Corridor of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base information and redefined baseball’s leadoff place, has died. He was 65.

Henderson died on Friday. The Athletics mentioned Saturday they had been “shocked and heartbroken by his passing,” however didn’t specify a reason behind loss of life.

Often called baseball’s “Man of Steal,” Henderson had a prolonged checklist of accolades and accomplishments over his nomadic 25-year profession — an MVP, 10 All-Star choices, two World Collection titles and a Gold Glove award.

However it was stealing bases the place Henderson made his identify and dominated the game like no different.

He broke by means of with 100 steals in his first full season within the majors in 1980, topping Ty Cobb’s AL single-season report with Billy Martin’s “Billy Ball” Oakland Athletics. He barely slowed taking part in for 9 franchises over the following 20 years. He broke Lou Brock’s single-season report of 118 by stealing 130 bases in 1982 and led the league in steals for seven straight seasons and 12 general.

He broke Brock’s profession report when he stole his 939th base on Might 1, 1991, for Oakland. He famously pulled third base out of the bottom and confirmed it off to the adoring crowd earlier than giving a speech that he capped by saying: “Lou Brock was an incredible base stealer, however at the moment I’m the best of all time.”

Henderson completed his profession with 1,406 steals. His 468-steal edge over Brock matches the margin between Brock and Jimmy Rollins, who’s in forty sixth place with 470.

Henderson mentioned in September he would have had many extra steals in his profession and within the record-breaking 1982 season if guidelines launched in 2023 to restrict pickoff throws and improve the dimensions of bases had overlapped together with his profession.

“If I used to be taking part in at the moment, I might get 162, proper now, undoubtedly,” he mentioned. “As a result of if they’d had that rule, you possibly can solely throw over there twice, you understand how many instances they’d be throwing over there twice they usually’d be going, ‘Ah, (shoot), can y’all ship him to 3rd? Give him two bases and ship him to 3rd.’ That might be me.”

Henderson’s accomplishment that record-breaking day in 1991 was barely overshadowed that night time when Nolan Ryan threw his report seventh profession no-hitter. Henderson already had been Ryan’s 5,000th profession strikeout sufferer, which led him to say, “If you happen to haven’t been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you’re no person.”

That was clearly not the case for Henderson. He’s additionally the profession chief in runs scored with 2,295 and in leadoff house runs with 81, ranks second to Barry Bonds with 2,190 walks and is fourth in video games performed (3,081) and plate appearances (13,346). He completed his profession with 3,055 hits over 25 seasons spent with Oakland, the New York Yankees, Toronto, San Diego, Anaheim, the New York Mets, Seattle, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He fittingly completed his profession with the Dodgers at age 44 in 2003 by scoring a run in his remaining play on a significant league discipline.

Henderson is the third distinguished baseball Corridor of Famer with ties to the Bay Space who died this yr, following the deaths in June of former Giants stars Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda.

Henderson was the uncommon place participant who batted from the correct aspect and threw together with his left arm — however then once more, the whole lot about Henderson was distinctive.

He batted out of an excessive crouch, making for a tighter strike zone that contributed to his excessive stroll whole. He struck worry in opponents together with his aggressive leads off first, his fingers twitching between his legs inside his batting gloves as he eyed the pitcher and the following base.

Born on Christmas Day in 1958 in Chicago behind his mother and father’ Chevy, Henderson grew up in Oakland and developed right into a star athlete. He performed baseball, basketball and soccer at Oakland Tech Excessive Faculty and was a extremely sought-after soccer recruit who might have performed tailback at Southern California, the place he might have performed finally with soccer Corridor of Famer Marcus Allen.

However Henderson mentioned his mom beloved baseball and thought it could be the safer profession in a call that proved to be prescient.

“She didn’t need her child to get harm,” Henderson advised the San Francisco Chronicle in 2019. “I used to be mad, however she was sensible. General, with the profession longevity and the success I had, she made the correct determination. Among the gamers in soccer now have quick careers they usually can barely transfer round after they’re achieved.”

Henderson was chosen within the fourth spherical of the 1976 newbie draft by the hometown A’s and made his huge league debut in 1979 with two hits — and, after all, one stolen base.

He grew to become a star for the A’s the next season and remained in Oakland by means of 1984 earlier than being traded to the New York Yankees. He was a part of some proficient groups in New York that by no means made the postseason. In 1985, he scored 146 runs in 143 video games to go together with a league-leading 80 steals and 24 homers, serving to begin the “80-20 membership” that season with Cincinnati’s Eric Davis.

He was traded again to Oakland in June 1989, resulting in his biggest successes. He topped the AL that season with 113 runs, 126 walks and 77 steals, was named the ALCS MVP and helped lead the A’s to the World Collection title within the Bay Bridge sequence in opposition to the Giants.

Henderson then received the AL MVP the next season for Oakland earlier than the A’s misplaced the World Collection to Cincinnati.

He set the profession steals report in 1991 after which was traded two years later to Toronto, the place he received his second World Collection. He spent the ultimate decade of his profession bouncing across the majors and nonetheless led the AL with 66 steals and 118 walks at age 39 with Oakland in 1998.

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AP Baseball Author Janie McCauley contributed to this report.

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