Rickey Henderson: Bird of a different feather
January 12, 2009
by Jeremy Visser…
Long before Manny was busy being Manny, Rickey Henderson was doing his thing. One of baseball’s previous kings of aloofness earned the game’s highest honour today, being named to the Hall of Fame after receiving 511 of a possible 539 votes in his first year of eligibility. Like Ramirez, Henderson backed up his famously strange behavior with Hall-caliber numbers, most notably his major league record 1,406 career stolen bases and 2,295 career runs. The self-proclaimed “Greatest of All-Time” also smacked 3,055 hits and 297 home runs in his 25-year career.
To me, Henderson will always stand out as one of the biggest nut jobs in baseball history, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way (Ramirez also happens to be one of my favourite players). My favourite Henderson story has a Toronto connection: Upon joining the Mets in 2000, Henderson noticed teammate John Olerud wore a helmet while playing first base and asked why. When Olerud explained it was because of a brain aneurysm he’d suffered in college, Henderson said, “Oh yeah? I played with a guy in Toronto who had the same thing.” “That,” Olerud replied, “Was me.” Now, this story started merely as a rumor and both Henderson and Olerud denied it actually happened, but I’m just going to believe it’s true, because, quite frankly, the world would be a much better place if it were.
Henderson becomes the fourth former Blue Jay to enter the Hall, joining Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor. Joining him on the list of 2009 inductees is former Boston right fielder Jim Rice, who received 76.4% of the vote in his 15th and final year on the ballot.
If They Weren’t Jocks: Mats Sundin, Traffic Cop
January 12, 2009
by Pete Toth…
After 15 years of working as a traffic cop in Los Angeles, Mats Sundin spends another 15 years deciding whether to write up Posh Spice for a moving violation, ask for hubby David’s autograph, or just “bend her like Beckham” over the backseat of his motorcycle.
His agent J. P. Barry states that “Mats has earned the right to take his time to make up his mind, especially regarding important life-changing decisions. He firmly believes that January 1st, 2024 is a firm deadline that Mats is sure to uphold.
