Rickey-isms

Rickey Henderson was a hell of a ballplayer, a once in a lifetime talent that demanded your undivided attention any time he was on the field.  Bill James was quoted as saying, "If you could split him [Henderson] in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers," and his career 114 WAR comes close to backing up that claim.  During his peak, he stole bases at a dizzying pace, three times notching triple digit steals in a single season.  The game today is certainly different than it was twenty years ago, but consider that this year's stolen base leader was Michael Bourn with 61 steals, Rickey bested that number ten times in his career (with one of those times occurring in his age 39 season!).  It is a pretty safe bet to consider Rickey's career stolen base total of 1,406 an unbreakable record, right up there with Cal's consecutive games, Cy's career wins and DiMaggio's streak.  Granted, the effectiveness of stolen bases as sound baseball strategy has been diminished a bit by the sabermetric movement, but Rickey was not a one-trick pony; he could hit for power (297 career home runs), get on base (.401 career OBP), and field his position as well. 

It wasn't just his on-field talents that made Rickey one of the most memorable players in baseball history, though.  Rickey knew that part of his job was to be an entertainer.  He would pimp home runs, snatch fly balls out of the air with a flick of his glove, and provide reporters and fans endless fodder with stories of Rickey being Rickey.  It was said that before every game he would stand naked in front of a full length mirror and say to himself "Rickey's the best," for several minutes, he would take a stretch limo to games where the ballpark was less than a mile away from the team hotel, he would check into hotels under assumed names to avoid the press, he frequently forgot the names of his coaches, managers, and GM's, he once had to miss three games in August due to frostbite after falling asleep on an ice pack, he played two seasons of Independent League ball after no major league teams would sign him, and the tales go on and on. 

Rickey was also one of baseball's greatest wordsmiths, on par with Casey Stengel and Yogi Berra.  So, follow me after the jump for some of Rickey's most quotable quotations. 

Rickey on his perceived cockiness: "I wanted to beat you in the worst way.  If that made me cocky, so be it."

On his frequent conversations with himself: "Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do.  You know, I never answer myself, so how can I be talking to myself?"

Rickey found himself without a job late in the off-season.  He called Padres GM Kevin Towers offering his services to the club: "Kevin, this is Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey.  Rickey wants to play baseball."

When asked by (then Yankees front office peon) Brian Cashman why he hadn't cashed his six-figure bonus check: "I'm just waiting for the money market rates to go up."

After Rickey missed significant time in 1987 due to an injury, he called Harold Reynolds, who led the league with 60 stolen bases. This was the extent of their conversation: "Henderson here... Sixty stolen bases? You ought to be ashamed.  Rickey would have sixty by the break. [hangs up phone]"

Rickey's take on PEDs: "They kept that shit a secret from me... I wish they had told me. My God, could you imagine Rickey on 'roids? Oh, baby, look out!"

Rickey talking to himself, overheard by a teammate after Rickey struck out: "Don't worry Rickey, you're still the best."

When Rickey was told that Tom Robson, Mets hitting coach, had been fired: "Who's he?"

Jayson Stark, in an interview with Rickey before the '93 World Series, asked Rickey how he compared to Phillies lead-off man Lenny Dykstra.  His response: "Man, why you trying to compare Rickey to some other guy?  There's only one Rickey."

After A's teammate Billy Beane had returned from a six-week stint in the minors: "Hey, man, where have you been? Haven't seen you in a while."

On his head-first slide: "The more closer to the ground you are, the less pounding you take."

Upon being traded to the Yankees, Rickey was asked what he thought about former Yankee greats Mantle and DiMaggio: "I don't care about them... It's Rickey time."

When asked if he owned the new Garth Brooks album: "Rickey doesn't have albums. Rickey has CDs."

Rickey's response to Ken Caminiti's assessment that 50% of MLB players were using steroids: "Well, Rickey's not one of them, so that's 49% there."

On his contract negotiations with the Oakland A's: "If they're going to pay me like [Mike] Gallego, I'm going to play like Gallego."  (Mike Gallego accumulated 16 WAR over 12 seasons.)


When told by teammate Steve Finley that he could sit wherever he wanted on the team bus because he had tenure, Rickey responded: "Ten years?  Rickey's been playing at least 16, 17 years."


And, of course, after breaking Lou Brock's career stolen base record: "Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all time.