Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died Friday aged 65 following an illness, TMZ first reported.
He died in Oakland, California after a bout with pneumonia for which he had been briefly hospitalized, the outlet reported, citing sources with firsthand knowledge.
RIP Rickey Henderson 🙏
▫️10x All-Star
▫️2x World Series Champion
▫️All-Time Stolen Base Leader
▫️All-Time Runs Scored Leader
▫️1990 AL MVP
▫️3x Silver Slugger
▫️First Ballot Hall of Famer pic.twitter.com/CkhCrVj9sl— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 21, 2024
“I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace,” fellow MLB legend and former teammate Dave Winfield wrote on Instagram.
“RIP Rickey my condolences to the Henderson family. One of the best to ever do it,” fellow All-Star player Ozzie Guillén wrote on X.
Henderson was a 10-time All-Star player, notching up 3,055 hits and 297 home runs with a .279 batting average in his 25-year career starting with the Oakland A’s in 1979 and retiring with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003. He also played for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets and Padres, among others.
Henderson scored the most career runs in MLB history with 2,295 runs. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. (RELATED: Todd Helton, Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Jim Leyland Officially Inducted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame)
Henderson holds the record for most stolen bases in MLB history with 1,406 stolen bases, earning himself the moniker “Man of Steal.”
The Chicago-born athlete’s capacity for racking up steals was clear from his first MLB year. Three years later, in 1982, he achieved the record-shattering single-season feat of 130 stolen bases — a testament to his fleet-footedness and a record that remains unsurpassed, according to the MLB.
“Do you think Rickey Henderson will still go to heaven after he stole all those bases? RIP legend,” said comedian Andrew Rivers.
The Oakland A’s honored Henderson Sep. 20 with the ceremonial first pitch on his bobblehead night, CBS Sports reported. Henderson let his daughter, Adrianna, throw the pitch instead and they both hugged after he caught it from his place behind the plate, a video of the moment shows.
Rickey Henderson caught the ceremonial first pitch from his daughter on his bobblehead night! 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Wv80UCknA3
— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2024
Henderson was also a famous illeist. “Rickey, when he was at first base, he always talked in the third person…’Hey Thrill, Rickey here!’” fellow All-Star player Will “The Thrill” Clark told San Francisco radio outlet KNBR. Clark also shared other instances of Henderson’s illeism.
“If Rickey Henderson passed away Rickey would be the first to let us know. That’s how great Rickey is!” the Fourteen Twenty Sports Bar Podcast cheekily wrote.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
