fringe Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Rickey the diplomat: When Rickey broke Lou Brock's all-time Stolen Base record, Brock had given up his own time to come to the game and stand next to Rickey for the presentation. Rickey addressed the crowd: “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.” Rickey, friend to the little people: With the Mets in 1999, Rickey asked a teammate why there were so many reporters around and he was told the team had fired Tom Robson. "Who's he?" Rickey replied Robson was the Mets hitting coach. Rickey the Wizard of Wall St. The A's accounting department was in a panic because their books were off by a million bucks. The source of the discrepancy was Rickey, who had taken a $1 million bonus check and instead of cashing it, framed it. Rickey the Wizard of Wall St. Part II: He once held onto a bonus check rather than cash it because he was "waiting for the rates to go up." Rickey the geographer: He once asked a teammate how long it would take to drive to the Dominican Republic. Rickey the geography, Part II: His apartment had a "view of the Entire State Building." Third person Rickey: He once left Padres GM Kevin Towers this voicemail: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.” Rickey the linguist: When he was looking for a seat on the Padres bus, Steve Finley said "You can sit anywhere you want. You've got tenure." To which Rickey replied “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.” Classy Rickey: When he broke Ty Cobb's All Time Runs Scored record on a home run, he took full minute to round the bases then slid home. Rickey the mathematician: When Ken Caminiti said that 50% of ballplayers were juicing, Rickey said “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.” Gracious Rickey: At the end of his days with the Sox, Tom Werner offered him a car as a going away present and Rickey said he wanted John Henry's Mercedes. Not the same make and model. He wanted John Henry's car. So the team presented him with a red Thunderbird and when he saw it Rickey said "Who's ugly car is on the field?" My all time favorite Rickey story that turns out not to be true even though I wish it was: Legend has it that when he was with the Mets, Rickey asked John Olerud why he wears a helmet in the field and Olerud explained how he had had an aneurysm and had to as a precaution. "Man," Rickey supposedly said, "I was with Toronto last year and we had a guy with the same thing!" And Olerud said "That would be me." Too bad both men deny it ever happened. But a true story of Rickey, great teammate: His locker was next to Billy Beane's, but Beane got sent down to the minors. After a few months, Beane got called back up to the bigs. Six weeks after his call up Rickey said “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.” I can't wait until Henderson gets into the Hall. His is going to be the greatest induction speech in the history of sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandolphScott Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Third person Rickey: He once left Padres GM Kevin Towers this voicemail: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.” LOL :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herc Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 lol i miss rickey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plow Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I love how in his speech he basically talked about how he can still play and if any GM needs a left fielder who can steal some bases to give him a call. He also said, if he got signed, he could steal the most bases in the majors today (reyes stole 56) last year. He also wants to play in the WBC. Gotta love it, guy is giving a speech about being in the HOF and all he wants to do is still play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorfTVP Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Rickey for WBC!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditto Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Strangely, of all the great things he did, my biggest recollection of him was when he played cards in the Mets clubhouse during a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 Strangely, of all the great things he did, my biggest recollection of him was when he played cards in the Mets clubhouse during a game. with bobby bonilla, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandolphScott Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 with bobby bonilla, right? Yeah, in the '99 NLCS against the Braves. My lasting memory of Rickey is when he was leading off for the Mets, he hits what he thinks is a homerun....it bounces off the wall. Instead of running it out, he is hot dogging it and only gets a single. He was released the next day. Oh and his speech to Jose Reyes in 2007 "It doesn't matter if you get thrown out, it's only an out" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxi-xxv Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I would think Yankee fans would fondly recall in 1989 when Rickey was bitching about his contract and playing LF a ball went straight through his legs and he jogged after is allowing a soft single to become a 2 base error. He was traded back to the A's 2 days later for Eric Plunk, Greg Cadaret and Luis(underage)Polonia. Good times good times.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 just in case you thought that he was just a fuck up: >In 1982, Henderson broke Lou Brock's modern major league record by stealing 130 bases, a total which has not been approached since. He stole 84 bases by the All-Star break; no player has stolen as many as 84 bases in an entire season since 1988, when Henderson himself stole 93. Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos had the next highest stolen base total in 1982, with 78 >In 1985, Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees for five players. That year he led the league in runs scored (146) and stolen bases (80), was fourth in the league in walks (99) and on-base percentage (.419), and had 24 home runs while hitting .314. He also won the Silver Slugger Award, and was third in the voting for the MVP award. His 146 runs scored were the most since Ted Williams had 150 in 1950, and he became the first player since Lou Gehrig in 1936 to amass more runs scored than games played. Henderson became the first player in major league history to reach 80 stolen bases and 20 home runs in the 1985 season. He matched the feat in 1986, as did the Reds' Eric Davis; they remain the only players in major league history who are in the "80/20 club". >In 1989, Henderson reasserted himself as one of the game's greatest players, with a memorable half-season in which his 52 steals and 72 runs scored led the A's into the postseason;his 126 walks for the year were the most for any AL hitter since 1970. With a record eight steals in five games, he was named MVP of the American League Championship Series; he hit .400 while scoring eight runs and delivering two home runs, five runs batted in (RBI), seven walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Leading the A's to a four-game sweep over the San Francisco Giants and the franchise's first World Series title since 1974, Henderson hit .474 with a .895 slugging average (including two triples and a homer), while stealing three more bases. dot dot dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herc Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 seriously he's fucking incredible. he doesn't get enough credit as being among the all-time greats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorfTVP Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 seriously he's fucking incredible. he doesn't get enough credit as being among the all-time greats Agreed! I mean, if anyone was going to be a unanimous shoo-in, it would be Ricky. I've never understood HoF voters. What was it Jayson Stark said, 28 people didn't vote for Ricky? He mentioned that three were blank steroid protest ballots, and I respect that, but those other 25 people are smoking something. Sure he ruffled a few feathers but if you're on top of that many lists, including some of the most important stats in baseball, then god damn it, you deserve some respect. Even though he we was at the end of his days with the Red Sox, I'm glad I could see him play. Even though my fondest memory of him in a game is a golden sombrero in the Rogers Centre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herc Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Agreed! I mean, if anyone was going to be a unanimous shoo-in, it would be Ricky. I've never understood HoF voters. What was it Jayson Stark said, 28 people didn't vote for Ricky? He mentioned that three were blank steroid protest ballots, and I respect that, but those other 25 people are smoking something. Sure he ruffled a few feathers but if you're on top of that many lists, including some of the most important stats in baseball, then god damn it, you deserve some respect. Even though he we was at the end of his days with the Red Sox, I'm glad I could see him play. Even though my fondest memory of him in a game is a golden sombrero in the Rogers Centre. the voters are really annoying. a lot of them are sticklers about voting first ballot for people because (insert player who they have wet dreams about from the 1950's here) didn't get in on the first ballot. they also don't want player x' 1st ballot percentage ballot to be higher than player y's first ballot percentage. no one will ever get in unanimously even though rickey obviously should've been Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandolphScott Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 the voters are really annoying. a lot of them are sticklers about voting first ballot for people because (insert player who they have wet dreams about from the 1950's here) didn't get in on the first ballot. they also don't want player x' 1st ballot percentage ballot to be higher than player y's first ballot percentage. no one will ever get in unanimously even though rickey obviously should've been Tom Seaver is the closest one! A New York Met leads something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditto Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Rickey the Wizard of Wall St. Part II: He once held onto a bonus check rather than cash it because he was "waiting for the rates to go up." That alone should get him inducted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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