1998 Donruss Signature Series Significant Signatures #NNO
2016 Topps Tier One Autographs #T1A-RJO
Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax, Rube Waddell, and Carl Hubbell are members of this fraternity as well as members of Baseball's Hall of Fame, however Rickey is the only positional player to be a member of both clubs.
2015 Gypsy Queen Autographed Relics #AR-RH
2014 Gypsy Queen Autograph #GQA-RH
If you're a left-handed kid, you're probably bummed that you're not usually allowed to play four out of the nine positions. But at least there are a few advantages when stepping into the batter's box. First off, you're one step closer to first base. And since most pitchers are right-handed, left-handed batters get more opportunities to see the ball better.
2017 Topps Definitive Collection Autographed Relic #DCAR-RH
So why did Rickey decide to start swinging the bat from the right side of the plate? Well when his brother would drag him down to the local baseball field to play, that's how all of the other kids hit... so he watched and copied them.
2018 Topps Diamond Icons Autographs #AC-RH
2014 Topps Class Rings #CR-14
Tomorrow is the anniversary of his MLB debut. On June 24th, 1979 he started in left field against the Texas Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum and hit a double off of John Henry Johnson in his first at-bat. The next time up, he hit a single and then proceeded to steal second base. Not too shabby of a start to one helluva career.
By the way, I may not have made it out of Little League... but I also fall into the category of batting right-handed while throwing with my left hand. Plus... I actually was allowed to play second base for several years... however I'll save that baseball oddity for a future blog post.
In the meantime...
What are your favorite or least favorite memories of The Man of Steal?
I'll never forget going to the Oakland Coliseum as a kid and rooting for Rickey.
1984 Mother's Cookies #28
Until the day he was traded to the New York Yankees, he was my favorite player and probably the favorite player of most kids my age living in my neighborhood. It seemed like he'd get on base at least once or twice each game.
After that he was guaranteed to terrorize pitchers and entertain fans as he slowly crept further and further away from the bag, while dangling his fingers, before taking off...
If by chance you are too young to have seen him play and are not quite familiar with just how good Rickey was, here's a SB Nation video that does a pretty good job of summing things up:
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
18 comments:
Here's a quiz...ID this list:
Alomar, Roberto – 7
Brouthers, Dan – 11
Gossage, Goose – 9
Grimes, Burleigh – 7
Henderson, Rickey – 9
Hoyt, Waite – 7
Kelly, King – 7
O’Rourke, Jim – 8
Perry, Gaylord – 8
Simmons, Al – 7
Smith, Lee – 8
White, Deacon – 9
Wilhelm, Hoyt – 9
OK, that was easy..Hall of Famers who played for seven or more teams.
Here's a tougher one...
What do Rickey H and I have in common?
Answer is that we both played in four decades. Of course he played in the bigs and I was in intramural softball but four decades is four decades, yes?
Rickey is the best player of my generation. I have no doubts on this.
My favorite Rickey moment is probably when I found out there was a Dodger card of him.
I never knew Koufax batted righty.
If Henderson batted lefty, I bet he would be closer to 3,500 hits, and had a few things went differently like no strike in ‘94, a 162 game season in ‘95, and MLB teams giving him more of a shot in the middle of the ‘00s, perhaps he would’ve stuck around enough to supplant Rose as the all-time hit leader.
I loved the shades Rickey wore and the flashy things he did with his glove before catching a routine pop fly. The man was not lacking in skill, speed or confidence!
I had billy ball fever in the early 80s and rickey was my favorite American league player. I went to a game at the big a in 1982 and got to see him steal a base. I was super stoked.
I love that Rickey played forever and that he played for Oakland four separate times.
Yet another reason why Rickey is the one ballplayer who nobody else will come close to being similar too because he is so.....Rickey.
I think Jimmy Key is in this club.
No real standout memory of Rickey. He was a Yankee during my first conscious baseball memories around 1987 or so, so I hold a fondness of him for that.
My oldest is a lefty and he hates that his coaches won't let him play third base. You're right; it is hard to be limited to so few positions in the field.
When he returned to the A's in 1989 and helped them win the World Series.
I really started watching the game in 93. Never was a Rickey fan. His personality was too big for me. I do remember yelling at the pitcher on the telly when Ricky would make it to first. He drove me nuts! i knew he was going to steal. Def a man with talent.
Fuji - I am with you on this. I was the only lefty in the neighborhood. A game normally had five-on-five so the rule was "right-field out" so that and older brothers who were righty probably got me batting right-handed.
I have seen that Dorktown video, because I binge-watched the hell out of SB Nation this month. Rickey really is amazing. My favorite memory was seeing him play a minor league game for Newark against the Bridgeport Bluefish. He was 45 or 46 years old, drew a walk, and stole second. My friend and I had seats along the first base side and watched him take off. It was awesome.
Also, I've got to get a copy of that Mother's Cookies Coliseum card for my Oakland All-Time Team.
That Rickey video clip is amazing. I've watched it like 5 times already. Also, that 2017 Definitive Collection is beautiful.
Another reason I'd love to see Lofton make it into the hall…
commishbob - those are both awesome pieces of trivia. i was totally stumped on the # of teams question. although i was able to list 8 of the 9 teams he'd played for. angels were the only one i forgot. and that's pretty cool that you played softball in four different decades.
nick vossbrink - i just looked up lofton. what i find interesting about him is that he played 10 seasons in cleveland... then ten seasons for ten different teams... each exactly one season each.
night owl - hmmm. maybe i'll create a 9 pocket page with one card from each team he played on. i few years ago, i started a similar project of trying to pick up a memorabilia card of rickey with each team. i'm stuck on four: a's, padres, red sox, and mariners.
jeremya1um - koufax was around before i was born, but i read that fact in an article. not sure how much gas he had left in the tank after playing an amazing 25 seasons at the mlb level
p-town tom - lol. i love the way he'd do that snap thing when he'd catch the fly ball too. i wonder if he ever dropped the ball doing that
gcrl - billy ball was my favorite era of baseball. had lots of fun rooting for rickey and going to games during that time
jeff b - as an a's fan, i was always stoked to see him return to oakland especially after his stint with the yankees
sean - and nobody loved rickey more than rickey ;D
the lost collector - you are correct sir. key is a part of this club. as for him being a yankee... it's one of the reasons i dislike them so much. it really did break my heart to see him go to new york
trevor p - yeah... i think coaches were more accommodating at the younger ages. but once you start approaching adolescence we're stuck to playing first base, the outfield, and pitcher. speaking of playing third. i was able to play one inning of the all-star game at third and i even recorded an out.
sg488 - that was definitely a great moment for him and a's fans
acrackedbat - lol. yeah. i probably would have hated him if it were for him being such a big part of me being a baseball fan. he's definitely not the most humble of gentlemen
runforekelloggs - oh... the whole "right field out" thing definitely would convert lefties into righties at the plate. thanks for pointing that out.
chris - wow. i didn't realize he continued to play at the minor league level. thanks for sharing that story. the 1985 mother's cookies team set also features an oakland coliseum card. i just ordered that one on sportlots yesterday along with mother's cookies cards of candlestick, jack murphy, and the kingdome
troublewiththecurve.net - yeah, i've watched it a couple of times and probably will watch it a few more times down the line. as for the definitive collection, they're very nice looking cards. it was also one of my rickey henderson bargains. i only paid $50 for that card.
I love that Dorktown video on Rickey Henderson. They make some great content. I don't know if I have a singular favorite Rickey Henderson moment, but I really enjoyed watching him during his second go around with the A's in the late 1980s and 1990s. Such a good player, fun to watch too. I believe Ryan Ludwick was another lefty thrower who batted right-handed.
the snorting bull - thanks for the lead on ludwick. might need to start a small pc of these guys.
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