Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice elected to the Hall of Fame

[McCovey]

Congrats to Rickey Henderson and Jim for their election to baseball Hall of Fame. :toast: Rickey getting was a forgone conclusion while Rice was in his 15th and final year of eligibility.

[Bear]

The Bear is pleased. But others also belong and still wait.:(

[McCovey]

Yes, I can't believe Tim Raines got so few votes! :rolleyes:

[McCovey]

Also, 28 voters left Rickey Henderson off of their ballots! :wtf: Those guys should get a life-time ban from HoF voting! :mad:

[#25]

When Rickey wanted to perform there was no one better My father use to say Rickey was one of the most gifted players to ever play the game. The only problem with Rickey was he was moody and did not always want to perform.

[McCovey]

So funny! :pound:


Rickey on Rickey's HOF speech

By Jim Caple
Page 2


Imagining Rickey Henderson's acceptance speech at the Hall of Fame this July ...

[Following the speeches by the Spink and Frick award winners, Hall of Fame director Jane Forbes Clark takes the podium and unveils Rickey's plaque on a nearby frame.]

"And now it is the Hall of Fame's distinct pleasure to introduce its newest member, the greatest leadoff hitter and base stealer of all time, Rickey Henderson!"

[She looks to her left, but there is no Rickey. She looks to her right, but there is no Rickey. She looks all around. No Rickey. She turns to an assistant and mouths, "Where is he?" And the assistant whispers, "He was playing cards in the back room a couple minutes ago." Suddenly, Rickey races onto the stage and slides -- head first -- into the lectern. He stands, dusts the dirt from his suit, adjusts his sunglasses and pops an Omega vitamin. He grabs his plaque off the frame, lifts it high above his head and shouts:]

"Today, I am the greatest!"

[He listens for applause. Then nods humbly before putting his hand to each ear in an "I can't hear you" gesture.]

"Thank you, thank you. As Rickey looks around at Rickey's fellow Hall of Famers today -- Willie Mays and Lou Brock and Frank Morgan and Yogi Bear and What's-his-name and that guy over there and the guy next to him and that other guy, too. No, not him. He wasn't that good. Rickey means the other guy, the ugly one. Rickey just wants to say what an honor it must be for them all to be up here with Rickey today."

[Points at longtime Oakland teammate Dennis Eckersley and winks.]

"Good to see you again, Roger. You still pitching for Oakland?"


[Glances down at speech, continues.]

"This is Rickey's first visit to Coopersville and he is delighted to be here. Rickey toured the Fame Hall last night and looked at all the plaques of his fellow Fame Men. And he noticed there was a player with the Padres who had 3,000 hits, which is funny, because Rickey had 3,000 hits when he was with the Padres and there was another guy in San Diego when Rickey was there who also had 3,000 hits. Three players with 3,000 hits on one team -- just goes to show you what a great career Rickey had."

[Waits for more applause. Continues.]

"Back in the day, a lot of people criticized Rickey as being selfish and greedy, but the only thing Rickey ever asked for is what he wanted. And what he wanted most was this moment here, being honored for all his accomplishments and his great career. Well, this and a Ferrari Testarossa and a contract that guarantees he'll always make $1 more than anyone else."

[Turns to Clark]

"Speaking of which, where is the check for signing with Coopersville?"

[He looks back at his Hall of Fame plaque, which depicts him wearing a San Diego Surf Dawgs cap. Memories flood his mind as he reads his accomplishments. Tears of pride and joy well up in his eyes.]

"Rickey has played 25 seasons and he has scored more runs than anyone else and has reached base more times than almost anyone else and he has stolen way, way more bases than anyone else has or ever will. He also has pretty much changed teams more times than anyone else but that's only because everyone knew what a great guy Rickey is to be around. He is the greatest leadoff man in history -- don't be comparing Ty Cobb or Rock Raines or Peter Hustle or Ichiro to Rickey. There was only one Rickey and there still is. ... "

[Pauses. Frowns.]

"But they're going to have to make a new plaque with another cap on it because this one is going to be out of date real soon. Yes, Rickey is going to sign with the Phillies for the stretch drive. Because Rickey still has skills. He watches 'Baseball Tonight.' He gets 'MLB Extra Innings.' He knows he can still outrun half the outfielders in the league. And he knows for a fact he can hit if Jamie What's-his-name is still getting guys out. Not that Rickey needs to hit to get on base. He can just crouch at the plate without swinging the bat and with that keen eye of his, get two, three walks a game, easy. And then -- boom! He's gone and on second before you can blink, steals third and scores on a groundball and we're back in the postseason.

"So we'll see you all in Philly beginning next week. Just as soon as this issue gets settled about the contract bonuses, the guaranteed hotel suite on road trips and the Porsche Carerra GT."

[Rickey wipes tears from his eye and pulls out a gold chain. He attaches one end of the chain to the upper-right hand corner of his Hall of Fame plaque and the other end to the upper left-hand corner. He waves to the crowd, drapes the plaque over his head to wear as a necklace and moonwalks off the stage like Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun."]

[McCovey]

When Rickey wanted to perform there was no one better My father use to say Rickey was one of the most gifted players to ever play the game. The only problem with Rickey was he was moody and did not always want to perform.
That's way overblown. You don't get over 3,000 hits, score over 2,000 runs, and steal over 1,400 bases by not wanting to perform.

Rickey's 1,406 stolen bases are simply remarkable. I don't expect it to be surpassed in my lifetime. The current active leader is Juan Pierre with 427 SBs. Wow. :eek:

[TkleMstr52]

That is a boat load, someone will have to play a long time and consistantly to get even close!!