Oakland A's and Rickey Henderson may get together again

September 21, 4:14 PMSF Baseball ExaminerDavid Bush

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Rickey Henderson wants to come back to the A's

Rickey Henderson, who has had four separate tenures with the A’s, could be back for a fifth.

It won’t be as a player, although baseball’s leader in stolen bases and runs scored looks as if he could still negotiate the base paths as he approaches the age of 50. No, Henderson would like to join the coaching or instructional staff in some capacity.

“I wouldn’t mind being with the organization,’’ Henderson said Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum where he was honored along with other members of the team’s 40-year Anniversary Team. “It’s part of my life, a team I played with for so many years. I accomplished so many things with the Oakland A’s. They are the ones that got me started in baseball. If it hadn’t been for (former A’s owner) Charlie Finley, I probably wouldn’t have been a baseball player. I probably would have been a football player.’’.

And Henderson indicated this was more than just wishful thinking. He currently is a part-time instructor with the Mets, one of nine teams he played for in his 24 year career, but has his eyes on the A’s.

“We have discussed it, during this year,’’ Henderson said. “We are going to try to work out something that I can do with the organization. You never know. The Mets have been fantastic with me, they gave me a job. But this is where I started.’’

General manager Billy Beane said that Henderson's joining the A's is "certainly something we would be open to.'' Beane said that Henderson has talked to owner Lew Wolff. "He does have a lot to offer,'' Beane said.

"I want to be around the guys, around the players,’’ Henderson said. “A first base coach (a position he held with the Mets last year), a third base coach. “I want to be able to help them (players) accomplish what they want to do. I want to teach.’’

Outfielder Rajai Davis would seem a perfect pupil. "That would be exceptional, you are talking about a Hall of Fame, leading base stealer of all-time. For me that would very instrumental. He has a lot of experience as a leadoff man, experiences that me and some of other leadoff hitters haven't run into, that he could share, that would be great.''

Henderson, who made his big league debut with the A’s in 1979, grew up in Oakland not far from the Coliseum. “I would come out here and sneak in the ballpark. I didn’t have the money for a ticket so I had to sneak in,’’ Henderson said. “Somebody would get in, and then they’d come back and open the fence. I snuck in during the playoffs in the 1970s.’’

He even feels perhaps such illegal entry led to Coliseum reconfiguration. He pointed to the left center field area, today occupied by the three-tiered section of stands known as Mt. Davis, a derisive recognition of the Oakland Raiders owner. Most think it was created to increase seating capacity and the number of luxury boxes. Henderson knows better. “They built that wall,’’ he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, “because everybody was sneaking in.’’

As a youngster he was an avid admirer of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. “Reggie was my favorite player but he gave me a lot of headaches,’’ Henderson said. “I got a lot of whuppins because of him. I wanted to get his autograph, so I hung around after the game. I never did get his autograph, but I got home late so I got in trouble. I tell him that every time I see him.’’

Henderson finally did collect Jackson’s signature. “I got it when I stole 130 bases (1982). He wanted my autograph, but I got his before I gave him mine.’’