1987 Profile: Rickey Henderson

1987 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"One of the premier leadoff hitters in history. With a league leading 130 runs, he went above the century mark for the fifth straight season and sixth time in seven full major league campaigns; his only interruption was the strike-shortened 1981.
Henderson paced the AL in stolen bases with 87, breaking his own Yankee record by seven- he has led the AL in that category since the start of his career. He smashed Lou Brock's single season stolen base record with 130 thefts in 1982.
This center fielder set a career high in home runs for the third consecutive year with 28. He broke his own AL record for leadoff homers with nine, two shy of the major league mark recorded by Bobby Bonds with San Francisco in 1973.
Henderson was born in Chicago and was selected by Oakland in the fourth round of the June 1976 draft. He was acquired from Oakland with Bert Bradley for Jay Howell, Jose Rijo, Eric Plunk, Tim Birtsas and Stan Javier in December 1984."

-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1987 Edition

"Nobody dominates a baseball game like Rickey Henderson, the Yankees' Man of Steal. He might steal a run by walking, swiping second, taking third on a grounder and scoring on a shallow fly ball, or he might activate the scoreboard a little more directly by drilling a 420-foot homer.
Rickey's speed is blinding, but his rock-hard 5'9" 195-pound frame packs dynamite power as well. Some see him as the most talented leadoff man in baseball history, eclipsing, among others, the great Earle Combs, heretofore the premier leadoff hitter in Yankees history.
Combs was with the Yankees for his entire major league career, from 1924 through 1935, and was the table-setter for the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel and Bill Dickey. He had a great batting eye and drove the ball to all fields, leaving the defense unsure as to just how to shade him.
Combs, product of a large, hardscrabble Kentucky family, was known as 'the fastest foot in the mountain country.' He was a center fielder, too, and, like Rickey, used his exceptional speed on defense as well as on offense, running down long flies in Yankee Stadium's spacious garden.
The only flaw in Combs' overall game was his less-than-strong throwing arm. Throwing is probably the only weakness in Henderson's game, too, the only element that isn't exceptional.
Combs was not quite as fleet or as flashy as Henderson, who delights in making snap one-handed catches and who lets his emotions run free on the field. Combs was an affable, handsome man who neither smoked nor drank, and who read the Bible daily. A college-educated school teacher before entering professional baseball, he became known to all who follow the game as the Kentucky Colonel. Joe McCarthy, his Yankees manager, once said, 'Earle Combs is the greatest gentleman in baseball.' In his day, the gentlemanly Combs tended to fade in the glare of such flamboyant teammates as Ruth. But the real fans understood his greatness; in 1928, Yankee Stadium bleacherites gave him an engraved watch, an event Combs regarded as a career highlight.
Combs never had the overall offensive impact of a Rickey Henderson. True, he hit .325 lifetime, compared to .290 for Rickey through 1986, but he never had a double-figure homer season. Henderson has logged home run totals of 16, 24 and 28 in his last three seasons.
When Rickey gets the right pitch in his power zone, he can drive the ball a long way. He set the American League record for homers to lead off a game in 1985, with seven, and last year established a new record with nine. He also drove in 74 runs, a remarkable total for a leadoff man, but one that Combs topped in 1930, a year in which the Yankees hit .309 as a team. The Kentucky Colonel that year collected no less than 82 RBI.
Henderson, his power notwithstanding, is best known, of course, for his sensational baserunning, a department in which he has a decided edge over Combs. Despite his speed, Combs never stole more than 16 bases in a season. Henderson has topped 100 stolen bases an unprecedented three seasons, reaching a high of 130 in 1982, the year he broke Lou Brock's major league record of 118.
In 1986, Rickey stole more than 50 bases for the seventh consecutive season, setting an American League record. He also won the stolen base crown in each of those years. 'I always wanted to win the crown,' he says. 'Unless a guy comes around who can steal over 100 bases, then my crown will never be taken. I look at stealing bases as a form of art. It's a challenge for me every time I'm out there.'
It's beginning to look very likely that Henderson, who finished 1986 with a career total of 660 stolen bases, will ultimately surpass Brock's all-time record of 938 thefts. Brock, who was more scientific than speedy, was thirty-nine years old when he completed his career. Henderson is just twenty-eight.
Henderson is still developing his base stealing skills, gaining valuable experience, learning the lessons Brock learned. He attributes his 130 steals in 1982 largely to instincts and feels he is a smarter base stealer today, with a keener ability to ready pitchers. Seldom is he thrown out by a catcher- California's Bob Boone is the only backstop who owns any degree of success at tossing him out. When Rickey is caught, it is usually in a pickoff.
Ironically, it was Brock who was helped Henderson go from a speedster to a true base stealer. 'I did a lot of changing,' Henderson says. 'I talked to Lou Brock when I first came to the big leagues, and he was a tremendous help to me. He taught me how to get a walking lead, how to time a pitcher and how to intimidate a catcher.
'Also Davey Lopes was a big help to me when he was in Oakland. He taught me the moves of a pitcher, what points to look at on a pitcher and how to get a great jump. That helped my base stealing ability because before then base stealing for me was just flat out running.'
And there is no question about this fact: when Rickey Henderson is on base, he disrupts the opposition.
'I know how to intimidate a pitcher when I'm on base, and how to get his attention,' Henderson assures. Those batting behind Henderson benefit from seeing more fastballs, as well as having the advantage of the pitcher not concentrating entirely on them. Not with Henderson dancing off base. Not with Henderson dominating.
This year Henderson has a shot at shattering the all-time Yankees [career] record for stolen bases, held by Hal Chase, the slick-fielding first baseman for who played for the club in its infancy. Chase stole 248 bases in nine New York seasons. Henderson already has 167 in just two Yankees seasons. In 1986 Rickey swept into seventh place on the all-time Yankees list, passing Mickey Mantle, who swiped 153 bases.
Immediately ahead of Henderson with 183 steals is Fritz Maisel. In 1914 Maisel set the single-season club mark with 74 stolen bases, a record that stood until Henderson's 80 thefts in 1985. Rickey then broke his own record in 1986, pilfering 87 bases to once again lead the American League in that department.
The essence of Henderson's ability might not be either speed or power but supreme balance. This amazing combination of power and speed- so reminiscent of a player like Mantle- was fully realized in 1985 as Henderson became the first American Leaguer ever to have a season of 20-plus homers and 50-plus stolen bases, a feat he repeated in 1986.
Flashy statistics aside, Henderson's most important contribution to the Yankees is quite possibly his ability to score runs. Since 1980, the young man who hit .465 in his senior year at Oakland's Technical High School has scored more than 100 runs every season except the strike year of 1981, and even in that abbreviated campaign Rickey scored a league leading 89 runs. He has also led the league in runs in his two Yankee campaigns, with 146 and 130, respectively. Combs was a big run scorer, too, having plated more than 100 runs in eight consecutive seasons (1925-32).
As crazy as it may sound, some were disappointed in Henderson's 1986 season. It is a fact that Rickey's batting average dropped to .263 after a .314 mark in 1985, and his walks declined from 99 to 89. Thus, it is easy to see why he scored 16 fewer runs than he did in 1985- he wasn't on base as often. But American League umpires played mind games with Henderson in 1986. Rickey bats out of a deep crouch- his natural stance- making for a smaller-than-normal strike zone. However, in 1986 the umpires reinterpreted his strike zone, making it larger. Advantage pitcher. A bothered Henderson, out of sync, unsure of his strike zone, got into the habit of swinging at bad pitches.
All in all, however, Rickey Henderson has given the Yankees two marvelous seasons. He has already won recognition as the greatest leadoff man in the club's history and very likely in all of baseball history.
'I consider myself a complete player,' says Henderson. 'When people used to call me a base stealer I used to hate it because I wanted people to consider me a complete player. I can play offense, hit for average and hit for power, too. On defense I think I'm one of the best outfielders in the game today.'
He is, to be sure, the best all-around Yankees center fielder since Mickey Mantle. Combs, Brock, Mantle- Rickey Henderson compares with the legends of the game."

-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook

"His overall offensive production was down slightly from his first season as a Yankee, yet he set personal career highs with 28 home runs, 31 doubles, 608 at-bats and 74 RBIs. His total of 130 runs led the majors for the second consecutive year, the third time in his career. He was the first player to lead the American League in runs scored in consecutive seasons since Mickey Mantle in 1960-61 (Mantle and Roger Maris tied with 132 runs in 1961). He was the first player to lead the majors in runs scored in consecutive seasons since Pete Rose from 1974-76. His 89 walks placed seventh in the AL, while he tied for seventh with 64 extra-base hits. He led Yankee outfielders with a .986 fielding percentage, as well as in games, 146; putouts, 426; errors, six; and total chances, 436.
Off to a slow start, Rickey had just one hit (1-for-19 in his first six games), then hit in 10 straight from April 15-25, going 16-for-45 (.356 batting average), raising his overall average to .266. He ended April hitting .263. Rickey scored a team high four runs against Texas on May 3. He hit in 11 straight, May 16-28, going 15-for-41 (.366) with three home runs and seven RBIs (all homers lead off a game for the Yankees).
Rickey failed to hit safely in just six of 28 games played in June, going 38-for-116 (.328), raising his overall average from .265 to .288. On June 11 at Detroit he started the first game of his career in which he did not bat leadoff (he batted third). He recorded four RBIs on June 27 against Toronto, reaching his career high for the fifth time. His batting average peaked at .289 on June 28.
He went 20-for-86 (.233) in July, lowering his overall average to .276. He was ejected from a game on July 30 at Milwaukee in the eighth inning for arguing a called third strike. Rickey failed to hit in 16 of 28 games in August, going 22-for-110 (.200), lowering his overall average to .260.
On August 11 Rickey recorded his 20th home run, achieving 20 homers and 50+ stolen bases for a second straight year. On August 28, he tied the AL record he set in 1985 by hitting his seventh leadoff home run, and on August 29 he homered off Seattle's Mark Langston for his third career two-homer game- all with the Yankees. Rickey broke his personal single season home run mark hitting his 25th on September 11 at Toronto off John Cerutti, and broke his own leadoff homer record hitting his eighth on September 20 at Detroit off Frank Tanana; Rickey finished with an AL record nine leadoff home runs (the major league record is 11, set by Bobby Bonds in 1973). He went 28-for-100 (.280) in September and October, raising his overall batting average to .263.
He appeared as a designated hitter in five games, going 2-for-18 (.111), and was 0-for-3 as a pinch hitter. 40 of the 113 runs driven in by Don Mattingly were scored by Rickey Henderson.
Henderson led the American League in stolen bases for the seventh consecutive season- only Luis Aparicio led the AL more years (nine), both total and consecutively (1956-64). He was 87-for-105 in stolen base attempts in '86. He broke his own AL record for most consecutive years with 50+ stolen bases, now with seven.
He set a new Yankees single season stolen base record with 87, breaking the club mark of 80 he set in 1985; he stole his 81st base on September 15 against Baltimore in New York. Henderson comes into 1987 with 167 stolen bases as a Yankee, needing 81 to equal Hal Chase's Yankee record of 248 (1905-13).
Henderson swiped his 600th career base on May 18 against Seattle, becoming the youngest of the 15 players to reach that plateau. With 660 career stolen bases and his current average of 83 steals per year, he should reach the 700 level near mid-season of 1987, and would be the youngest of the nine players to make that grade. During '86 Henderson moved form 19th to 11th on the all-time stolen base list and is the current active leader. He improved his career stolen base success rate to 80% (166 times caught stealing).
Rickey swiped a club high three bases on May 6 at Chicago, also matching the league high for '86. He was successful in 14 of his 18 attempts stealing third. His longest streak without stealing a base was six games, June 24-30.
Of his 18 times caught stealing in '86, only six were by catchers. Five of his first eight times caught stealing on the year on the year were by catchers (through June 13), meaning that after June 13 he was caught stealing 10 times but just once by a catcher (August 30 at Seattle by Scott Bradley).
He began the 1985 season on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle suffered in an exhibition game on March 17 against Boston; he was activated on April 22, missing 10 games. His .314 batting average was fourth in the AL, and he led the AL with 146 runs scored - the most runs by a Yankee since Joe DiMaggio scored 151 in 1937. His 99 walks were fourth in the AL and most by a Yankee since Willie Randolph led the league with 119 in 1980, and his .419 on-base percentage, also fourth in the AL, was a career high. His .516 slugging percentage, seventh in the AL, was also a career high. Rickey was the first player in AL history to hit 20+ homers and steal 50+ bases in the same season.
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 had two 11-game hitting streaks: April 29-May 12, going 18-for-44 (.409), and August 5-21, going 17-for-46 (.370). He also had a 10-game hit streak from September 18-29, going 14-for-38 (.368). He scored at least one run in 101 of the 143 games he played.
He 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. He 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, Rickey hit .270 with 69 runs, 13 homers, 35 RBIs and 39 stolen bases.
Rickey's 80 stolen bases in '85 led the AL for the sixth straight season. He broke Fritz Maisel's Yankee record of 74 stolen bases set in 1914, stealing his 75th base on September 25 against Detroit. He stole his 500th career base on May 10 at Kansas City- the youngest player to reach that goal. He passed Cesar Cedeno on the all-time stolen base list, and with the retirement of Joe Morgan became the current active stolen base leader.
He stole four bases on June 26 against Baltimore. Henderson was caught stealing only three times by catchers in 1985 (Bob Boone, Carlton Fisk and Rich Gedman) out of a total of 10 times caught stealing that season. He was also successful on 14 of 16 attempts stealing third base.
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 high.
He went over the 100 steal mark (108) for the third time in his career in 1983- he's the only player ever to do it more than once. 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."

-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide