According to reports, baseball legend Rickey Henderson died on Friday. He was 65-years-old.
Widely considered the greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history, Henderson revolutionized the leadoff spot. He was not just a stolen-base threat; Henderson had impressive power, as his 81 career leadoff homers are the major-league record.
Henderson was polarizing at times, but he backed up his talk and swagger on the diamond, where he carved his name into the record books.
Henderson was a 10-time All-Star and the 1990 AL MVP. He led the league in steals 12 times, setting a modern-day record with 130 steals in 1982. Henderson posted a career .279/.401/.419 batting line in his 13,346 plate appearances, with 297 homers and 510 doubles amongst his 3,055 hits. He is the all-time leader in runs scored (2,295) and steals (1,406). Henderson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009, earning 94.8% of the vote.
Rickey Henderson’s 25 years in the majors were filled with highlights. Here are the five greatest moments in his career:
Henderson sets all-time runs record
The 2001 season was a special one for Henderson as he reached several milestones. The first came on Oct. 4, when he took Dodgers’ pitcher Luke Prokopec deep in the bottom of the third inning, barely clearing the wall for a home run. That run was the 2,246th of Henderson’s career, surpassing legendary outfielder Ty Cobb for the all-time lead.
