We were quite saddened to learn MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died over the weekend at age 65. Growing up in the Easy Bay Area in the 1970s and 1980s, we got to enjoy Henderson’s stardom with the Oakland Athletics in person: we were at the game on May 1, 1991, when he set the all-time stolen base record, for example. That was just one of many personal memories we have about Rickey and his prowess.

The sabermetrics don’t do him justice, either, despite being ranked as the No. 3 all-time left fielder in the sport—behind only Barry Bonds and Ted Williams … and we all know Bonds cheated tremendously. How he was not a unanimous first ballot HoF player—while someone like Mariano Rivera was—still defies all logic. Anyone who didn’t vote for this guy on the first ballot should have lost their voting privileges.

In total, 5.2 percent of voters didn’t put him on their ballot: unreal. He retired as the all-time MLB leader in walks, runs, and stolen bases—and still would be the all-time lead in all three categories if not for the Steroid King. One more incredulous tidbit? He led the AL in SBs with 66 when he was 39 years old in 1998. Rickey also topped the AL in walks that year, even though he couldn’t hit very well any more at that point.

Here are some more superlatives:

  • Topped his league 12 times in stolen bases
  • Leads the all-time MLB SB list by 468 steals
    • Only 46 players in MLB history have even 468 steals in their total careers
  • Good enough to win six Gold Gloves, but somehow won the vote there just once (1981)
  • Twice posted 9.9 WAR in a single season (1985, 1990), leading MLB both times
  • Played for 9 MLB teams in 25 seasons, spending a single season or less with 5 teams
  • Played parts of 14 different seasons with Oakland after graduating from Oakland Tech High School
  • Holds the record still with 81 times leading off a game with a home run
    • Next-best player is George Springer (60), a mark tainted by 7 seasons with Houston
  • Stole 33 bases in 80 playoff games, getting caught just 5 times in the postseason

We could go on, but we don’t need to do so. Everyone knows how great Henderson was: we’re still not sure why he didn’t win the 1989 World Series MVP, in truth, to go along with his ALCS MVP nod that October. Rickey may have been known for his unique persona, too, but that should not overshadow everything he accomplished on the field of play. Not a bad career for a fourth-round draft pick, either. How did they miss?

And we’re also talking to those 5.2 percent of Cooperstown voters who left him off the ballot first time out.

Editor’s Note: This photo was taken in August 2009 when the Oakland organization celebrated Henderson’s Cooperstown inauguration, and something about his body language here says it all, doesn’t it?