The World, and Baseball, Was Better with Rickey Henderson in It.

Welcome back everyone. I decided to take a week off for the holidays, but I'm back and ready to write. Unfortunately, I'm starting the week off on a sad note. The family and I were hanging out when I got a notification on my phone that Rickey Henderson had passed away.

I couldn't believe it. I had no idea he was sick or anywhere close to passing. He seemed like he was okay. I saw him catch the opening pitch from his daughter at The Coliseum earlier this season. But, now he is gone.

This one has hit me pretty rough. I know I dog on baseball on this site a lot now, but when I was a kid I loved baseball. I also loved Rickey Henderson. He was so fast. I had never seen anyone move on the base path like him. I am too young for Lou Brock, and I was only coming into my own during Whitey Ball, with guys like Vince Coleman and Willie McGee stealing bases left and right. Henderson was my first experience with a baseball player that, if you let him on base, he was going to swipe a bag or two. I instantly fell in love with his base stealing ability. But then I started to really watch him, and the A's, and I loved his game even more. Henderson was the type of player that could lead the game off with a homer. Or, he would slap a sharp line drive to the outfield for a single, then turn that into a triple or a double. He was also boisterous and talkative, which I had zero issues with as a kid. I liked it. I liked how sure of himself he was when he was on a ball field. There's many famous quotes from Henderson, but the one I go back to all the time is, "I don't care that John hit .316, Rickey hits .330". He didn't know the whole verse or anything that the fan was trying to say, all Henderson knew, which was so rad, was he was a better hitter than John. That was one of the best things I will ever remember about him. He was also a great outfielder to go along with his hitting. He could track a flyball with the best of them. He had a pretty good arm. He was smart and knew how to get to the baseball if he needed to catch it. He ended his career with a .279 career batting average, had over 3,000 hits, had over 1,100 RBI's and stole over 1,400 bases. He was the best base stealer to ever do it in the pros. He was a ten time all star, won two World Series titles. won an MVP and is, of course, enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame. His number 24 is also retired by the Oakland Athletics. Henderson did all that anyone could ever want from a pro ball player, and he did it his way with his style. Some may say that they were "rubbed the wrong way" by him, but I don't buy it. You either bought in or you were left out. I would have loved to play the game of baseball with someone like Henderson. He loved it so much and he brought out the best in his teammates. He wouldn't let you slack either. You had better be all in if you were his teammate. I love that.

This one is tough. Henderson was young, 64 years old. He was about to celebrate his 65th birthday before he passed. I guess he had pneumonia, and it got the best of him unfortunately. Henderson is going to be missed by many, many people, myself included. Rest in Peace Rickey Henderson. I hope you're stealing bases wherever you may be right now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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