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A rare photo of Rickey Henderson as an Angel.
Photo: Icon SMI
Congratulations to Rickey Henderson on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rickey remains one of my favorite players of all time. One of the reason I liked Rickey so much is that people in the sports media didn't like him. That's clear from this vote, in which Henderson was left off 28 ballots. Rickey was an extremely unique ballplayer. He was a leadoff man who could generate power. He stole bases often and successfully, losing little of his ability to swipe a bag as he aged. He balanced his hits and walks, so a bit in batting average had little effect on his OBA. He was a showman in the outfield with his one-handed snatches.
He did things reporters didn't like, however. He would always show up to camp on-time, but later than the club requested. He didn't appear to work hard, but one look at his body through the years and it's clear he held off aging by a tough workout regimen. He was loved by his teammates, ones who were considered class acts like Gwynn and Mattingly. There was absolutely no reason to leave Henderson off a ballot, and anyone who did should be ashamed of themselves.
Jim Rice also finds his way into the Hall of Fame in his last year of eligibility. When I was a teenager living in southern Connecticut, I was a big Yankees fan and therefore a big Red Sox hater. I disliked Fred Lynn because he turned everything into a circus catch, Carlton Fisk becuse he received more publicity than Thurman Munson (in hindsight, it was deserved) and Yaz because even the Red Sox fans booed him. Rice, however, I always respected. Boston would come into Yankee Stadium and hit like it was Fenway Park, going to left field to hit an imaginary wall, just to see the ball fall into the glove of Mickey Rivers. The stadium still had a death valley back then. Rice, however, would go the other way, hitting home runs to right center, an easier reach. He struck me as a smart hitter at that time.
I also found Rice a frustrating hitter at times. When I lived in Boston, I'd sit in the centerfield bleachers on weekends. Rice would wow us with scorching line drives up the middle and monster home runs, but he would also drive me nuts in the following situation. The pitcher would be wild, walking Boggs and Barrett on eight straight pitches. Rice would come up, and he had to be thinking, "This pitcher has to throw me a strike." He'd swing at the first pitch and ground into a double play. I really wanted him to let the pitcher fall behind in the count first, but Jim liked swinging early in that situation.
Like Rickey, Jim was not liked by the press. If he were, I believe we would have seen his election a long time ago. I'm on the fence about Rice. I'm happy to see him in the Hall, but I would not have been upset to see him left out. Congratulations to Jim Rice on finally getting the call!
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