Rickey Henderson was -- now and forever -- the greatest leadoff hitter ever

If you could sanction 1 subordinate successful the history of shot who was the Platonic perfect of a leadoff hitter, who would you name?

Rickey.

Even today, 21 years aft Rickey Henderson's past large convention quality and arsenic the news of his decease conscionable 4 days earlier his 66th day reached us, that first sanction is apt the contiguous consequence to the question. That's your reply whether you're a Gen Xer who was a kid erstwhile Henderson collapsed successful pinch the Oakland Athletics, aliases a Gen Zer who was a kid erstwhile he played his past crippled for the Los Angeles Dodgers 25 years later.

Rickey. If you person moreover a passing knowledge of shot history, that sanction is each you request to reply the question. The sanction encapsulates truthful much.

Set speech for a 2nd everything you cognize (or deliberation you know) astir Henderson arsenic a one-of-a-kind characteristic and conscionable see what he was connected the field. There, too, he was singular, and not conscionable because he threw left-handed and batted righty.

For each team, the leadoff hitter is 1 of the astir important roles connected the roster -- and it was a domiciled Henderson played amended than anyone earlier aliases since.

What Rickey did

Think of the important traits you want successful a leadoff hitter: getting connected base, stealing bases and scoring runs. Let's return them successful order.

1. Getting connected base.

Henderson is 1 of conscionable 63 players to discontinue pinch a profession on-base percent complete .400. Only 3 players reached guidelines much times than his profession full of 5,343: Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Ty Cobb.

Henderson started 2,890 games during his 4th period successful the majors. He batted leadoff successful 2,875 of those games. Rose was a leadoff hitter for the mostly of his career, but he besides started much than 1,100 games successful different spots. Bonds started disconnected arsenic a leadoff hitter but is overmuch amended known for what he did further down successful the lineup. Cobb started conscionable 29 games successful the leadoff slot.

In different words, nary leadoff hitter has ever gotten connected guidelines much often than Henderson.

And of course, location was nary subordinate who you wanted to support disconnected the bases more, because he did truthful overmuch harm erstwhile he was there.

2. Stealing bases.

Steals is the class that will apt ever beryllium astir associated pinch Henderson. He's the all-time leader successful single-season steals (130 successful 1982) and the profession leader (1,406). That profession full is almost correct astatine 50% supra the second-highest mark, Lou Brock's 938.

It's difficult to picture really we looked astatine Henderson during his apex successful the 1980s, a decade during which he swiped 838 bags. It almost felt for illustration he had surgery baseball. Perhaps the cleanable illustration of this: July 29, 1989, erstwhile Henderson was playing for Oakland and facing Seattle, pinch early Hall of Fame lefty Randy Johnson starting for the Mariners. Henderson played the afloat crippled and did not grounds an charismatic at-bat. Instead, he walked 4 times, stole 5 bases and scored 4 runs.

Every locomotion felt for illustration astatine slightest a double but possibly a triple; truthful did each single. The geometry of the athletics felt inadequate to accommodate his ability. You can't thief but wonderment really galore bases Henderson mightiness bargain now, pinch the caller group of steal-friendly rules successful place.

Let's opportunity a long-ball hitter dominated the location tally class complete his peers successful the measurement Henderson did the stolen guidelines column. That slugger would person vanished pinch astir 1,143 homers -- aliases 1.5 times the last tally for Bonds.

When Henderson collapsed Brock's all-time people successful 1991, he still had much than a decade near successful his career. He vanished that season, his age-32 campaign, pinch 994 steals. From property 33 on, he tacked connected different 412, a full which by itself would rank 68th connected the profession list.

With truthful galore things Henderson did, the scope of it each now takes connected an aerial of mythology, because he did it truthful good for truthful long. Henderson first led the American League successful steals pinch 100 swipes successful 1980; he was 21. He past led the AL successful steals successful 1998 pinch 66 -- erstwhile he was 39.

3. Scoring runs.

Despite each those stolen bases, and each those times connected base, Henderson apt still saw those things arsenic a intends to his eventual extremity for immoderate travel to the plate: scoring.

In 2009, astir the clip of his induction to the Hall of Fame, Henderson told reporters, "To maine the astir important point was stirring things up and scoring immoderate runs truthful we could triumph a ballgame."

No 1 scored much runs. His 2,295 times crossing the sheet is the record, 50 much than Cobb and 68 much than Bonds. Only 8 players person ever cracked the 2,000-run barrier. The progressive leader -- the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, who has played 15 years successful the fields -- is astatine 1,298, astir 1,000 awkward of the mark. It's a staggering figure.

What Rickey meant

For overmuch of his career, a batch of what Henderson did beyond stealing bases was under-appreciated. He played truthful agelong that he was astir to spot perceptions of shot worth displacement much than successful immoderate clip successful the history of the sport, but during astir of his years, batting mean earned much attraction than on-base percentage, and RBIs held sway complete runs.

The illustration of this came successful 1985, erstwhile Henderson batted leadoff for a Yankees squad that featured that year's MVP, Don Mattingly. It mightiness person been Henderson's champion wide season: He deed .314 while drafting 99 walks, stealing 80 bases, clubbing 24 homers and scoring 146 runs -- his profession high, a fig tied for the fourth-highest full of the integration era.

If existent analytical practices were successful spot then, Henderson would person been the apt AL MVP, arsenic his 9.9 bWAR full led the AL (and dwarfed that of Mattingly, who won the grant pinch 6.5). Henderson vanished 3rd successful a hotly contested title among himself, Mattingly and George Brett.

Mattingly's 145 RBIs apt won the votes he needed for that award, but he wouldn't person reached that full without Henderson successful beforehand of him: Donnie Baseball drove successful Rickey 56 times that season. Henderson did triumph an MVP grant successful 1990 -- but he astir apt should person had 1 aliases 2 more.

Eventually, the analytics caught up pinch Henderson's greatness, and location are fewer who would conflict his stature astatine this point. We person WAR astatine our disposal now and Henderson's full of 111.1 is the 19th highest successful the history of a athletics that dates backmost to 1871 -- without a doubt, among the very champion who ever put connected a uniform.

Still, he was much than his numbers. For legions of Gen X shot fans, particularly those connected the West Coast, he represents childhood. Whether it was the specified enactment of stealing a guidelines aliases imitating his sleek, low-slung, head-first descent into the bag, he was 1 of those players you'd dress to beryllium connected the sandlot. He was 1 of those players you wished you could be.

If you were of that generation, you were astir 10 years aged erstwhile he arrived successful Oakland successful 1979. By the clip he yet near the fields -- not of his ain volition, arsenic Henderson would person played connected and connected if it were up to him -- you were successful your mid-30s, pinch big responsibilities and virtually nary representation of a awesome convention shot without Rickey.

Henderson was almost without antecedent, the only existent humanities comparison being the legendary Cool Papa Bell of the Negro Leagues. Whatever you mightiness deliberation of Henderson fixed his quirky and often misinterpreted nationalist persona, the man knew his history. He would sometimes usage "Cool Papa Bell" arsenic an othername erstwhile checking into a hotel.

My favourite anecdote astir Henderson mightiness beryllium apocryphal, astatine slightest successful that I person nary measurement to verify it. But it's harmless, truthful I'll walk it along. There's thing beautiful successful imagining it to beryllium true.

A fewer years agone erstwhile I was successful Cooperstown, I was chatting pinch a man who kept a vessel connected 1 of the docks of Otsego Lake, which spreads distant from the bottommost of the elevation connected which Cooperstown resides.

The man told maine that during the play connected which Henderson was inducted, Rickey approached him and asked really overmuch it would costs to beryllium taken retired successful the man's boat. They agreed to a value and headed out. Henderson was "dressed to the nines" and wearing wraparound sunglasses.

The improbable brace went retired into the h2o a ways, past stopped. Henderson sat location looking backmost astatine the village, location to baseball's immortals, arrayed on the hillside. He didn't speak. Just looked, swaying pinch the water. After a fewer minutes, Henderson asked to beryllium taken backmost to shore. That was it. The man had nary thought what Henderson was reasoning astir during those minutes.

That was successful 2009, 4 years aft Henderson played his past play successful independent shot successful 2005. For the 39 years earlier that, since his pro profession began successful the minors successful 1976 erstwhile he was 17, he did it his way, which was the cleanable way.

In doing so, he became much than a player, but an archetype. Rickey, the leadoff man. No 1 will ever beryllium much suited for a domiciled connected the shot section than he was for that job. And nary 1 is apt to ever do it better.