Rickey Henderson & His Kind Of Sloppy, Kind Of Rushed Looking Signature…

Rickey Henderson & His Kind Of Sloppy, Kind Of Rushed Looking Signature…

Let me first say that I have a signed Rickey Henderson baseball in my collection.  It is one of my treasures, and would rank in the ‘Top Ten’ of my collection of more than 90 signed baseballs.

I guess that I just expected a little more flash from one of the most charismatic and exciting baseball players of all-time.  It’s just that simple…

But, Rickey’s signature is far from flashy.  As a matter of fact, it is a bit dull for a player with such personality.  There are no wild loops.  There are no oversized characters.  It is just a plain, straight-forward, clean signature.

Here is an example:

Like I said, far from flashy and far from horrible.

Baseball Card Companies Love Rickey Henderson!!!

Baseball Card Companies Love Rickey Henderson!!!

Rickey Henderson offered the baseball card companies something different.  They didn’t have to rely solely on posed photography or shots of Rickey in his batting stance at the plate.

Instead he gave the card companies beauties like these:

The anticipation of the next pitch…

Head-first slides…

Base stealing dominance….

Pictures where you can almost see the gears in his head spinning…

Rickey gave all of us handfuls of unique collectibles!!!  Thanks Rickey!!

Rickey Henderson And ‘The 3,000 Hits Club’

Rickey Henderson And ‘The 3,000 Hits Club’

On the final day of the 2001 baseball season, Rickey Henderson entered the game with 2,999 career hits.

He and his Padres teammates were at home and hosting the Colorado Rockies in a battle of two teams with losing records.

There was more than 60,000 fans in attendance at the game, and they did not have to wait a long time to witness major league history.

Leading off the game and facing Rockies’ hurler John Thompson, Henderson doubled in is first at-bat and secured the 3,000th hit of his big league career.  He left the game after the hit to a standing ovation from the crowd.

 

Rickey Henderson, The King Of All Base Stealers!!!

Rickey Henderson, The King Of All Base Stealers!!!

Nobody compares to Rickey Henderson when it comes to what he was able to do when he got on base.

Simply stated, Rickey was the best at changing the while not having a bat in his hands or a glove on his hand.  He used his explosive speed to cause havoc on the base paths while driving the opposition crazy.

Rickey was extremely confident in his abilities and had the coveted ‘Green Light’ for most of his career.  He knew how to change the game, disrupt the work that the opposing pitcher and catcher were trying to accomplish, and make managers change their philosophies.

In 25 seasons, Rickey swiped 1,406 bases.  He is at the top of the leaderboard for this baseball statistic, and he will likely remain in that top-spot for many decades to come.

Rickey Henderson, The 1990 American League Most Valuable Player

Rickey Henderson, The 1990 American League Most Valuable Player

Rickey Henderson is the kind of player that can challenge for the MVP crown during each season that he plays.  His ability to separate himself from the rest of the league gave him constant respect from the voters.

It was no surprise that Rickey won the American League MVP award in 1990 – it’s just kind of surprising that it was his only one!!

In 1990, Henderson was the key that ignited the mighty Oakland A’s offense.  During that year, Rickey batted .325 and had an on-base percentage of .439.  He collected 159 hits, scored 119 runs, stole 65 bases ans smacked 28 home runs.  And in 594 plate appearances, Rickey struck out just 60 times.

Henderson’s 1990 campaign also included an All-star selection, a Silver Slugger award, and a trip to the World Series!!

Congratulations Rickey!!!

Rickey Henderson Scored Like Noone Else…

Rickey Henderson Scored Like Noone Else…

Scoring runs is what you want your lead-off hitter to do.  So why not do it better than anyone ever has before you?

For 25 major league seasons, Rickey Henderson batted lead-off.  He got on base in record numbers, which led to scoring a ton of runs.

While leading the league in runs scored just 5 times, it was Rickey’s consistency that landed him as the game’s all-time leader for runs scored.  Henderson accumulated 13 seasons in which he scored 100 or more runs.  And in total, he scored 2,295 times which is slightly above Ty Cobb who sits in second place.

Bottom Line – When Rickey got on base he was a threat to score each and every time!!

Rickey Henderson Is A 10-time All-Star

Rickey Henderson Is A 10-time All-Star

Henderson tallied 10 All-Star team selections during his 25-year career.

All of his appearances on the All-star team came during his first 13 years in the league.  6 of his selections came from his playing days in Oakland while the other 4 were from his seasons with the Yankees.

All-star nominations and selections for Henderson were natural.  He was a dominant player that had the rare ability to change the game in many ways.  Whether it was with his bat, or his feet, or his glove, Rickey Henderson was one of the greatest players during the 1980’s and his appearance on 8 of the 10 All-star teams in that decade confirms his status as an elite player!

Happy Birthday Rickey Henderson!!!

A majority of the world is celebrating a special holiday today.  And in the ’30-YOC’ household we join in that celebration too!!

But I also save a few minutes of every Christmas to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite baseball players from my youth – Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

And following suit, I will dedicate a day’s worth of posts to the newest player to be enshrined at Cooperstown!

Happy Birthday Rickey!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I just wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!!

Whatever you decide to do today, enjoy it to the fullest.  On this special holiday, spend it with people you love, eat great food, and if you can sneak away for two hours, watch one of the greatest movies of all-time!!!

Those are my plans…

Million Dollar Question – What Is Your Favorite Baseball Card Of 2013??

Million Dollar Question – What Is Your Favorite Baseball Card Of 2013??

This one is going to be a blast – and I am in no mood to sugar-coat it.

Let’s get right down to it – ‘What is your favorite baseball card of 2013’?

What is the card that stands out the most that you picked up from this year’s many releases?  Which one makes you smile the most?  Which one do you think turns the most heads?

Ready for mine??

It was a much easier pick than what I expected.  And I bought more 2013’s than any other year in the lat few years.

Here it is:

This is the Andre Dawson card from the 2013 Panini Cooperstown ‘Induction’ subset.  And what is not to like?  First of all, Andre looks great.  The image used for this card was shot during Dawson’s 2010 Hall of Fame induction ceremony and for me it was a baseball card 30+ years in the making.  Capturing this event on a single baseball card means the world to me and I was thrilled to see that Andre was part of this set.

Not only is this card my ‘Favorite card of 2013’, but it is also one my of favorite modern cards – period.

And now it is your turn, What Is Your Favorite Baseball Card Of 2013??

I cannot wait to hear your answers!!