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Awesome Athletics #3: Rickey Henderson
Yesterday, marked the 33rd Anniversary of Rickey Henderson's MLB debut.
On June 24th, 1979, Rickey made his first appearance as a major leaguer for the Oakland Athletics and went 2 for 4 with a double against the Texas Rangers. He also stole the first of his MLB record 1,406 career stolen bases.
It didn't take long for The Man of Steal to become a superstar and my favorite player until the A's traded him to the New York Yankees in 1984. He would eventually come back to Oakland as a free agent in 1990 and although Tony Gwynn had become my new favorite player, Rickey was still my favorite Athletic.
During his 25 year career, he jumped around the league and played for 9 different teams. But he spend 14 of those seasons with the Oakland A's and played 1,704 games with them, which is the 2nd most in franchise history. In fact, he's all over the A's record books:
His career numbers are even more impressive which is why he was a first ballot hall of famer in 2009 and is considered by many to be the best leadoff hitter in the history of the game. More importantly... he's one of the greatest Athletics to take the field in Oakland and he's one of my all-time favorite players.
Here's my favorite Rickey Henderson item:
If I had to rank my favorite cards, this one would have to be somewhere in the top 50. It features a classic photo and a decent design. Plus it's hard not to think about 80's rookie cards without including this one. Okay... that's all I've got.
Happy Sunday & sayonara!
More...
On June 24th, 1979, Rickey made his first appearance as a major leaguer for the Oakland Athletics and went 2 for 4 with a double against the Texas Rangers. He also stole the first of his MLB record 1,406 career stolen bases.
It didn't take long for The Man of Steal to become a superstar and my favorite player until the A's traded him to the New York Yankees in 1984. He would eventually come back to Oakland as a free agent in 1990 and although Tony Gwynn had become my new favorite player, Rickey was still my favorite Athletic.
During his 25 year career, he jumped around the league and played for 9 different teams. But he spend 14 of those seasons with the Oakland A's and played 1,704 games with them, which is the 2nd most in franchise history. In fact, he's all over the A's record books:
6,140 At Bats (2nd All-Time)
1,270 Runs Scored (1st All-Time)
1,768 Hits (3rd All-Time)
1,271 Singles (2nd All-Time)
2,640 Total Bases (4th All-Time)
289 Doubles (6th All-Time)
1,227 Walks (1st All-Time)
867 Stolen Bases (1st All-Time)
1,270 Runs Scored (1st All-Time)
1,768 Hits (3rd All-Time)
1,271 Singles (2nd All-Time)
2,640 Total Bases (4th All-Time)
289 Doubles (6th All-Time)
1,227 Walks (1st All-Time)
867 Stolen Bases (1st All-Time)
His career numbers are even more impressive which is why he was a first ballot hall of famer in 2009 and is considered by many to be the best leadoff hitter in the history of the game. More importantly... he's one of the greatest Athletics to take the field in Oakland and he's one of my all-time favorite players.
Here's my favorite Rickey Henderson item:
If I had to rank my favorite cards, this one would have to be somewhere in the top 50. It features a classic photo and a decent design. Plus it's hard not to think about 80's rookie cards without including this one. Okay... that's all I've got.
Happy Sunday & sayonara!
More...