1988 Profile: Rickey Henderson

1988 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"His injured right hamstring prevented him from being the force he usually is and he failed to lead the league in stolen bases for the first time in the last eight years. Henderson was disabled from June 5-29 with a hamstring injury and sat out July 26 to September 1 with the same problem.
He reached safely in 85 of the 95 games he played. With six leadoff home runs in 1987, Henderson broke the American League career record for leadoff homers; with 34, he needs two more to break Bobby Bonds' major league mark. With 701 career steals, he is the youngest to reach that level. Rickey shattered Lou Brock's single-season stolen base record with 130 in 1982.
Rickey has thrived under Billy Martin in the past. Born in Chicago, he was obtained from Oakland with pitcher Bert Bradley for Jay Howell, Jose Rijo, Tim Birtsas, Eric Plunk and Stan Javier in December 1984."

-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1988 Edition

"Disappointment. That's the word that best describes Rickey Henderson's third year in Pinstripes. What started out as an MVP kind of season will be remembered as the year of the 'hammy.' As Henderson goes so go the Yankees, and when a bad wheel slowed down the speedster so too went the club's hopes for a division title.
The Man of Steal got off to the best start of his career, pacing the Yankees to their best start since 1976. Before leaving the game on June 4 with a pulled right hamstring, he was hitting .324 with 10 homers, 18 RBI and 23 stolen bases. He was an early MVP favorite, but it wasn't to be. The pulled hamstring, the first major injury of his career, put him on the DL twice and forced him to miss 55 games. Not only did the Yankees go 29-26 during those games, but Henderson lost the stolen base crown for the first time in his career after owning the title for seven straight years.
On the positive side, Henderson broke the AL record of 28 career leadoff homers and is one shy of the major league record of 35. In 1987 he also became the youngest player ever to steal 700 bases. Rickey's 1988 'comeback' should ignite the Yankees once again."

-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook

"Rickey suffered through an injury-plagued 1987 season, appearing in just 95 games- his fewest since playing 89 in his rookie season on 1979.
He got off to a great start, going 32-for-79 (.405) with 25 runs, six homers and 12 RBIs from April 6 through May 3, hitting safely in 18 of 21 games. Rickey hit six homers from April 14 through April 26 (29 at-bats, nine games) and five homers from April 22 through April 26 (14 at-bats, five games), and had his only two-homer game of the season on April 24 at Cleveland. While unable to maintain a .400 clip, he began a season long 11-game hitting streak on May 6, lasting through May 18, going 15-for-45 (.333) with 16 runs. From that point though June 4, he went for 8-for-38 (.211), his overall average falling from .356 to .324.
He suffered his first injury of the year on June 4 at Milwaukee, leaving the game with a pulled right hamstring. Rickey was hitting .324 with 10 home runs and 18 RBIs in 45 games and had been successful in 23 of 26 stolen base attempts. The hamstring pull was severe enough to land him on the 15-day disabled list, where he remained from June 5 until June 29, missing 22 games (with the Yankees going 13-9). Rickey was again placed on the 15-day DL on August 1 (retroactive to July 26) with an injured right hamstring, hitting .250 (22-for-88) in 22 games between disabled list stints, his average falling to .298.
Rickey was reinstated from the DL a second time on September 1, having missed 33 games (the Yankees going 16-17). Overall in his two DL stays, New York went 29-26 in the 55 games he missed. Following his second return he went 25-for-99 (.253) with six home runs, 12 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in his final 27 games.
Rickey played in 50 games total after suffering his first hamstring injury on June 4, going 47-for-188 (.250) with 35 runs, seven doubles, a triple, seven homers, 19 RBIs and and 18 stolen bases. The Yankees, at the point of the first injury, were in first place at 33-20, a .623 winning percentage, and went 56-53, a .514 winning percentage, through the remainder of '87, finishing fourth in the AL East.
He appeared as a designated hitter in 24 games, going 25-for-98 (.255) with 18 runs, five homers and nine RBIs, and was 0-for-2 as a pinch hitter. Of his 17 home runs, 13 were solo and four were two-run shots.
Rickey hit six leadoff home runs in '87, and now has 34 career leadoff home runs, just one shy of Bobby Bonds' major league record. His first leadoff homer of the year on April 14 against Cleveland broke the AL record of 28 set by Eddie Yost. Henderson came to the Yankees from Oakland with 12 leadoff home runs, and with the Yankees added seven in 1985, nine in 1986 and six in 1987. The nine leadoff homers he hit in '86 are an American League record.
With 701 stolen bases Henderson is currently the leader among active players, followed by Willie Wilson with 529 and Tim Raines with 511. He was successful in 41 of 49 stolen base attempts (84%) in 1987 and was 9-for-9 stealing third, but had his string of leading the AL in stolen bases snapped at seven straight years by Seattle's Harold Reynolds.
Henderson had three games of at least three stolen bases, including four stolen bases on May 3 at Minnesota, tying the Yankee single game record and matching his personal single game high, now having stolen four bases in a game on 11 occasions. He recorded his 700th stolen base on September 29 against Boston, becoming the youngest player (28) to reach that plateau (Billy Hamilton was the youngest to reach 700 prior to Henderson- he was 30 in 1896).
His 701 stolen bases rank ninth on the all-time list (Honus Wagner is eighth with 720). Since 1980 (his first full season) and excluding the 1981 strike season, Rickey has averaged 87 stolen bases per season; should he reach that level in 1988 he would move up to fifth place on the all-time list. His AL record of consecutive seasons with 50+ stolen bases ended at seven years, yet he ranks fourth on the all-time Yankee stolen base list with 208 (Roy White is third with 233, Willie Randolph is second with 242, and Hal Chase is first with 248).
Rickey was successful in his first 23 stolen base attempts of '87; coupled with his final eight attempts of '86 he had 31 consecutive attempts without being caught, just one shy of the AL record of 32 (previously set by Kansas City's Willie Wilson in 1980 and Seattle's Julio Cruz in 1980-81). The string was broken on May 18 at Oakland by pitcher Curt Young. Rickey was caught stealing six times by catchers in '87: Boston's John Marzano (twice); Oakland's Terry Steinbach; Seattle's Scott Bradley; Toronto's Charlie Moore; and Milwaukee's B.J. Surhoff.
He did not steal a base for 18 straight games, May 18 through July 4, the longest such stretch of his career; his previous long was 11 games, April 8-22, 1987; his longest before '87 was 10 straight games from September 4-24, 1982. Rickey maintained his career stolen base success rate of 80%. He currently has 174 career caught stealing.
His overall offensive production in 1986 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), 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 AL leadoff homer record hitting his eighth on September 20 at Detroit off Frank Tanana- Rickey finished with nine (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.
He 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). Henderson was 87-for-105 in stolen base attempts in '86. 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 swiped his 600th career base on May 18 against Seattle, becoming the youngest of the 15 players to reach that plateau. 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%. 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). Rickey broke his own AL record for most consecutive years with 50+ stolen bases, with seven.
He began the 1985 season on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle suffered in an exhibition game against Boston on March 17; 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. He scored at least one run in 101 of the 143 games he played.
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 equaling 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 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, becoming the youngest player to reach that goal. Rickey moved from 31st place to 19th place on the all-time stolen base list. 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 set the AL record with his sixth consecutive seasons with 50+ stolen bases.
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 and 104 walks and led the league's outfielders in total chances (313). Rickey was named to the league All-Star team and was Modesto's 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, 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 he 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), walking five times against the Angels on April 8 (a career high), was third in on-base percentage (.399).
He went over the 100 steal mark (108) for the third time in his career in 1983- Vince Coleman is 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 college scholarship offers to play football.
An Oakland resident, his favorite spectator sports are baseball and football. His favorite team growing up was the Oakland A's and his favorite players were Willie Mays and Reggie Jackson, and he wears 24 because of Mays. Rickey lists as his greatest influences as 'my mother and Tom Trebelhorn,' current Milwaukee Brewers manager who was Rickey's manager in his first two years of pro ball.
Rickey's favorite entertainer is Luther Vandross."

-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide