"While his attitude and work habits are frequently questioned, his results cannot be. Henderson won the American League stolen base crown for the eighth time in nine major league seasons with 93, breaking his own club mark by six.
He ranks fourth on the all-time stolen base list with 794 and stands as the Yankees' all-time leader with 301 steals. This left fielder scored 100-plus runs for the seventh time in nine seasons.
Henderson led off the July 21 game against Kansas City with a home run, tying Bobby Bonds major league mark of 35 homers leading off games. He reached base safely leading off a game 15 consecutive times from July 18 to August 3.
Born in Chicago, Henderson was acquired from Oakland with Bert Bradley for Jay Howell, Jose Rijo, Eric Plunk, Tim Birtsas and Stan Javier following the 1984 season. He wears No. 24 because he idolizes Willie Mays. Oakland's fourth round pick in the June 1976 draft, Henderson owns the major league record for steals in a season with 130 in 1982."
-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1989 Edition
"Though Rickey Henderson had a power outage in 1988, he was still Mr. Excitement. Look for him to continue to be the spark in 1989.
While his power statistics- homers and RBIs- were down from his first three years in New York, he continued to do what he does best, and that's run. Last year the Man of Steal became the Yankees' all-time base stealer, and set a new team single-season high with 93. Only a string of nagging injuries late in the year kept his numbers from being even higher. And the best news of all is that at age 30, Henderson says he's still getting better. This a dangerous thought for opponents, who know only too well that as Rickey goes so go the Yankees.
Not wanting to be known as just a base stealer, Rickey has established himself as the premier leadoff man in the game, a weapon who can beat you in so many ways. Pitch him close he'll take you deep, put him on base we all know what he can do.
'I want to make it to the World Series,' says Henderson, 'and this is the team I want to do it with.' One-man act or a versatile weapon, Rickey Henderson is the Yankee catalyst."
-The New York Yankees Official 1989 Yearbook
"Rickey opened the 1988 season hitting safely in his first 10 games, going 19-for-42 (.452) with six doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs. He also hit safely in 17 of his first 18 games, April 5-24, going 31-for-75 (.413), but went 2-for-20 to close out the month at .362 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. From April 29 through May 10 Rickey swiped at least one base in nine of ten games, a total of 17 stolen bases.
He began May by hitting safely in eight of that month's first nine games, going 13-for-35 (.371) to pull his overall batting average back up to .364 on May 11, but that was the last date his BA was .360 or better. His only home run in May came on May 3 at Chicago. Rickey was unable to play between May 14 and May 20 due to a sore ring finger and went 11 games without a steal, May 11-27. He went 13-for-54 (.241) in his last 13 games in May, lowering his overall batting average to .317 with four home runs and 22 RBIs through May 31.
Henderson began June well, going 9-for-25 (.360) in his first eight games, hitting safely in seven, and raising his season average to .322, but was forced from the game of June 8 in the fourth inning with a sprained right ankle and missed the next five games with that injury. He appeared in just six of New York's remaining 15 games that month, going 4-for-17 and lowering his average to .316 by June 30. He left the game of June 18 with a sore right leg, left the game of June 22 with a bruised toe on his left foot and suffered a sore left ankle on June 27 in the sixth inning sliding home.
He began July slowly, going 6-for-24 (.250) in his first six games with his overall average dropping to .309 through July 8. From July 9 through July 28, however, Rickey hit safely in 15 of 16 games, going 24-for-65 (.369) with 16 runs, six doubles and a home run, pulling his overall batting average back up to .322. He finished July batting .320 with six home runs and 33 RBIs.
The first half of August saw Rickey on fire, going 21-for-49 (.429), hitting safely in nine of his first 12 games and having more than one hit in eight of those nine games. That streak pushed his average up to .334 on August 17, his highest point through the remainder of '88, but from August 18-31 Rickey went 9-for-60 (.150), lowering his batting average through August to .309; moreover, from August 25-September 6 he went 3-for-47, dropping his season average to .298- under .300 for the first time all year.
On August 24 against Oakland, Henderson's single with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning won the game. His average reached a season low of .294 on September 15, but from September 16 through the end of the year, however, he went 24-for-61 (.393) with seven doubles, bringing his final season batting average back over .300 to .305.
The Yankees went 10-for-11 in the 21 games Henderson missed in 1988. He went 4-for-13 (.308) in three games as a designated hitter, with a run and two RBIs, and walked in his only pinch-hitting appearance, on August 21 against Seattle.
Rickey went 37-for-120 (.308) leading off games in 1988. In the 59 games he reached base safely in the first inning, the Yankees went 40-19 (.679 winning percentage). His first inning totals were 38-for-123 (.309) with 41 runs scored (New York batted around in the first inning three times). From July 18 through August 3 Rickey reached safely leading off in 15 straight games, scoring a run in 11 of those 15 games.
He now has 35 career leadoff home runs, tied with Bobby Bonds for the major league record. His 35th came on July 21 at Kansas City off Mark Gubicza. His first leadoff homer in 1987, on April 14 off Cleveland's Phil Niekro in New York, broke the American League record of 28 set by Eddie Yost. The nine leadoff home runs Henderson hit in 1986 are also an American League record.
Henderson scored 100+ runs for the seventh time in his career and made his seventh straight and eighth overall All-Star appearance. His second inning single on June 5 at Baltimore was his 500th hit as a Yankee; his fifth inning run scored on July 17 against Chicago was the 1,000th of his career; and his third inning RBI on September 13 at Cleveland was the 500th of his career.
For the 1988 season his .305 batting average was 13th in the AL, 15th in the majors; his 118 runs scored were third in the AL and third in the majors; his 82 walks were seventh in the AL, 13th in the majors; and his .394 on-base percentage was fifth in the AL, sixth in the majors.
Rickey's .312 road batting average was ninth in the American League. On April 11 at Toronto he went 5-for-5 with four runs scored- the five hits matched his career high for one game. He was one of only nine AL players to have five hits in one game in 1988.
With 794 career stolen bases Henderson is the leader among active players and ranks fourth on the all-time list (Lou Brock, 938; Billy Hamilton, 937; Ty Cobb, 892- only Brock and Cobb played in he modern era). He led the majors with 93 steals in 1988, the eighth time in nine seasons since 1980 that he led the AL. His 93 is the fifth highest single season total in American League history and 13th highest in major league history (after 1900).
Rickey also set a new Yankee single season stolen base record, breaking his own record of 87 set in 1986. His record breaking 88th stolen base came on September 25 against Boston. His stolen base in the 11th inning on June 4 at Baltimore was his 249th as a Yankee, breaking the former Yankee career record set by Hal Chase from 1905-13.
In 1988 he was successful on 93 of 106 stolen base attempts (88%). Of his 13 times caught stealing, only six were by catchers: Ernie Whitt, Tim Laudner, Mike MacFarlane (twice), Bob Boone and Rich Gedman. Rickey was successful on 44 of his last 46 stolen base attempts (96%), and from August 11-September 25 was successful on 28 straight attempts. He was successful on 29 of his 31 attempts to steal third base (94%) and was successful on his last 26 attempts to steal third.
He had ten games of at least three stolen bases, including four stolen bases (tied for the 1988 AL high for one game) three times: April 11 at Toronto, May 7 at Texas and August 11 against Toronto. Rickey has 14 career games of four stolen bases (five times with the Yankees), his career high for one game. With his four steals on August 11 and three on August 12 at Minnesota, he tied the AL record for most steals in consecutive games.
He currently has 187 times caught stealing for his career, and in 1988 improved his career stolen base rate from 80% to 81% (794-for-981). He has stolen home four times, all as a member of the Oakland A's: April 20, 1980 against California; July 19, 1980 against Cleveland; June 8, 1982 at Chicago; and July 26, 1982 at California.
Rickey signed a five-year contract with the Yankees on December 8, 1984. The contract extends through the 1989 season.
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.
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's AL record of consecutive seasons with 50+ stolen bases ended at seven years.
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.
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. 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 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 and swiped a club high three bases on May 6 at Chicago, also matching the league high for '86. 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). Rickey broke his own AL record for most consecutive years with 50+ stolen bases, with seven. He was 87-for-105 in stolen base attempts in '86 and was successful in 14 of his 18 attempts stealing third.
Henderson swiped his 600th career base on May 18 against Seattle, becoming the youngest of the 15 players to reach that plateau. 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.
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 his first career two-homer games on June 21 at Detroit and on July 30 at Cleveland. He scored four runs in a game for the second and third times in his career on 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 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's 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 AL 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.
His hobbies include swimming and fishing and 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."
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
Established modern major league record for most stolen bases, season, 130 (1982).
Tied major league record for most home runs as a leadoff batter, lifetime, 35; holds American League record.
Established American League record for most home runs as a leadoff batter, season, 9 (1986).
Established American League record for most consecutive seasons, 50 or more stolen bases, 7 (1980-86).
First American League player with 20 or more home runs and 50 or more stolen bases, season (1985, 1986).
Established major league record for most times caught stealing, season, 42 (1982).
Tied American League record for most stolen bases, two consecutive games, 7 (July 3-4, 1983; August 11-12, 1988).
Led American League outfielders with 327 putouts and 341 total chances (1981).
Won Rawlings American League Gold Glove Award as outfielder (1981).
Won The Sporting News Silver Bat Award as outfielder (1981, 1985).
Named to Seagram's American League All-Star team (1981, 1985).
Named to The Sporting News American League All-Star team (1985).
Named to Associated Press All-Star team (1985).
Named to American League All-Star team (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988).
Led Eastern League outfielders with four double plays and tied for league lead with 15 assists (1978).
Led California League outfielders with 20 errors (1977).
Led Northwest League outfielders with 12 errors (1976).
Led or tied for league lead in caught stealing: 26 (1980), 22 (1981), 42 (1982), 19 (1983), 18 (1986).
Led majors in 1988 with 93 stolen bases.
794 career stolen bases is most among active players.
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
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