any sense at all is this:

Since each voter only has 10 votes, if he wants to vote for some fringey guys to make a point or try to keep them on the ballot another year so they can drum up more support, they might not have enough votes to vote for all the obvious guys. And since Rickey is going to get in anyway (and there is at least one voter with the stated intent of voting for no one who played in the ’steroid era’, so he’s not going to be unanimous), then that voter can safely not vote for Rickey knowing it won’t make any material difference.

[UberGerbil]

So the only time a World Series was won with a walk-off home run was Game 6 1993 when Joe Carter took Mitch Williams yard for 3 RBIs. Who was on base? Rickey Henderson, who led off the inning by drawing a walk. (The other guy on base was Paul Molitor, also a HOFer, who singled)

Most walks (ex Bonds). And remember, a Ricky walk was always a mistake by the pitcher, never an accidental intentional walk.

Well, he did have 61 IBBs in his career. You're right, though, he leads the pack in un-intentional walks. More on this (and other measures of Rickey's awesomeness, and BBWA's stupidity wrt to other players, from Posnanski

Some of Rickey's stats are so crazy they put him in the company of just a handful of guys in all sports who, at their peak, were so completely freakish it was like they were in a completely different league -- guys like Wilt and Gretzky and Woods and Jordan.

I love Hank Aaron. Great player -- one of my favorites. Not even close to Ricky in terms of quality though. Ricky, Willie Mays, Joe D, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams. Those are the people in that conversation.

I'm generally not a big fan of counting stats, but when you're looking at a career for the HOF, they matter a fair bit. And this is why Hank Aaron is in that conversation.

[sluggo]

The thing I like about Ricky is this: he loves to play baseball.

He's established himself as one the greatest ballplayers in the history of the game. Probably the best leadoff hitter ever. Records in stolen bases and runs. Gold Glove winner. He did just about everything he could do as a guy who was expected to play solid defense and get things started on offense. He left the majors with really nothing left to accomplish.

He's been very careful with his money and could spend the rest of his life giving it away and still live very comfortably.

So what's he doing at age 46 when everyone else retired from baseball is selling insurance or doing nothing at all? He's trying out for a position on the San Diego Surf Dawgs, a member of the independent Golden Baseball League. Some people (particularly the press) look at this as a kind of pitiful episode of an older guy who just can't let go of the past, but I look at it as a guy who doesn't want to quit doing what he loves to do - play baseball at a level where he can be competitive.

[UberGerbil]

Yeah. "I just don't know if Rickey can stop."

[derFunkenstein]

Isn't San Diego the same place that Joser Canseco tried his comeback?

[UberGerbil]

Isn't San Diego the same place that Joser Canseco tried his comeback?

Yeah, in 2006, the year after Henderson played for them; Rickey was a hitting coach for the Mets by the time Canseco signed...and played one game, before being traded to LA at his request. Or so the Wikipedia entry says. (I kind of like that logo -- using a surfboard as the traditional oblong enclosure is clever). I expect they've already approached McGuire, Palmeiro, and Sosa...