Today In History: Rickey Henderson Becomes The Stolen Base King

By Muk

On May 1st, 1991, Rickey Henderson stole his 939th base, breaking Lou Brock's record. Rickey Henderson is the greatest base-stealer of All-Time, and I don't think you'll find anyone who will ever argue that. Henderson stole an astounding 1,406 bases, 468 more bases than Lou Brock stole during his illustrious career (Brock is 2nd All-Time), and also ranks first All-Time in runs scored with 2,295. 

Henderson played for an incredible 25 seasons, was a 10x All-Star, the 1990 AL MVP, a two time World Series Champion, 12 time stolen base champ, as well as the All-Time leader in leadoff home runs with 81, and shattered the single-season stolen base record with 130 in the 1982. Rickey Henderson was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame on his first try, in 2009, and is truly regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of baseball. He was a terror on the base paths, a great hitter, as one of only 30 players to record over 3,000 hits, displaying both power and contact, speed and strength, and a great baseball IQ. 

His longevity and durability earned him the nickname "The Man of Steal", and he is regarded as the greatest lead-off hitter and baserunner ever. Rickey Henderson is often talked about as being somewhat of a mythical creature, with his pure dominance and sense of immortality on the base paths, and is hilariously known for talking about himself in the 3rd-person for much of his career. Baseball is one sport where we often look at the record books and say that record will never be broken, but there are players who come along and do what we thought they couldn't, but I truly think that his stolen base record is one that will never be broken, at least not in my lifetime. Guys like Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Reyes headline the list of active players who are great base stealers, and both not even in spitting distance of Brock's record, let alone Henderson's. 

A baseball immortal, a mythical figure, however you choose to remember him, there is no arguing that Rickey Henderson is one of the most prolific players to ever step on the diamond, and the images of him holding up those bases after each historic milestone will always be remembered and idolized.