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Quick Rickey story: Back when I worked at the Oakland Coliseum, Rickey was always there watching A’s/Raider games. On Christmas Eve in 2018, Rickey was at the Raider game. I asked him to sign a baseball for me to give to my dad the next day for Christmas, and he gladly did so. My dad passed away last month, and giving him that baseball was one of the best moments me and him had in these past few years. I still am extremely thankful for Rickey taking the time out of his day to sign a baseball for my father. The best part is that Rickey was celebrating his birthday, which was the next day on Christmas. A great baseball player and and even better person.
Rickey Henderson stories are my favorite. During his stint with the Mariners, he walked up to John Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm as a child and he wore the helmet for protection. Rickey goes, “Yeah, Rickey used to play with a guy that did the same thing!” To which Olerud responds with, “I know. That was me, Rickey.” Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.
@@Trillyana Yeah it’s 100% not true but that’s what makes it and so many of our favorite athletes so cool. Everyone knows Bo Jackson didn’t *actually* bench his former teammates Brett Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza five times (that’d be a casual 500 lb bench) but that’s what makes his appeal so much better. They’re outlandish enough to be hilarious and a great story to tell but not so crazy that they might not hold a smidge of truth because of how much larger than life they are when we see them.
Rickey was once quoted, “toughest pitch I’ve faced? A Dave Stieb slider. You knew he was going to throw it, he knew that you knew he was going to throw it and he would throw it anyway”. True story, I saw it.
Derek Jeter holds the Yankees team record for most steals. It took him about 18 years to take that record from Rickey Henderson. Henderson set the record in about 3 1/2 years.
Top ten stat of my life. Largely due to the fact that I think Arod is better at every single aspect of baseball than Derek..... hitting, throwing, running, power, smarts, .... Derek..... stat compiler on the greatest Yankee teams of all time for 20 straight years. GREAT player.... but not even in the conversation of the GREATEST..... Hank Rickey Ichiro Rod Carew Barry Jr. Roberto Rose (all star in every position) Tony Gwynn and more...
@@franram7426 The conversation for greatest of all time is shorter than that list. Babe Ruth was the only player with a rediculous hitting stat that outpaced other teams of his era who ALSO was a hall of fame caliber pitcher. Rickey has one of those rediculous stats, he stole more bases than other teams. And that is outstanding. But not even in the conversation with the Babe. Shohei Ohtani is the first one to ever make the conversation even interesting. Babe couldn't do both at once like Ohtani. But even while Ohtani is among the best pitchers and among the best hitters at the same time, he isn't running circles around other players in either category like Ruth did as a slugger, so Ruth still takes it in my book. Jeter was my favorite player. He isn't in the all time greatest conversation. Neither is A-Rod. Not even close. A-Rod had very few seasons where he hit in the clutch. That was where Jeter always outshined him.
A Rod alltime grad slams.... clutch? Or luck... 23 times. 2009 WS .... Alex carried them into and through the series. Clutch? Babe.... BEST lefthanded pitching numbers all time. You don't know he couldn't do both. They never let him try. Look at TWO stats and two ONLY. Touching home and driving them home over 162 ave.... Alex runs 118 rbi 121 Derek runs 113 rbi 77 Rickey run 121 rbi 59 Babe 141 rbi 143 Hank run 107 rbi 113 Alex is an ALL TIME GREAT 5 tool. When Hank retired he was #1on HR, #2 hits, #1 rbi..... Alex pace Hank for 20 years.
@@Sam_on_RUclips How can you have 3000 hits, 700 hr, 23 grand slams, 3 mvp and a batting title and not clutch? Did you watch their last World Series in 2009?
3:57 - 3:58 I've watched this on 1/4 speed over a dozen times and I still cannot figure out how he made that adjustment mid-throw, threw it half-ass-side-arm, and still hit the target at first. Astonishing play by the short stop; absolutely astonishing.
I keep a Rickey Henderson mini-card in my wallet, when things get stressful I look at it and think “what would Rickey do?” The registers at work have been coming up a little short, but it’s what he would have wanted
I watched a lot of Rickey games back in the day, and he absolutely changed the character of every game he was in. He was a threat in every aspect, including defense.
It's the stance plus fear of him getting on base and stealing as a lead off hitter that made pitching to him harder...that's the sign of a true legend...he was in the pitchers infield outfield and basemen heads while at home plate...
@@AJKPenguin He also did a great job in the Yankees even though it was among his worst seasons he helped the team a lot, similar to what Sojo and Charlie Hayes provided even though judging solely by stats it seems they were not good contributors the fact is players like them changed the game in ways not particularly clear by eye: multiple times Tony would go to the bat thinking on laying foul after foul until he got the pitch he wanted but also to tire the pitcher, after 8-10 fouls he would often get on base and score thanks to Boggs and Bernie: he got on base safely 89 times batting 8th and scored 33 times ---> 37% of the time, for comparison Rickey scored at a rate of about 42%.
@@zkiiffs9 yeah I think you're right. I recall low 90's, so 94 sounds possible. I like to watch some of the old Cubs games on YT and it's always a trip to see Greg Maddux before he was truly the Greg Maddux people remember. I mean, sure, he was already a very good pitcher when he first pitched for the Cubs, but it wasn't until he really perfected his control and the psychology of the game that he became one of the better pitchers of recent history.
A 90 mph fastball back in the 80s and 90s was ace of the staff type stuff. Mix that with a good split finger and you were a Cy Young candidate. (Dave Stewart) Now guys go low to mid 90s all the time. But these guys blow their arm out doing this. 90mph going 7+ innings every time was the norm back then.
i was born in 2005, so rickey didnt even play when i was alive but damn is his playstyle so awesome to me. i love people with annoying type games in all sports, like a defensive pest in basketball, and i can only imagine how annoying he was for pitchers, one walk leads to a runner on third, definitely deserving of a baseball bits
Rickey occasionally filled in as our first base coach from time to time in the late 2000s, early 2010s or so. The guy was still in better shape than any player on the field.
It took him 9 seasons what took Lou Brock an entire career….and Brock was a stud too. As cocky as Rickie was he knew his job of letting his teammates see as many pitches as possible. He so happened to be good enough to work a count to get on base any way he could. Oh, most all time HRs for a lead off man too so he got his when could
@@davidhooper259 yep. People look at me crazy when I say that he’s the first player I take if I can build a team from scratch. If he’s leading off, I know my team has a chance in any game against any pitcher.
I'll argue he was the goat. I love this video because it captures a lot of what a problem he was in little ways not tracked on a stat sheet. He had so many nasty battles at the plate and pick off attempts he'd be even more of a problem with pitch counts being what they are today.
I dunno. If you split him in two, wouldn't one of his halves be slower? Like the legs might make the Hall of Fame, but the torso and head would be in big trouble.
And that explains Rickey Henderson perfectly. He was a joy to watch play. Just like my favorite player that also wore that #, Griffey. When I played, I wore #8 or #24 for Cal Ripken Jr or Griffey. Pretty sure Joey Albert Belle and his twin brother, who are from here and whose Dad was the local high school baseball coach back in the day, wore #8 also.
You killed this one, and you make a great case for the so called “eye test”. Totally different kind of video from what you usually make but equally enjoyable!
Not true. I made an MLB 2006 player one time that was 6'10" with maxed out speed and it was basically impossible for him to get thrown out. I could a even steal home most of the time. If I played only half of the season I could easily steal 200+ bases. The AI didn't realize the powers he wielded and wasn't as aggressive on the basepaths during simulations, but a 500+ steal season could have been possible if I took the time to play every single game and had a decent enough contact rating to get on base about once a game.
Rickey Henderson is probably the most electric player in MLB history. Absolute legend. And my god his personality, too... there will never be another Rickey Henderson!
I've been blessed with chance meetings with several sports legends - Bobby Tomson, Montana, Mays, McCovey, to name a few. I met Rickey in 2001 in the Nordstrom's elevator in SF. One of only two times I've been awe struck meeting a sports legend. Rickey exuded "cool cat" and graciously shook my hand when I managed to stammer, "Rickey! It's a pleasure to meet you." That's one of my favorite stories to share, to this day. 🤩
Wow that's an impressive list! I worked at a fine dining restaurant right next to an NFL teams' training facility. I met lots of athletes @ work. I was most starstruck by Larry Fitz. It was a quiet afternoon & he was meeting friends. I just looked up & saw one of the goat WRs looking down at me I wanted to say "you're on my fantasy team!" but I held it in.
This was done incredibly well. I’d love to see a series of this, where we vote on which player we want or anyone that you have in mind! I’d love to see Bob Gibson or Hank Aaron.
@@Harakanrules the problem with that would be getting any footage of them, as he mentioned that channel only has *some* stuff from the 80s. so bob gibson or hank aaron wouldn't really be viable.
Wild, I just finished the Dorktown series on Dave Stieb where they take a break to talk about Ricky henderson, and to come to this video now and see the clips from the exact games they mentioned against the Bluejays
This would make a great series. Checking out Hall of Famers over a stretch of time to demonstrate how great they were. If only the MLB realized this...
Thanks for featuring my all time favorite player. This dude is a freak, so unique, and such an exciting player the likes of which the game could use more these days.
rickey was one of the most fun players of all time, totally unique in his play style and attitude. This A’s team with the bash bros, eckersley and Rickey must have had an insane clubhouse lol
I am old enough to remember Rickey and I love that Bailey is discovering a recent, generational talent, is being appreciated. To truly appreciate a sport, love those that started before you started following. Rickey was a menace, pure and simple
2:15 Kinda crazy to think there was another Billy Hamilton that was stealing alot of bases 100 years before the Billy Hamilton we know and love today was born
I think your ability to craft a compelling and engaging narrative is among the best, if not the best, in the baseball RUclips community. That style of seamlessly switching between a particular game or event and a more generalized overview has honestly been an icon that I associate with your channel.
"greatness has a rhythm" rings really true. i watched this series as a young ballplayer and had this dread (tiger fan) of rickey finding his way on base every at bat. he was an incredibly dynamic player to watch.
Ricky was amazing to watch back in the day. He was well known for his insane training regiment - doing the kind of workouts to handle the wear and tear of an NFL wide receiver. That's why he lasted so long. And he had a pretty good workout partner to make sure that off-season durability work was just as good as what actual NFL receivers did: Jerry Rice. I'm a Bay Area kid, and I pull for every team here - but Ricky broke my heart, because although I love the A's and have been to a number of their games, the Giants were the one team I liked more. The A's made it to three straight world series and the only one they won was that 89 series against the Giants. It would have been so much better if they'd won the one against the Dodgers instead.
For sure. I wish speed was a bigger part of the game for aesthetic purposes, although I will say that aggression on the basepaths (i.e. going 1st to 3rd on a single) has improved despite the lack of steals.
There are certain special players who break the game. Rickey is one. I’d say Ichiro also. They exploit a rule so much that it feels almost like cheating.
As an A's fan, these were the halcyon days...the Coliseum had the view of the Oakland hills, the Haas family spent money on the team, and the fans showed up at its highest rate ever in Oakland.
"Wow-wee! Rickey Henderson!!" ^ I seem to remember a kid exclaim that in a commercial from the late 80's/early 90's. Wow-wee, indeed, kid... Wow-wee, indeed. (4:55 - btw, yeah, that is what was called a good hard slide back in day when men were men and the A's were gods) ---- P.S. If you enjoy watching those old games, check out the NLCS from the same year. Not as competitive of a series at first glance, but some great games with stand out performances from Mark Grace and Will Clark (both carried their teams that year and were great in that series, but Will Clark had some truly monster games that series). Game 1 has one of my favorite examples of why I liked Mark Grace as a hitter. Bottom of the 1st, he worked an 0-2 count full, fouled off something like 5 or 6 pitches in a row, only to eventually homer to the opposite field after the pitcher had thrown like 12 pitches. I saw him work 0-2 counts full repeatedly. Very disciplined, patient hitter (career K% was 6.9%). He was known to be a very tough out. His power numbers would never work at 1B in today's game, but if I"m not mistaken, he lead the league in doubles and hits in the 90's. Very underrated bat. Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, the guys calling the game referred to then 23 year old Greg Maddux as a "power pitcher," which he was known as back in the day when throwing 90+ mph was considered throwing hard. Always makes me smile to think of Greg Maddux, one of the great masters of control, as a fireballer. P.P.S. Will "The Thrill" should be in the hall of fame.
@@FoolishBaseball hey, it might sound crude nowadays, but what you describe was a big improvement over the previous method for picking MVPs: burning some old chicken bones in a fire and looking in the ashes for messages from the baseball gods.
@@fuktrumpanzeeskum Yeah, I know what you mean and agree. I was simply referring to what a dominate team they were during this time period, particularly this 1989 team (who swept a very good Giants team in the WS). They were one of those teams in the late 80's/early 90's that were consistently one of the better teams in the league. I know they've had some decent success recently, but they certainly aren't contending for WS championships like they did back then. Growing up back then, the A's in the late 80's/early 90's stood out as a team to beat. Of course, none of us knew back then about the juicing, so the way they kept repeatedly winning the AL West and made it to the WS repeatedly seemed godlike.
I never thought I’d love a baseball content channel as much as Jomboy yet here we are. Great editing, great information, great voice, great choices. Please never stop.
One fellow on another video commented that the fans in left field razzed on Rickey a bit after that strikeout and as he was taking his position. He responded to one of the fans (paraphrase)- "Hey, I'll be in the Hall of Fame with that! That was such a funny like and he got some good laughs from the fans.
Hot dogging is when a baseball player does unusually big gestures, usually after performing well. It comes from big gestures fans would make to get the attention of the hot dog venders walking through the stands.
@@MacAndNoOne above is the origin of the word, but over the decades at this point it is another way to call someone a showoff. I was too lazy to type everything out so I just put out a definition that was probably too short haha 😄
rickey henderson was probably my favorite player growing up. i'm from northern california and the a's are my team. you just knew if rickey got on base he was trying to take a bag, maybe even 2. i don't think a lot of people who have never played ball or watched a lot of baseball realize how much impact he had on a game. if he could somehow find his way to first base all it took was a pitch to home plate and if he tried for 2nd base 80% of the time he was going to turn that into a player in scoring position. now a single gets you a run. not only that he puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher so he can't focus completely on the batter he has to watch rickey as well. he caused havoc for defenses. the guy is a legend and one of the most under appreciated players of all time imo. some of his crazy stats are as follows. he's 19th all time in career wins above replacement right next to players like ted williams, mickey mantle, and lou gehrig. 2nd in career walks behind only barry bonds. rickey is the all time leader in runs scored. lastly he's the all time leader in stolen bases and it's not even close w/ 1406 stolen bases. he ended his career with almost 500 more stolen bases than the next player lou brock who had 938 stolen bases. amazing player and was awesome to watch him play live.
Ok no joke the commercials were the best part. Coming from a lifelong A’s fan. Also as a snot nosed 7 year old watching him fly around the bases in 1990 was awesome. One of the best baseball memories I have.
it's funny looking back to this one episode cause of the moment he brought up Stieb's rWAR, feels like a nice little segway into the Dorktown special about him
I was a kid growing up in the Bay Area during that time. I was always a Giants fan but hearing names like Eckersly and Walt Weiss do bring back memories.
Ricky was a hotdog. We always used to laugh about how head wear his cap in the outfield so it would always fall off when he was running, which made him look even faster. Him, Ozzie Smith and Jim Anderson are my favorite players.
Growing up and watching Rickey Henderson play was a treat. It was insane what Rickey was doing back then and seeing how much the game has evolved over the decades. Great video encapsulating what made Rickey Henderson a nightmare. We hear on MLB the Show dialogue talking about walks being turned into doubles, Rickey was the personification of that line.
Thing i love about Rickey is he clearly loves to play the game. I'm in my 40's now and still try to run with the young ones in mens leagues. You never lose that joy for the game
Thanks for this video!! Rickey has always been one of my favorite players, just purely from a statistical standpoint (BB is my favorite stat). I was lucky enough to get to see him a lot during the 90s through retirement as a Mariners fan (including 1 partial season in Seattle where he had 31 SB and a 63:55 BB:SO ratio). However, I was just a bit too young to enjoy his peak 80s seasons. I always assumed that his ability to take a BB coupled with his SB ability is the reason that he is the all-time Rs leader (not to mention his decent glove and decent+ power), but it's cool to see it so overwhelmingly showcased as it was in this series..... Thanks!
You should use music from Neo TWEWY in a future video :) Either way, I became a Jays fan in 1992 (didn't even know that they were a contender because I was little and just getting into it), and Henderson was a joy to watch, both as a Jay and as an opponent.
Such a great video. I'm a Blue Jays fan, and hated Ricky back in the day for this exact reason....but then I loved him in 93 for this exact reason.. Ricky Henderson was absolute gem.
Oh man, this episode had me tickled. Im a kid of the late 80's and 90's. And a Mariners fan. And even though we got him at the end. He was one of my favorites. He was so fast for an older player. Just incredibly fun to watch.
im not a baseball fan , just a mere casual who was introduced by the home run wars between sosa mcgwire etc BUT this bio is what i signed up to youtube for ,,, SUPER ENTERTAINING .. i watch it every few months .. thanks foolish
great video! As an A's fan I especially enjoyed this video! Looking back on their world series run is a nice distraction from their current struggles to just make the modern expanded playoffs.
You do realize the Athletics have made the playoffs for 3 straight seasons (and 6 of the last 9) and still have a reasonable chance to make it 4 straight, don't you?
@@Compucles 3 straight seasons, 3 playoff wins. I wouldnt say reasonable chance, their fangraphs playoff odds are currently 5%. Some other fan bases definitely have it worse, but at least the ones that have longer playoff droughts spend money.
@@WaffleLover-my1hi Well it doesn't help that that the team is on the verge of moving because Oakland won't give them a stadium and the Giants squashed their chances of moving to San José by being petty.
Ricky was and is my favorite baseball player of all time. I was a little kid from Boston when the Oakland A’s were the best and I just loved Ricky. I still have a big stack of his baseball cards
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make me, coward
If I do it can I have your a bite of your Big Mac??
I would, but Rickey Henderson stole the link
Hello Foolish Baseball
I feel like we'll never see a player like rickey again
YES NEW BASEBALL BITS LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO
YES NEW FUMBLE DIMENSON LET'S GOOOOOOO
Secret Base x Foolish Baseball collab??
Two legendary channels.
@@jgziggy0720 The Foolish Dimension?
SECRET BASED
Quick Rickey story:
Back when I worked at the Oakland Coliseum, Rickey was always there watching A’s/Raider games. On Christmas Eve in 2018, Rickey was at the Raider game. I asked him to sign a baseball for me to give to my dad the next day for Christmas, and he gladly did so. My dad passed away last month, and giving him that baseball was one of the best moments me and him had in these past few years. I still am extremely thankful for Rickey taking the time out of his day to sign a baseball for my father. The best part is that Rickey was celebrating his birthday, which was the next day on Christmas. A great baseball player and and even better person.
Great story. Sorry for your loss.
W Rickey, W son, W father
Some might call him a hot dog.😂😂😂😂😂 Ijk. I love Rickey Henderson.
Rickey Henderson stories are my favorite.
During his stint with the Mariners, he walked up to John Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm as a child and he wore the helmet for protection. Rickey goes, “Yeah, Rickey used to play with a guy that did the same thing!” To which Olerud responds with, “I know. That was me, Rickey.” Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.
That's one of my favorites.
@@FoolishBaseball I believe they both claim it's not true
@@Trillyana
Yeah it’s 100% not true but that’s what makes it and so many of our favorite athletes so cool. Everyone knows Bo Jackson didn’t *actually* bench his former teammates Brett Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza five times (that’d be a casual 500 lb bench) but that’s what makes his appeal so much better. They’re outlandish enough to be hilarious and a great story to tell but not so crazy that they might not hold a smidge of truth because of how much larger than life they are when we see them.
Did rickey speak in third person normally
@@bigmike6979 Not *all* the time, but it wasn't uncommon either.
Ah yes, a Dave Stieb sighting. My new favorite baseball player!
highest pitching WAR man Steib was legit insane and got 0 recognition
jon bois fault, right?
Rickey was once quoted, “toughest pitch I’ve faced? A Dave Stieb slider. You knew he was going to throw it, he knew that you knew he was going to throw it and he would throw it anyway”. True story, I saw it.
@@edwardwood3622 kind of like how everyone knew that rickey was gonna try and steal, and probably succeed too
@@technoturnovers7072 yes I guess exactly like that!
you could make a 15 minute compilation of Pujols swiping just ONE base, tbf
Underrated comment
Yeah this is a phenomenal comment
Damn 😂😂😂😂😂😂
That explains the 20 minute runtime on this video, I guess...
Ricky actually spent less time stealing all his bases
This is the perfect companion piece to Part three of the Dave Stieb series on Dorktown
god mode indeed
Derek Jeter holds the Yankees team record for most steals. It took him about 18 years to take that record from Rickey Henderson. Henderson set the record in about 3 1/2 years.
Top ten stat of my life. Largely due to the fact that I think Arod is better at every single aspect of baseball than Derek..... hitting, throwing, running, power, smarts, ....
Derek..... stat compiler on the greatest Yankee teams of all time for 20 straight years. GREAT player.... but not even in the conversation of the GREATEST.....
Hank
Rickey
Ichiro
Rod Carew
Barry
Jr.
Roberto
Rose (all star in every position)
Tony Gwynn
and more...
@@franram7426 The conversation for greatest of all time is shorter than that list. Babe Ruth was the only player with a rediculous hitting stat that outpaced other teams of his era who ALSO was a hall of fame caliber pitcher. Rickey has one of those rediculous stats, he stole more bases than other teams. And that is outstanding. But not even in the conversation with the Babe.
Shohei Ohtani is the first one to ever make the conversation even interesting. Babe couldn't do both at once like Ohtani. But even while Ohtani is among the best pitchers and among the best hitters at the same time, he isn't running circles around other players in either category like Ruth did as a slugger, so Ruth still takes it in my book.
Jeter was my favorite player. He isn't in the all time greatest conversation. Neither is A-Rod. Not even close. A-Rod had very few seasons where he hit in the clutch. That was where Jeter always outshined him.
A Rod alltime grad slams.... clutch? Or luck... 23 times.
2009 WS .... Alex carried them into and through the series. Clutch?
Babe....
BEST lefthanded pitching numbers all time. You don't know he couldn't do both. They never let him try.
Look at TWO stats and two ONLY.
Touching home and driving them home over 162 ave....
Alex runs 118 rbi 121
Derek runs 113 rbi 77
Rickey run 121 rbi 59
Babe 141 rbi 143
Hank run 107 rbi 113
Alex is an ALL TIME GREAT
5 tool.
When Hank retired he was #1on HR, #2 hits, #1 rbi..... Alex pace Hank for 20 years.
@@Sam_on_RUclips
Also.....
Greatest since I've been watching.... 1967.
I didn't clarify that originally.
@@Sam_on_RUclips
How can you have 3000 hits, 700 hr, 23 grand slams, 3 mvp and a batting title and not clutch?
Did you watch their last World Series in 2009?
3:57 - 3:58 I've watched this on 1/4 speed over a dozen times and I still cannot figure out how he made that adjustment mid-throw, threw it half-ass-side-arm, and still hit the target at first. Astonishing play by the short stop; absolutely astonishing.
it is as though his top half and bottom half are controlled by different people. incredible footwork and coordination to make a throw like that.
Brother, have you ever seen the Wizard play? That's routine for Ozzie.
I keep a Rickey Henderson mini-card in my wallet, when things get stressful I look at it and think “what would Rickey do?” The registers at work have been coming up a little short, but it’s what he would have wanted
It's free real estate.
Oop 🤣
This is high comedy.
Thank you! That was solid gold!!!
Well played sir...
I watched a lot of Rickey games back in the day, and he absolutely changed the character of every game he was in. He was a threat in every aspect, including defense.
Rickey still living rent free in so many pitchers' heads. He was a blast to watch.
Not just pitchers. Infield outfield and catchers too
His ability to draw walks was an underrated but hugely vital element to his game. All those walks were just huge...
It's the stance plus fear of him getting on base and stealing as a lead off hitter that made pitching to him harder...that's the sign of a true legend...he was in the pitchers infield outfield and basemen heads while at home plate...
He would turn those walks into triples before the next at bat was finished.
A real hot dog move to draw walks instead of swinging on a full count.
If a team gave him a chance I’m sure Rickey would still be playing today
@Dutch Van Der Linde he'd fucking try lol
pretty sure he's still playing indy ball somewhere
you gotta love that the guy never knew when to quit
Absolutely. He went and dominated good Indy Ball leagues like it was nothing.
@Dutch Van Der Linde you of all people should have faith
"Late, great Tony Fernandez" hit me right in the feels. One of the best Blue Jays ever.
He was great in Toronto and in Cleveland.
@@AJKPenguin He also did a great job in the Yankees even though it was among his worst seasons he helped the team a lot, similar to what Sojo and Charlie Hayes provided even though judging solely by stats it seems they were not good contributors the fact is players like them changed the game in ways not particularly clear by eye: multiple times Tony would go to the bat thinking on laying foul after foul until he got the pitch he wanted but also to tire the pitcher, after 8-10 fouls he would often get on base and score thanks to Boggs and Bernie: he got on base safely 89 times batting 8th and scored 33 times ---> 37% of the time, for comparison Rickey scored at a rate of about 42%.
And the Blue Jays were wise to trade him for Roberto Alomar.
Finished the day 0-2 with 3R scored. Yeah, that's Rickey Henderson.
It's not often that I'm happy to be so old, but the fact that I got to watch Rickey Henderson play live does bring a smile to my face.
"Todd, a power pitcher, 90 miles an hour"
Me: oh okay....wait....*starts laughing*
A young Greg Maddux was considered a power pitcher back in this time period too, believe it or not.
@@whimsofmim Young Maddux could touch 94, IIRC.
@@zkiiffs9 yeah I think you're right. I recall low 90's, so 94 sounds possible. I like to watch some of the old Cubs games on YT and it's always a trip to see Greg Maddux before he was truly the Greg Maddux people remember. I mean, sure, he was already a very good pitcher when he first pitched for the Cubs, but it wasn't until he really perfected his control and the psychology of the game that he became one of the better pitchers of recent history.
Well I can’t hit 60 so who am I to judge?
A 90 mph fastball back in the 80s and 90s was ace of the staff type stuff. Mix that with a good split finger and you were a Cy Young candidate. (Dave Stewart)
Now guys go low to mid 90s all the time. But these guys blow their arm out doing this. 90mph going 7+ innings every time was the norm back then.
i was born in 2005, so rickey didnt even play when i was alive but damn is his playstyle so awesome to me. i love people with annoying type games in all sports, like a defensive pest in basketball, and i can only imagine how annoying he was for pitchers, one walk leads to a runner on third, definitely deserving of a baseball bits
He was amazing.
That Tony LaRussa joke was gold lmao
and the scouting report one was literally right after it 💀
foolish keeps the hits coming at a pace joe dimaggio could only dream of
Rickey occasionally filled in as our first base coach from time to time in the late 2000s, early 2010s or so. The guy was still in better shape than any player on the field.
This has been a rough week for me, it's silly but a new baseball bits brings me a little more happiness, thank you for your work:)
Glad to be of service
Chin up my dude, you got this!
I feel like Rickey Henderson is a top 5 All Time baseball player that we took for granted.
Easily. He’s in the goat conversation.
It took him 9 seasons what took Lou Brock an entire career….and Brock was a stud too. As cocky as Rickie was he knew his job of letting his teammates see as many pitches as possible. He so happened to be good enough to work a count to get on base any way he could. Oh, most all time HRs for a lead off man too so he got his when could
@@davidhooper259 yep. People look at me crazy when I say that he’s the first player I take if I can build a team from scratch. If he’s leading off, I know my team has a chance in any game against any pitcher.
best i ever saw
I'll argue he was the goat. I love this video because it captures a lot of what a problem he was in little ways not tracked on a stat sheet.
He had so many nasty battles at the plate and pick off attempts he'd be even more of a problem with pitch counts being what they are today.
Bill James on if Rickey Henderson: “If you could split him in two, you’d have two hall of famers”
I dunno. If you split him in two, wouldn't one of his halves be slower? Like the legs might make the Hall of Fame, but the torso and head would be in big trouble.
@@FoolishBaseball but what if you cut him down the middle so he has one leg for each player
@@YouGotDoinked who’s winning in a race Albert Pujols or Rickey Henderson’s left leg❓
The same can be said about Barry Bonds.. minus the steroids lol
And that explains Rickey Henderson perfectly. He was a joy to watch play. Just like my favorite player that also wore that #, Griffey.
When I played, I wore #8 or #24 for Cal Ripken Jr or Griffey. Pretty sure Joey Albert Belle and his twin brother, who are from here and whose Dad was the local high school baseball coach back in the day, wore #8 also.
You killed this one, and you make a great case for the so called “eye test”. Totally different kind of video from what you usually make but equally enjoyable!
Rickey was a legend..anyone that watched him play knows that...he was just different...
Rickey's stolen base record is beyond even "video game numbers." You can't even replicate what he did in video games.
Most video game characters are too busy hitting 2,000 homers to steal 1,400 bases.
@@FoolishBaseball fact
In the last MLB The Show game I bought (08) the single-season record would always get broken by a computer-controlled player somehow
Not true. I made an MLB 2006 player one time that was 6'10" with maxed out speed and it was basically impossible for him to get thrown out. I could a even steal home most of the time. If I played only half of the season I could easily steal 200+ bases. The AI didn't realize the powers he wielded and wasn't as aggressive on the basepaths during simulations, but a 500+ steal season could have been possible if I took the time to play every single game and had a decent enough contact rating to get on base about once a game.
Bobby Crosby probably still trying to this day
First game I ever went to, Rickey Henderson hit a leadoff homer for the A's and I was immediately hooked
Always a great day when this man uploads
Sir Bailey*
@@MacDaddyMace Daddy bailey
@@jacobcarter6764 yes
Thanks!
@@FoolishBaseball no... thank you
Rickey Henderson is probably the most electric player in MLB history. Absolute legend. And my god his personality, too... there will never be another Rickey Henderson!
Rickey Henderson is one of my favourite players to watch, glad you made a video on him
Glad I did too. Now this channel finally has Oakland A's representation.
Butcha cant watch him
@@FoolishBaseball are there any other teams you havent talked about yet
I've been blessed with chance meetings with several sports legends - Bobby Tomson, Montana, Mays, McCovey, to name a few.
I met Rickey in 2001 in the Nordstrom's elevator in SF. One of only two times I've been awe struck meeting a sports legend. Rickey exuded "cool cat" and graciously shook my hand when I managed to stammer, "Rickey! It's a pleasure to meet you." That's one of my favorite stories to share, to this day. 🤩
...in the Nordstrom elevator. No S required.
Wow that's an impressive list!
I worked at a fine dining restaurant right next to an NFL teams' training facility. I met lots of athletes @ work. I was most starstruck by Larry Fitz. It was a quiet afternoon & he was meeting friends.
I just looked up & saw one of the goat WRs looking down at me I wanted to say "you're on my fantasy team!" but I held it in.
This was done incredibly well. I’d love to see a series of this, where we vote on which player we want or anyone that you have in mind! I’d love to see Bob Gibson or Hank Aaron.
I second this!
@@Harakanrules the problem with that would be getting any footage of them, as he mentioned that channel only has *some* stuff from the 80s. so bob gibson or hank aaron wouldn't really be viable.
Wild, I just finished the Dorktown series on Dave Stieb where they take a break to talk about Ricky henderson, and to come to this video now and see the clips from the exact games they mentioned against the Bluejays
Let's all give this man a round of applause for these baseball bits. Fantastic.
thanks!
This would make a great series. Checking out Hall of Famers over a stretch of time to demonstrate how great they were.
If only the MLB realized this...
Great video foolish, I watched the whole thing at 100x speed and really enjoyed it
Just as Rickey would've wanted.
Thanks for featuring my all time favorite player. This dude is a freak, so unique, and such an exciting player the likes of which the game could use more these days.
Speaking as a Jays fan who watched these games live...it was special to see. I miss those games. Thanks for the memories⚾
Favorite Rickey Henderson quotes. I'll start.
"Even the slowest guy can go from first to third and help win a ballgame." - Rickey Henderson
rickey was one of the most fun players of all time, totally unique in his play style and attitude. This A’s team with the bash bros, eckersley and Rickey must have had an insane clubhouse lol
I am old enough to remember Rickey and I love that Bailey is discovering a recent, generational talent, is being appreciated. To truly appreciate a sport, love those that started before you started following. Rickey was a menace, pure and simple
2:15 Kinda crazy to think there was another Billy Hamilton that was stealing alot of bases 100 years before the Billy Hamilton we know and love today was born
I think your ability to craft a compelling and engaging narrative is among the best, if not the best, in the baseball RUclips community. That style of seamlessly switching between a particular game or event and a more generalized overview has honestly been an icon that I associate with your channel.
"greatness has a rhythm" rings really true. i watched this series as a young ballplayer and had this dread (tiger fan) of rickey finding his way on base every at bat. he was an incredibly dynamic player to watch.
Ricky was amazing to watch back in the day. He was well known for his insane training regiment - doing the kind of workouts to handle the wear and tear of an NFL wide receiver. That's why he lasted so long.
And he had a pretty good workout partner to make sure that off-season durability work was just as good as what actual NFL receivers did: Jerry Rice.
I'm a Bay Area kid, and I pull for every team here - but Ricky broke my heart, because although I love the A's and have been to a number of their games, the Giants were the one team I liked more.
The A's made it to three straight world series and the only one they won was that 89 series against the Giants. It would have been so much better if they'd won the one against the Dodgers instead.
What a legend! It’s interesting that as the speed of the game progresses in this era, guys like Rickey is somehow more rare by the day.
For sure. I wish speed was a bigger part of the game for aesthetic purposes, although I will say that aggression on the basepaths (i.e. going 1st to 3rd on a single) has improved despite the lack of steals.
@@FoolishBaseball Double plays are getting harder to pull off because of speed from the batter's box to first.
He’s so cool I wAs yelling RICKY from the stands when he played for the Mariners and he turned and waved!
Hot take: Rickey Henderson is a good baseball player
No need to be political here
Freddie Freeman>
He understood the assignment
An even hotter take: Rickey Henderson is a good base stealer
Wrong.
Rickey Was A Great Baseball Player
Rickey Henderson was amazing! I doubt we'll ever see a player like this again.
given that he wouldn't be allowed to play this way now, i'd say that's pretty much guranteed.
We could have, but Kyler Murray decided to play football.
And this after the As offered him 9 million dollars.
@@DarthtanosRickey on a great team would have even more stolen bases
Thank you for posting, Rickey is a GOAT-type player and is rarely mentioned in this day and age.
There are certain special players who break the game. Rickey is one. I’d say Ichiro also. They exploit a rule so much that it feels almost like cheating.
As an A's fan, these were the halcyon days...the Coliseum had the view of the Oakland hills, the Haas family spent money on the team, and the fans showed up at its highest rate ever in Oakland.
"Wow-wee! Rickey Henderson!!"
^ I seem to remember a kid exclaim that in a commercial from the late 80's/early 90's.
Wow-wee, indeed, kid... Wow-wee, indeed.
(4:55 - btw, yeah, that is what was called a good hard slide back in day when men were men and the A's were gods)
----
P.S. If you enjoy watching those old games, check out the NLCS from the same year. Not as competitive of a series at first glance, but some great games with stand out performances from Mark Grace and Will Clark (both carried their teams that year and were great in that series, but Will Clark had some truly monster games that series).
Game 1 has one of my favorite examples of why I liked Mark Grace as a hitter. Bottom of the 1st, he worked an 0-2 count full, fouled off something like 5 or 6 pitches in a row, only to eventually homer to the opposite field after the pitcher had thrown like 12 pitches. I saw him work 0-2 counts full repeatedly. Very disciplined, patient hitter (career K% was 6.9%). He was known to be a very tough out. His power numbers would never work at 1B in today's game, but if I"m not mistaken, he lead the league in doubles and hits in the 90's. Very underrated bat.
Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, the guys calling the game referred to then 23 year old Greg Maddux as a "power pitcher," which he was known as back in the day when throwing 90+ mph was considered throwing hard. Always makes me smile to think of Greg Maddux, one of the great masters of control, as a fireballer.
P.P.S. Will "The Thrill" should be in the hall of fame.
They didn't have much in terms of analytics in 1989, so they really just kept a tally of hard slides to decide who wins MVP.
@@FoolishBaseball hey, it might sound crude nowadays, but what you describe was a big improvement over the previous method for picking MVPs: burning some old chicken bones in a fire and looking in the ashes for messages from the baseball gods.
"when the A's were gods"? Don't you mean when half their player's bloodstreams consisted of more steroids than blood cells?
@@fuktrumpanzeeskum Yeah, I know what you mean and agree. I was simply referring to what a dominate team they were during this time period, particularly this 1989 team (who swept a very good Giants team in the WS). They were one of those teams in the late 80's/early 90's that were consistently one of the better teams in the league. I know they've had some decent success recently, but they certainly aren't contending for WS championships like they did back then. Growing up back then, the A's in the late 80's/early 90's stood out as a team to beat. Of course, none of us knew back then about the juicing, so the way they kept repeatedly winning the AL West and made it to the WS repeatedly seemed godlike.
@@whimsofmim its amazing they (the A’s) only won one
I never thought I’d love a baseball content channel as much as Jomboy yet here we are. Great editing, great information, great voice, great choices. Please never stop.
thank you!
Watching a new Foolish vid is like when my mom makes spaghetti. It’s just delish 👌🏼
mom's spaghetti
@@FoolishBaseball he's got vomit on his sweater already
He's so legendary, even in his bad moments. Case in point: guess who was Nolan Ryan's 5000th K?
Rickey Henderson, born December 25, 1957.
Rickey even said he was honored to be striked out from Ryan.
One fellow on another video commented that the fans in left field razzed on Rickey a bit after that strikeout and as he was taking his position.
He responded to one of the fans (paraphrase)- "Hey, I'll be in the Hall of Fame with that!
That was such a funny like and he got some good laughs from the fans.
The best part of Rickey is Rickey talks about Rickey in the third person😂
Rickey, is that you?
And has very little concept of some parts of grammar, like plurals...
"...and 33 steal." -Rickey Henderson in his baseball HOF speech
Rickey can say whatever he wants. He certainly is on the top 10 greatest ball players in history.
Man, Ricky's play style would be exhausting game after game, 182 times. And I had no clue he played for 24 seasons lol.. What a stud.
Hot dogging is when a baseball player does unusually big gestures, usually after performing well. It comes from big gestures fans would make to get the attention of the hot dog venders walking through the stands.
I'm glad I saw this... it an old baseball term but I thought I was taking crazy pills when a baseball guy didn't know hotdog
I thought you said someone was being a hot dog if they were showing boating/taunting
@@MacAndNoOne above is the origin of the word, but over the decades at this point it is another way to call someone a showoff. I was too lazy to type everything out so I just put out a definition that was probably too short haha 😄
Beautiful etymology, thank you. : )
Add the brown mustard and sauerkraut please, onto this perfectly grilled mett.
I haven't followed pro baseball much since the 90's, but this channel is just quality, entertaining content period. Bonus points for early FF music.
As a person who'll occasionally use the term "hotdog" or "hotdogging" to refer to a show off or the act of showing off I feel attacked in this video 🤣
Me too. I thought it was common parlance, but I believe this creator of this video is pretty young.
That Fernandez play to throw Rickey out was like….insanely good
This is going to be an amazing work of art!
Or maybe it'll be mediocre and middling. You never know.
@@FoolishBaseball you truly never know
As a kid, I grew up going to A's games and watching Rickey. Thank you for bringing back some amazing memories
"hotdogs are good! And part of baseball" made me laugh too hard
rickey henderson was probably my favorite player growing up. i'm from northern california and the a's are my team. you just knew if rickey got on base he was trying to take a bag, maybe even 2. i don't think a lot of people who have never played ball or watched a lot of baseball realize how much impact he had on a game. if he could somehow find his way to first base all it took was a pitch to home plate and if he tried for 2nd base 80% of the time he was going to turn that into a player in scoring position. now a single gets you a run. not only that he puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher so he can't focus completely on the batter he has to watch rickey as well. he caused havoc for defenses. the guy is a legend and one of the most under appreciated players of all time imo.
some of his crazy stats are as follows. he's 19th all time in career wins above replacement right next to players like ted williams, mickey mantle, and lou gehrig. 2nd in career walks behind only barry bonds. rickey is the all time leader in runs scored. lastly he's the all time leader in stolen bases and it's not even close w/ 1406 stolen bases. he ended his career with almost 500 more stolen bases than the next player lou brock who had 938 stolen bases. amazing player and was awesome to watch him play live.
Great to see legendary Dbacks GM Dave Stewart on the mound
Absolute genius at GM
Ok no joke the commercials were the best part. Coming from a lifelong A’s fan. Also as a snot nosed 7 year old watching him fly around the bases in 1990 was awesome. One of the best baseball memories I have.
it's funny looking back to this one episode cause of the moment he brought up Stieb's rWAR, feels like a nice little segway into the Dorktown special about him
I was a kid growing up in the Bay Area during that time. I was always a Giants fan but hearing names like Eckersly and Walt Weiss do bring back memories.
Ricky was a hotdog. We always used to laugh about how head wear his cap in the outfield so it would always fall off when he was running, which made him look even faster. Him, Ozzie Smith and Jim Anderson are my favorite players.
Willie Mays used to do the same thing.
Growing up and watching Rickey Henderson play was a treat. It was insane what Rickey was doing back then and seeing how much the game has evolved over the decades. Great video encapsulating what made Rickey Henderson a nightmare. We hear on MLB the Show dialogue talking about walks being turned into doubles, Rickey was the personification of that line.
Yes!!! The legend has uploaded once again.
yes indeed
I loved me some Rickey Henderson. ♥
The 1983 Topps baseball sticker album had an awesome 6 panel section celebrating his 130 stolen bases.
Thing i love about Rickey is he clearly loves to play the game. I'm in my 40's now and still try to run with the young ones in mens leagues. You never lose that joy for the game
I just laugh like a maniac the whole time I watch him play.
rewatching this after the beginning of the dave steib series on sb nation makes the steib shout-out more fun
You must be elated.
Thanks for this video!! Rickey has always been one of my favorite players, just purely from a statistical standpoint (BB is my favorite stat). I was lucky enough to get to see him a lot during the 90s through retirement as a Mariners fan (including 1 partial season in Seattle where he had 31 SB and a 63:55 BB:SO ratio). However, I was just a bit too young to enjoy his peak 80s seasons. I always assumed that his ability to take a BB coupled with his SB ability is the reason that he is the all-time Rs leader (not to mention his decent glove and decent+ power), but it's cool to see it so overwhelmingly showcased as it was in this series..... Thanks!
You should use music from Neo TWEWY in a future video :)
Either way, I became a Jays fan in 1992 (didn't even know that they were a contender because I was little and just getting into it), and Henderson was a joy to watch, both as a Jay and as an opponent.
i think foolish said somewhere that he doesn’t use copyrighted music
Had to shoutout the fact that Rickey joined the Jays just a few years later.
Such a great video. I'm a Blue Jays fan, and hated Ricky back in the day for this exact reason....but then I loved him in 93 for this exact reason.. Ricky Henderson was absolute gem.
He basically called Rickey a show-off, the term is “hotdogging”
correct of course. its constantly shocking the terms younger fans havent heard before.
(i know, but it's entertaining to make fun of outdated language)
@@FoolishBaseball well I guess now I’m foolish
@@FoolishBaseball I honestly didn't know it was out of date cause it's the term my mom always uses....which adds up I suppose. She is 63 after all.
Exactly. Hot dogging means the same as showboating today... I'm sure the latter will sound dated in the future also.
Oh man, this episode had me tickled. Im a kid of the late 80's and 90's. And a Mariners fan. And even though we got him at the end. He was one of my favorites. He was so fast for an older player. Just incredibly fun to watch.
When a guy can steal a base when getting picked off, you know he's something special. I love my Ricky Henderson bobble legs.
Actually, that happens more often than you might think, and it's not always because of sloppy defense.
@@Compucles Not in the modern era, especially now that there is a limit on throwovers.
im not a baseball fan , just a mere casual who was introduced by the home run wars between sosa mcgwire etc BUT this bio is what i signed up to youtube for ,,, SUPER ENTERTAINING .. i watch it every few months .. thanks foolish
Fun fact: Rickey WILL BE stealing second today
But will he also steal 3rd?
@@FoolishBaseball we won’t know, the VHS cut out before we saw. Probably due to a misread TV guide
After having just finished Secret Base's captain Ahab series, love the quick shout out to Dave Stieb here. Get him in the hall!
great video! As an A's fan I especially enjoyed this video! Looking back on their world series run is a nice distraction from their current struggles to just make the modern expanded playoffs.
thanks!
You do realize the Athletics have made the playoffs for 3 straight seasons (and 6 of the last 9) and still have a reasonable chance to make it 4 straight, don't you?
@@Compucles they've ween struggling recently and have an under 10% of making it into the playoffs per all major statistical websites
@@Compucles 3 straight seasons, 3 playoff wins. I wouldnt say reasonable chance, their fangraphs playoff odds are currently 5%.
Some other fan bases definitely have it worse, but at least the ones that have longer playoff droughts spend money.
@@WaffleLover-my1hi Well it doesn't help that that the team is on the verge of moving because Oakland won't give them a stadium and the Giants squashed their chances of moving to San José by being petty.
Ricky was and is my favorite baseball player of all time. I was a little kid from Boston when the Oakland A’s were the best and I just loved Ricky. I still have a big stack of his baseball cards
i’m gonna say it, this is the funniest baseball bits. got me laughing twice
“Is that Bryan Cranston?“
I didn’t know Heisenberg did commercials
3:52 what a throw. He just flicks it with his arm so casually.
I did know that Dave Stieb had the most pitching WAR in the '80s! Funny you should ask!
What's funny is that the self-proclaimed (and now Hall-of-Fame) Pitcher of the '80s Jack Morris is nowhere to be found on the graphic at 2:55
Your Damn good kid, and funny. The Mercedes rip was my personal favorite this time.
"Did you remember Tony LaRussa managed this A's team?"
Yes, I'm 41, that's how I remember Tony LaRussa.
At least you lived during the grunge era
He was pretty solid with the Cardinals too.
So good, love your commercial appreciation too.
my god, if MLB released full game footage of more of its archive (which they absolutely must do), I might never leave the house again
This is my favorite birthday gift so far today. Thanks Bailey
I love how the thumbnail is implying that Rickey had explosive farts when stealing bases, which made him the greatest of all time!
I think it's a blessing that there's not more video footage of the '80s and '90s, to be honest. Great video as always, Bailey!
As a blue jays fan hearing someone talk good about Dave stein makes my day
hello, it's jon bois
This is fantastic. Rickey being Rickey is poetry in motion.
Hey look it's Dave Stieb, a guy I have heard of before!