Baseball just lost one of it’s all-time greats. That’s a standard saying which bubbles up at times like this. But in the case of Rickey Henderson, not only is it inappropriately bland…it’s a massive understatement. He was one of the games great personalities…nobody could talk about Rickey Henderson in the 3^rd-person quite like Rickey Henderson. More importantly, I believe he was the greatest offensive player in the history of the game.

The minute such a discussion is even suggested, the thoughts of most do straight to the big-name sluggers; the Ruths, Aarons, and “Teddy Ballgames” of the world. The only problem with that is is supposes baseball teams win games by hitting the ball harder and/or more often than the other guys. Those things certainly help, but from the dawn of time, winning on the diamond was reserved for the team who touched home plate the most.

Nobody did that more than Rickey Henderson.

What happens in the batter’s box is only part of that journey around the sacks. There’s that old commercial about “chicks dig the long ball,” but the fate of the New York Yankees in this most recent World Series shows what happens to a slugger-dependent team when the bats go silent.

That’s what really set Henderson apart. As the greatest “make something happen” guy in the history of baseball, Henderson served as a one-man cure for a hibernating bat rack. By the numbers, here’s the story of Rickey Henderson on the basepaths.

• Career Runs Scored: 2,295 (1^st all-time)
• Career Stolen Bases: 1,406 (1^st all-time)
• Career Walks: 2,190 (2^nd all time, 1^st when he retired)
• Career Times On-Base: 5,343 (4^th all-time)

As mentioned, those aren’t the numbers that leap to the forefront when discussing baseball’s all-time greats, but that doesn’t diminish the fact they are as surely an indicator of a Hall-of-Famer. And speaking of Cooperstown, don’t forget those stats exclude what Henderson did in the batter’s box. Let’s take a peek at some of the notable names he stacks up with in the “big” categories…

• Career Batting Average: .279 (the same as Andre Dawson¹ and Rusty Staub² )
• Career Hits: 3055 (only 34 behind Ichiro Suzuki³ and more than Rod Carew^{1 4}, Lou Brock¹, and Wade Boggs^{1 4} )
• Career Home Runs: 297 (only 20 less than George Brett¹ and more than Frank Thomas^{1 5})
• Career Runs Batted In: (only 23 less than Tony Gwynn^{1 4}, 4 less than Dick Allen¹, and more than Kirby Puckett^{1 6})

¹ –Hall-of-Famer ² –The only man with 500 hits for 4 different teams ³ –Had 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons ⁴ –Had at least 5 batting titles ⁵ –1 of 2 players to have 7 season with .300 batting average, 30 home runs, 30 doubles, 100 RBIs, 100 Runs Scored, and 100 walks ⁶ –Fastest player in baseball history to reach 2,500 career hits

Hall of Famers tend to be tied to what got them inducted; they get an immortal tag line like “500 home run guy” or “3,000 hits guy.” Rickey Henderson will be remembered mostly as the biggest threat on the basepaths the game has ever seen, but he’s a legitimate Hall-of-Famer based on either of those sets of numbers.\

Besides, if the offensive goal of the game is to safely reach home plate, how can the guy who did that more than anybody not be the greatest offensive player?

RIP, Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson.  Not only will there never be another like you, I’ll be surprised if I see somebody even worthy of the comparison.

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