Comments on: Appreciation of Rickey Henderson – Stories, Thoughts, and Links

By: David Speed

David Speed — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:10:21 +0000

Sorry to address this 2 ½ years after the fact. Just thought I’d point out that not only did Mattingly like Henderson, Rickey LOVED DM. As is hinted at in the 3/26/02 article reproduced above (Rickey sharing the DM-modeled relaxation technique) and spelled out by the link below (a 1974 Baseball Digest article, the monthly ‘Baseball Profile’), Rickey always makes a point of acknowledging the enormous influence Maddingly’s had on his career (scroll down to ‘Player I have learned the most from’).

http://books.google.com/books?id=misDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&dq=Rickey+Henderson+%22Baseball+Profile%22+intitle:Baseball+intitle:Digest&hl=en&ei=7-XWTZfeEufL0QG71_T5Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=true

BTW, if anyone has a copy of Henderson’s autobiography, ‘Off Base: Confessions of a Thief, they’ll find Ricky even more definitive, leaving no doubt as to how much he looks up to – and defers to – Don.

By: Dominic

Dominic — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:51:26 +0000

This is one of my favorite articles, I love Rickey. Does anyone know where I can find that picture from Si with Rickey hugging that crying nine year old girl?

By: ac

ac — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:31:21 +0000

Awesome find! Thanks for posting it. This is a great read, also.

By: fergs

fergs — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:49:27 +0000

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138369/index.htm

By: Youth Baseball Parks Blog » Blog Archive » Rickey Stories

Youth Baseball Parks Blog » Blog Archive » Rickey Stories — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:37:39 +0000

[...] Words rounds up some great stories about Rickey Henderson. Bill James’ response to Rickey setting the single season stolen base record in 1982 was [...]

By: Martin Hajovsky

Martin Hajovsky — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:13:54 +0000

The reason why the Time article didn’t mention the speech is because he did not utter it after that record. He uttered that speech after getting the all-time record, not the single season one.

But your point is well-taken. I always thought Rickey got a raw deal on that because it really wasn’t as arrogant as all that, especially not in context of other things Rickey said during his career. It was just unfortunate for him that Nolan Ryan got his sixth no-hitter that same day.

By: jay rock

jay rock — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:18:34 +0000

HELP!!!

Does anybody remember an article from SI Year ago about Ricky’s relationship with a little Girl on the leftfield stand in Oakland and what happened after Ricky was traded? I have been looking this stories for years.

By: JLD

JLD — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:58:50 +0000

Great roundup. Just AC being AC, posting great compendiums.

My favorite late Rickey stories include the “Rickey can’t score from first” tale (related in that New Yorker profile) and this one:

“The Padres held a 14-7 lead in a meaningless game against the Mets, and Rickey was sent up to pinch hit in the eighth inning. Henderson came to the plate, hit a two run home run, immediately disappeared into the clubhouse, changed, and left the stadium. The reason for his departure? “I had to get to this Chinese restaurant,” he said. “They closed at midnight. Best Chinese food I’ve ever had.” Rickey went to praise the fine sushi the restaurant served. It was a Japanese restaurant.”