By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The most successful base stealer in Major League Baseball history has died. Multiple outlets reported on Saturday that Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died Friday, Dec. 20 at the age of 65.
Henderson was a 10-time All-Star and the 1990 American League MVP. His 1,406 stolen bases remain a MLB record, as do his 2,295 career runs. Henderson spent 25 years in the Bigs, including 14 years with the Oakland Athletics, five with the New York Yankees, and two with the New York Mets. In all, the left fielder player for nine teams over the span of his career from 1979 to 2003.
Henderson was one of the the best lead-off hitters of all-time, compiling 3,055 hits and 297 home runs with a .279 career batting average. His success on the field earned him a spot in the MLB Hall of Fame in 2009.
After stealing just 33 bases in 89 games as a rookie in Oakland in 1979, Henderson ripped off 100 bags the following season in 158 games. He stole 130 and 108 bases in the 1982 and 1983 seasons, respectively. Henderson scored a career-high 146 runs for the Yankees in 1985, and hit a career-best 28 home runs as a Yankee the following season.