Athletics Nation: Rickey

67MARQUEZ’s massivo article on Rickey Henderson. (everything is in here but fun loving condo-stiffing!)

There was concern that Rickey’s need for speed had an adverse effect on other aspects of his game.  But the game’s greatest leadoff hitter shrugged off the criticism the following season- which for the first time since 1979 did not include Billy Martin as A’s manager- as he hiked his average up from .267 to .292 and his on-base percentage from .398 to .414.  And while he still found time to become the first major-leaguer to reach 100 stolen bases in three different seasons (with 108 in ’83), he was only caught stealing nineteen times; a far cry from forty-two the year before.

After leading the league in walks in back-to-back seasons, Rickey reluctantly introduced new elements to his game. A’s manager Steve Boros, who called for Rickey to utilize all his talents:

“Perhaps he shouldn’t think as much about walks. I believe Rickey has the ability to hit 20 homers and drive in 70 runs and steal 100 bases.”

Oh, he still did the usual Rickey things (.293/.399, 113 runs scored) but he walked a un-Rickey like 86 times, and stole “only” 66 bases (still good enough to pace the American League).  While those numbers went down, Rickey reached career highs in homeruns (16), RBI’s (58), and slugging percentage (.458).