New Mets hitting coach: "This is Rickey, calling on behalf of Rickey"

[Wondercall]

I graduated in the same class as his daughter. At my graduation my grandma made it a point to get his autograph and said he was very nice about it.

[Mike Gallo]

"All I'm asking for is what I want."
-Rickey Henderson.

In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.


This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”

Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic

Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite – which forced him to miss three games — in mid-August.

On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.
Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived — again it was less than a mile – the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.
Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, “Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”

[Mike Gallo]

[ QUOTE ]
The Olerud helmet story is so good that I don't even care that it isn't true.

[/ QUOTE ]

The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.”
Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

[Gregatron]

Since I'm enjoying this tread so much I thought I should contribute.

He broke Ty Cobb's all time run scoring record by hitting a home run, taking his usual time around the bases. Only when he got to home plate, he slid (purposefully).

[Jeff W]

"You are fools. It's a big joke. Rickey tricked everybody. Thank you all."

Awesome.

[Quadstriker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The Olerud helmet story is so good that I don't even care that it isn't true.

[/ QUOTE ]

The story went that a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing.”
Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to have to second the fact that this is so freaking awesome, I don't care if it's true.

This thread is gold.

[metsandfinsfan]

My favorite is when he taught jose reyes how to walk in spring training
or when he mentored roger cedeno into being a good ballplayer ... and when ricky left cedeno sucked
and when the mets hired him to be a coach so that players can learn how to play the game hard

[mo42nyy]

metsandfinsfan
youre 100 percent right
i never liked the guy when he was playing but his impact on cedeno was obvious
there have been a lot of guys faster than henderson who couldnt run the bases worth [censored]

[LionelHutz00]

f the haters. rickey was the best player of his generation.

[mosdef]

[ QUOTE ]
"You are fools. It's a big joke. Rickey tricked everybody. Thank you all."

Awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is beyond awesome. This is what I'm putting on my tombstone (substitute Rickey for Scott).