Rickey be Rickey

This weekend is the Baseball Hall of fame induction weekend and one of the inductees is Rickey Henderson.  As a boy growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ricky Henderson was one of the first sports icons that I can remember.  I still recall watching TV and following his chase to break the stolen base mark, and I also remember being excited to skip church one Sunday to drive out to Oakland to see Ricky and the Oakland A's play.  What makes Henderson such an icon is more than his skills, and as the greatest lead-off hitter of all time his skills are prodigious, but the stories that surround him.  Here are some of my favorites

Once Ricky was getting on the team bus after a game and he was looking for a seat.  Tony Gwynn told him he could sit at the front of the bus because he had tenure.  "Ten year," Henderson said, "Ricky has fifteen years in the majors."

Another time, team officials noticed that there books were A million dollars off.  After looking into the matter they discovered Ricky had not deposited one of his checks.  When they asked why Ricky had not deposited the check, he said that he framed it on his wall. 

One year, Ricky was interested in playing for the San Diego Padres and he called Padres General Manager Kevin Towers and left the following message, "This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey.  Rickey wants to play baseball."

One time Dan Patrick asked Rickey about his chances of coming back to play baseball and Rickey said, "My condition is in good condition."

Anyway, congratulations to Rickey Henderson for making the Hall of Fame.