1986 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"The Yankees gave up five players to get this offensive catalyst and he responded with his best season. Henderson stole 80 bases to lead the AL and break the Yankee record of 74, set by Fritz Maisel in 1914.
He missed the first 10 games while recovering from an ankle sprain suffered in spring training. He struggled at the plate in his first month, then took off on a tear that carried through the All-Star break. Henderson was AL Player of the Month in June, when he hit .416 with 31 runs, six homers, 17 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He was hitting .357 at the All-Star break, then tailed off.
His 24 home runs and 72 RBI were career highs. He finished fourth in the AL in batting (.314), first in runs (146), fourth in on-base percentage (.419) and fourth in walks (99). Henderson moved from left field to center in '85 and his defense went from Gold Glove quality to slightly better than adequate, as he committed nine errors.
Henderson was acquired from Oakland with Bert Bradley for Jay Howell, Tim Birtsas, Eric Plunk, Jose Rijo and Stan Javier prior to last season. He has led the AL in stolen bases five straight seasons and was an All-Star selection in five of his six full seasons. Henderson holds the all-time single-season stolen base record with 130 in 1982
Born on Christmas Day 1958 in Chicago, Henderson was an outstanding running back in high school, receiving numerous scholarship offers."
-Tom Verducci, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1986 Edition
"He came, he saw and he stole. That was the story of Rickey Henderson, who in his first year with the Yankees stole the hearts of the fans by rewriting the team's stolen base record. The previous single-season stolen base record of the power-oriented Yankees was 74, set way back in 1914. Henderson broke that 70-year-old record by swiping 80 in his first season in pinstripes, and it's only a matter of time before 'The Man of Steal' sets the all-time Yankees [career] record.
'He makes catchers suffer,' says Yankees receiver Ron Hassey. Stolen bases are only part of the Henderson arsenal. Last year he hit for power, average, turned sure hits into outs in 'Death Valley' and provided Yankees fans with pure excitement.
'He's a show out there,' added teammate Butch Wynegar. And the best part about it is that the show will continue in 1986, and for a long time to come."
-The New York Yankees Official 1986 Yearbook
"More than the perfect leadoff hitter, a slugging dimension was added to his game. Rickey set new career highs in home runs (24) and RBIs (72). His .314 batting average was fourth in the AL, and he led the AL in runs scored (146) for a second time- the most runs by a Yankee since Joe DiMaggio scored 151 in 1937. Rickey's 80 stolen bases led the AL for the sixth straight season, and his 99 walks were fourth in the AL and most by a Yankee since Willie Randolph led the league with 119 in 1980. His .419 on-base percentage, fourth in the AL, was a career high and his .516 slugging percentage, seventh in the AL, was also a career high. Rickey set the American League single season record with seven leadoff home runs and was the first player in AL history to hit 20+ homers and steal 50+ bases [in the same season]. He scored at least one run in 101 of the 143 games he played. Rickey also set a new American League record by stealing 50+ bases for the sixth consecutive season.
He began the season on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle suffered against Boston in an exhibition game on March 17; he was activated on April 22, missing 10 games. He hit only .200 through his first 10 games and lined into a triple play on May 3 against Kansas City.
Henderson was American League Player of the Month for June: in 27 games he went 47-for-113 (.416 BA) with 31 runs, four doubles, two triples, six homers, 17 RBIs and 22 stolen bases- he failed to get a hit in just four of the 27 games. His season batting average peaked at .361 on July 10 at the conclusion of a seven-game hitting streak which began on July 4 (12-for-26, .462 BA). Henderson was hitting .357 at the All-Star break (July 13) with 77 runs, 11 homers, 37 RBIs and 41 stolen bases.
After the All-Star break, he hit .270 with 69 runs, 13 homers, 35 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. From August 22 through September 7, Henderson played 16 games going 9-for-51 (.176 BA) with 14 runs, a double, no homers and two RBIs, dropping his BA from .350 to .327. He went 2-for-24 (.083 BA) over his last seven games, his BA falling from .325 to .314.
Rickey had his first career five-hit game on June 17 at Baltimore (he matched the league high) and scored four runs in a game for the second and third times in his career: July 10 against Kansas City and September 25 against Detroit (also equalling the league high); he and Oakland's Mike Davis were the only players with two four-run games. Rickey had his first career two-homer games, June 21 at Detroit and July 30 at Cleveland, and homered in consecutive games on June 20-21 (three homers in two games), July 27-28 and August 19-21 (three homers in three games).
He had two 11-game hitting streaks: April 29-May 12, going 18-for-44 (.409 BA) with 13 runs, four doubles, a homer and five RBIs; and August 5-21, going 17-for-46 (.370 BA) with 13 runs, two doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs. He also had a 10-game hit streak from September 18-29, going 14-for-38 (.368 BA) with 15 runs, six doubles, a triple and a homer.
Rickey set a new Yankee single season stolen base record when he collected No. 75 on September 25 against Detroit (Lance Parrish catching), breaking the record of 74 set by Fritz Maisel in 1914. He stole his 500th career base on May 10 at Kansas City, the youngest player to reach this [milestone].
If he maintains his current average of 82 stolen bases per season, Henderson would be the youngest to reach 600 (during the '86 season). He moved from 31st to 19th on the all-time list, with 573 for his career, and passed Cesar Cedeno as the current active leader. Rickey improved his career stolen base success ratio to 79% (148 times caught stealing in his career).
Rickey stole four bases on June 26 against Baltimore. He was successful in his first 13 stolen base attempts [of 1985] before being caught by California's Bob Boone on May 29- he went on to steal 22 straight before his next time caught stealing on June 26. He was caught stealing only three times by catchers: by Boone, by Carlton Fisk on August 12 at Chicago and by Rich Gedman on August 19 against Boston. He was also successful on 14 of 16 attempts stealing third base.
[In 1985 Henderson was named to] the Seagram's AL All-Star team, The Sporting News AL All-Star team, The Sporting News Silver Slugger team, the Associated Press AL All-Star team and the 1985 American League All-Star team.
Henderson reported to Boise after the 1976 June draft, hitting .336 with 29 steals in 36 attempts. At Modesto in 1977, he led the California League with a then record 95 steals, was third with a .345 batting average, third with 104 walks and led league outfielders in total chances (313). Rickey was named to the league All-Star team and was Modesto MVP. He became the fourth player in professional baseball to steal seven bases in one game on May 26 at Fresno.
In 1978 with Jersey City he led the Eastern League with 81 steals and led league outfielders in double plays (4) and assists (15), and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team. In 1979, Rickey stole 44 bases in only 71 Pacific Coast League games with Ogden, finishing fourth. He immediately stepped into Oakland's starting lineup when called up on June 23 and led the A's with 33 steals.
Rickey broke Ty Cobb's American League mark of 96 stolen bases in 1980 (100 steals) and became the first AL player and third big leaguer to steal 100 bases in a season. He was second in the league with 117 walks, third in on-base percentage (.422) and fourth in runs scored (111). In 1981, Rickey was named to the Sporting News All-Star team and won his first Gold Glove. He led the AL in hits (135), runs (89) and steals (56), and finished third in on-base percentage (.411) and fourth in the AL batting race (.319). He hit .364 against the Yankees in the League Championship Series.
In 1982 Henderson broke Lou Brock's remarkable record of 118 stolen bases on August 27 at Milwaukee- and went on to steal a season total of 130 bases. He also led the AL in walks (116), was third in on-base percentage (.399) and walked five times against the Angels on April 8- a career best.
Rickey went over the 100 steal mark (108) for the third time in his career in 1983- he's the only player to do it more than once in a career. He stole 66 bases in 77 attempts after the All-Star break, winning his fourth consecutive title. Rickey also hit .327 after the break to wind up at .292. His .415 on-base percentage was second in the AL to Wade Boggs and his 105 runs ranked fourth. On July 3-4 at Texas, he tied the AL mark by stealing seven bases in two straight games, and on August 21 at Milwaukee became the youngest player to steal 400 career bases. In 1984, his 66 stolen bases led the American League for the fifth straight year; he was second in the AL with 113 runs and third with a .399 on-base percentage.
Henderson graduated form Oakland's technical high school in 1976. He played baseball, basketball and football and was All-Oakland Athletic League for three years in baseball. As a senior he hit .465 and stole 30 bases; that year he played for the North team in California's annual high school All-Star game at Anaheim Stadium. In football, Rickey rushed for 1,100 yards in his senior year and received a reported two dozen scholarship offers to play football.
An Oakland resident, his hobbies include swimming and fishing."
-1986 New York Yankees Information Guide
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