Guest Post: Joe Being Rickey

Editors note: Today we are running a guest column from Joe Day long time Twinscast reader and brother of site co-operator Jeff Day.

Being Rickey:
That’s what I wanted to be when I was a kid. I would walk to the batters box in little league and cross myself like Rickey did prior to his at-bats. If I got on base you could bet that I would squat like Rickey did, only my foot was on the base instead of a large lead off. I would wiggle my fingers between my legs like Rickey did, even though no pitcher was looking my way. I had all of his cards. My favorite was when my Dad took me to get his rookie card. I had wanted it for what seemed like forever. I was sure that I was the biggest Rickey Henderson fan in America. I was also sure that he was the greatest player of all time: above Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron. Barry Bonds was not even in the discussion.

Then something funny happened, I grew up. Playing baseball, collecting cards and following Rickey Henderson became an after thought. I fell in love, graduated college and my first child will be born in the next few days.

Rickey however, did not grow up.

He continued to refer to himself in the third person, steal bases, wiggle his fingers, and play the game with more passion then any player I have ever watched. He loved the game so much he played in independent leagues in San Diego and Newark, riding the bus with the guys - just trying for that one more chance to make a big league roster and help a team win.

When I was younger the stories about Rickey were only about how he didn’t remember John Olerud and his batting helmet when they met up for the second time with the Mets. Or how Rickey used to practice his batting stance in the nude before games. Or even how he did not cash a $100,000 bonus check because he was waiting for interest rates to rise. These make for a great one liner but you don’t get the full understanding of what Rickey did as a player from these stories - or about what kind of teammate he was to the younger players.

I’ve yet to hear a former teammate say something bad about Rickey.

Maybe he forgot your name but he was the teammate people wanted to have on their side. Who would not want to follow Rickey in the batting order? He was on base more then anyone other then Ruth, Cobb, Rose, and Bonds. He was stealing second, everyone knew that, so there was an RBI waiting to happen.

Now that he has finally retired as a player he has shown that he can help players learn the art of base stealing. Look at how Jose Reyes improved when Rickey was a special instructor and first base coach for the Mets.

Rickey Henderson did not use steroids. In the “Juiced Era” of baseball on a team with Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco, Henderson did push ups and sit ups as his workout routine. Those push ups and sit ups led to him being the All-Time leader in stolen bases, runs, and lead off home runs. He also holds the record for most stolen bases in a single season with 130. The top two in that category in 2008 didn’t match that number (Willie Taveras with 68 and Jose Reyes with 56). His lead over Lou Brock in the all time stolen base record book is more then the active career leader: Henderson leads Brock by 468 stolen bases, Juan Pierre has a career total of 449.

So today, when it will become official that Rickey Henderson is going to the Hall of Fame, I want to use his words to sum it all up. “Today, I’m the greatest of all time.”

Brash, yes. Talent, undoubtedly. The greatest base stealer ever, yep. And today, a Hall of Famer.