Hall of Fame Left Fielder Rickey Henderson recently passed away at the age of 65, according to a statement from the Oakland A's made on behalf of Henderson's family, who are asking for privacy at this time.
"A legend on and off the field, Rickey was a devoted son, dad, friend, grandfather, brother, uncle, and a truly humble soul," wrote Henderson's wife and daughters. "Rickey lived his life with integrity, and his love for baseball was paramount."
Henderson's nine-team MLB career spanned over two decades, a tenure that included three separate stints totaling 14 years spent playing for the A's. Henderson retired in 2003 and was elected near-unanimously to the Hall of Fame in 2009.
A two-time World Series Champion, 10-time All-Star, and 1990 American League MVP, Henderson is the all-time leader in career runs scored, leadoff home runs, stolen bases, and unintentional walks. Henderson is also the only player with at least 5,000 plate appearances to bat right-handed but throw left-handed.
"If you could split [Henderson] in two, you’d have two Hall of Famers," wrote Bill James, the sportswriter and statistician whose ideas served as the foundation for modern baseball's seismic shift towards the use of advanced analytics.
Nicknamed the "Man of Steal," Henderson is widely considered both the greatest base stealer and leadoff hitter of all time. In 1982, he set the single-season steals record of 130, which was just one out of three seasons in which Henderson eclipsed 100 steals, a feat no other American League player has achieved even once.
Over the course of his stellar career, Henderson managed to steal an astronomical 1,406 bases, greatly eclipsing the next closest player's total of 938.
“Rickey was a teammate, a competitor, and someone I was lucky enough to work alongside and ultimately call a friend," said longtime A’s executive and former teammate Billy Beane in a statement. "He was the greatest Oakland A of all time and will deservedly be remembered that way by fans of baseball across the world."
Outside of the field, Henderson was also known for having several eccentric quirks, such as how he almost exclusively referred to himself in the third person.
Henderson once infamously received a million-dollar bonus check but did not cash it, opting instead to keep it framed and on the wall, which would eventually cause a minor panic for A's accountants during routine audits performed later that year.
"I took the million-dollar check and put it on the wall. So each and every day, I passed by that wall and it reminded myself, ‘I am a millionaire," said Henderson in 2009.
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