BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Athletics Nation: Rickey

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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).

Repoz Posted: November 25, 2008 at 06:12 PM | 23 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
Related News: General, History, Hall of Fame, NY Yankees, Oakland

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 1 pages

1. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 06:31 PM (#3015617)

This is a fun blog post. Rickey was in one of her first games as an A when I went to my first MLB game in 1979. Luis Tiant threw a one-hitter at the A's--Rickey with only hit and a stolen base--and Reggie Jackson with a HR. Dwayne Murphy will always be my favorite Athletic, but Rickey was the most fun.

2. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: November 25, 2008 at 06:58 PM (#3015641)

Is Rickey a her?

3. WholeCamels Posted: November 25, 2008 at 07:24 PM (#3015685)

Is Rickey a her?

Pay Rikki!

4. Zach Posted: November 25, 2008 at 07:41 PM (#3015706)

Great article. Well written, great pictures, just a great job all around.

5. PreservedFish Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:04 PM (#3015736)

If BTF had a favorite player of all time poll, would Rickey win?

6. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:07 PM (#3015740)

If BTF had a favorite player of all time poll, would Rickey win?

Naw. Chris Truby.

7. OCF Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:16 PM (#3015756)

It's Rickey's year at the Hall of Merit. Balloting has begun, and it would seem that Rickey has a good chance of getting all of our first place votes.

Of course, it's his year at the Hall of Fame, too. Those electors couldn't possibly screw this one up, could they?

8. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:26 PM (#3015773)

This article is AWESOME.

Yes, I think Rickey would win the BTF favorite player of all time poll.

9. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:36 PM (#3015790)

Really? I mean, that makes sense, but... really?

These were Billy Martin's A's. Those pitchers were ALWAYS exhausted. Dwayne Murphy, especially, was an obsessive re-positioner. I wish there was readily available footage of the way he played centerfield. There hasn't been anything like it since.

10. RJ in TO Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:46 PM (#3015806)

These were Billy Martin's A's. Those pitchers were ALWAYS exhausted.

For reference, and support of Shooty:

Oakland, 1980 - 94 CG
Oakland, 1981 - 60 CG (in 109 games)
Oakland, 1982 - 42 CG (because all the pitchers were undergoing total implosion)

AL totals:
1980 - 549 CG
1981 - 334 CG
1982 - 445 CG

Those were some damn tired Oakland pitchers.

11. AROM Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:48 PM (#3015807)

Really? I mean, that makes sense, but... really?

Rick Langford had 28 complete games. The team had 94. The tops 3 starters had at least 20 CG, and #4-5 had at least 10. Only one bullpen guy pitched more than 50 innings, and only one other threw more than 30.

Damn how the game has changed, and I have no doubt the pitchers were indeed throwing slower as the 9th inning came around.

Rickey rulz.

12. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:58 PM (#3015822)

The OF defense on that A's team was amazing. Murphy was great and both Armas and Henderson could have played center except for Murphy. Billy Martin, being the genius he was, used some pitch to contact, flyball guys to take advantage of the stadium and the gloves out there. McCatty, Langford and so on, those guys weren't all that good, but the A's outfield made them, briefly, semi-stars until Billy pitched their arms off. McCatty should have won the 1981 Cy Young, but really, that award should have been split 3-ways between the outfielders. Hell, all the 1980 and 1981 A's teams were was a really freakin good outfield.

13. Charlie O Posted: November 25, 2008 at 08:58 PM (#3015823)

When the A's shared the Coliseum with the pre-LA Raiders and then the Invaders (USFL), the football field was set up in a home-to-centerfield configuration until baseball season ended. With the yard marker stripes in the outfield, it made it easy to tell how deep the different A.L. centerfielders played. Fred Lynn had a reputation as a great centerfielder yet he played the A's light-hitting infielder, Mario Guerrero, at the same depth Dwayne Murphy played Jim Rice.

14. A triple short of the cycle

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 09:01 PM (#3015828)

Great column.

I saw Rickey once at the Honolulu airport, around 1996... must have been off-season. He was casually sitting by himself, at an uncrowded gate of the terminal. I remember he looked very nonchalant, wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a Hawaiian shirt. He looked like such a regular guy - no entourage, no fancy clothes - I wasn't sure it was him at first. I remember thinking, hey that dude over there looks like Rickey Henderson. Then, some kid walked up to him and asked him for an autograph, and that's when I knew it was definitely him. I was impressed at how down to earth he seemed.

15. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: November 25, 2008 at 09:10 PM (#3015838)

Great column.

Athletics Nation is getting good stuff from posters lately.

16. Lujack Posted: November 25, 2008 at 09:35 PM (#3015865)

Repoz, you missed an opportunity to use:

The Story of Ricky

17. Jose Canusee Posted: November 26, 2008 at 12:26 AM (#3015972)

We often talked about the "3 CF" Oakland outfield, but they immediately were placed where they fit best (unlike Damon in LF and T.Long in CF), with Murphy the best at going back on the ball and Armas having the best arm. Murphy had a good rep as a thrower but I usually saw a lot of loft on his, but he had more distance than Rickey. Martin might have thought that Murphy got a better read or had a better arm than Rickey but I think he explained it that he put the one lefthanded thrower (Rickey) in left so he could run to the line and into foul territory better. Might have been true, might have also been diplomatic (ever seen that in a description of Billy?).
There were a few years where Armas and Rickey played CF for the Sawx (hi Shooty) and the Yanx. Murph played a few more years but not long enough for Rickey II.

18. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: November 26, 2008 at 01:51 PM (#3016185)

Rickey looks like freakin' Satchel Paige in that Dawgs uniform.

19. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: November 26, 2008 at 02:16 PM (#3016203)

That 1980-81 A's outfield was f*ck*ing amazing indeed, but in the pre-cable days we in the East only got to see them a few times a year. What opened my eyes was the way this game ended. With Baltimore trailing by 3 to 1 and two outs in the last of the ninth, Benny Ayala hit a line drive deep into the LF corner, scoring a run. Everyone in Memorial Stadium assumed that it was an easy double, but Henderson chased it down, caught up to it right at the base of the wall by the foul line, did a 180 clockwise spin, and threw a bullet to second base to get Ayala and end the game. That throw was so perfect that the second baseman could have caught it blindfolded.

BTW that four game series helped kill the Orioles that year. The A's got three complete game wins from Keough, Langford and McCatty, and those three games were the difference between the O's and the Yankees. That may have been Baltimore's best team of the Weaver era---they went 80 and 38 after Memorial Day and beat up on the Yankees in their head-to-head matchups---but even though they won 100 games they still wound up short.

20. AROM Posted: November 26, 2008 at 02:28 PM (#3016210)

That may have been Baltimore's best team of the Weaver era

A great team, but not even close. Weaver's best were the 69-71 teams. If I had to pick one, I'd go with the 1970 team that won the series, but it's pretty much the same team for those 3 years, with a total of 318 regular season wins.

21. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: November 26, 2008 at 02:46 PM (#3016223)

Brain fart, AROM. Of course I meant to say the late Weaver era.

Page 1 of 1 pages

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Athletics Nation: Rickey

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

Bookmarks

Hot Topics