Rickey Henderson, the Hall of Fame left fielder and beloved baseball icon, passed away Saturday after a long battle with pneumonia. He was 65 years old.
MLB's all-time stolen base leader played most of his career with the Athletics, but spent nearly seven seasons in New York with the Yankees and Mets.
Henderson's Big Apple story began in December 1984, when the Athletics traded him and pitcher Bert Bradley to the Yankees in exchange for five players.
In his first season in pinstripes, Henderson changed to his now-famous number 24, and went on to lead the league in stolen bases (80) and runs scored (146), the first game played since 1939. He became the first player to score more points than played).
During the 1985 season, his .314 batting average was fourth in the majors and he won the American League Silver Slugger Award.
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neil miller
Over the next three and a half years with the Yankees, Henderson would set a franchise record with 326 stolen bases.
Derek Jeter eventually broke that record, but the shortstop had already played 1,700 more games than Henderson played in pinstripes.
The right-handed speedster was traded back to Oakland in June 1989 and bounced around between the Blue Jays, Padres, and Angels before landing in New York again in 1999, this time joining the Mets.
Henderson made a comeback of sorts, batting .315 with 37 stolen bases, the seventh-highest on-base percentage in the National League, and earning Comeback Player of the Year award honors.
His talent at the leadoff spot helped the Mets reach the postseason for the first time since 1988.
In 2000, just 31 games into his 41-year-old season, the Mets placed him on waivers and granted him release after a lackluster performance and a controversial card game in the 1999 NLCS finals.
Henderson briefly served on the Mets' coaching staff in 2006 and 2007, first as a special instructor for hitters and base stealers, and then as first base coach.
