Henderson still has it

Henderson Still Has It

(Jul 29, 1998 - 7:34 EDT) -- The 21-year-old was fast, and he couldn't wait to get started.

He had the young legs to go with the youthful attitude, and he was always on the run. In his first full major-league season, he had 100 steals. At age 23, he made history by stealing 130 bases.

That was 1982. Sixteen years have passed, and now Rickey Henderson is 39. Funny thing, though -- he doesn't seem to have lost a step.

The Oakland A's outfielder still leads the major leagues in stolen bases and the American League in walks.

"He is the undisputed king of leadoff hitters," teammate Bip Roberts said. "And he's still the best."

Time has forgotten Rickey Henderson. That, or he has found a way to beat it.

Teammates marvel at his ability to ignore the aches and pains that come when a day game in the hot sun follows a night game that went into extra innings.

They all are athletes, but they shake their heads when he steps out of the shower. His body shows no traces of age, not a hint of fat, no indication of the 20 years he has spent in the majors.

To say he looks 25 would not do him justice, because most 25-year-olds don't look so good. His calves are rocks, his arms are pipes, his stomach a washboard.

And his legs are magic.

Henderson turns 40 on Dec. 25, but the man seems unbreakable. As unbreakable as the record he set years ago.

That is why he still is leading off every day for the A's. That is why he still gets on base 37 percent of the time. And that is why he still leads the major leagues with 43 steals.

"This year is very special to me," the 1990 A.L. MVP said. "I've proven to myself, proven to the Oakland A's and proven to the rest of the league that I've still got it. There ain't nothing wrong with me."

Henderson spent most of last season waiting for an opportunity to prove what he still had. He found himself sharing time in the San Diego Padres' lineup with Greg Vaughn. Both left fielders felt they should play every day, and both were correct.

This year, while Vaughn is chasing MVP honors for the National League West-leading Padres, Henderson is making a point of his own.

The A's are struggling this season -- they recently returned to the A.L. West cellar -- and at times, Henderson has struggled along with them. But he has remained a dependable veteran in an otherwise young lineup.

And former teammate Tony Gwynn, for one, said he is not surprised a bit.

"When you think of Rickey, you think of how he was in the early '80s, hitting home runs, stealing bases and just dominating," the Padres' veteran said. "But he's still one of the best at his craft."

Henderson's leads the league with 78 walks -- a deadly statistic for someone who works the base paths so effectively.

He also is second on the A's with 61 runs. And he sports a .368 on- base percentage.

They are the kind of numbers that make people forget his .233 batting average.

"A lot of people are fooled because he's hitting around .240," Gwynn said. "But he gets on base and he moves into scoring position. And just like when he was here, the guys in the middle of the lineup are having a field day."

Once he gets on base, Henderson goes to work. He becomes the focus of the crowd. He gets in the pitcher's head. He is usually on his way to second.

Henderson knows that his job as a leadoff hitter is not just to get on base, but to advance. Aside from that, he says, there is no real strategy that guides Henderson, only instinct. The one doing all the thinking is the pitcher.

"When he gets on, it's a double," said A's pitcher Kenny Rogers, who is happy to be on Henderson's side after facing him in the past.

"You've got a guy that understands how to steal a base and knows when to steal. So when he gets on, you take your mind off the hitter."

Roberts will attest to that. The veteran utility player, a former leadoff hitter himself, recently came to the A's in a trade. He now bats directly behind Henderson.

"By far, he's gotten me more fastballs then I've seen in a long time," Roberts said. "He's just that good. Even when I was a leadoff hitter, I wanted to be like Rickey. I think all leadoff hitters in this league want to be like him."

Henderson could retire today and that kind of respect would live on. His career numbers make him a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame: 1,274 steals (No. 1 all time), 1,850 walks (fourth), 1,974 runs (sixth) 2,558 games (33rd) and 2,636 hits (61st).

But for now, he would prefer to keep adding to them. Just last year, in fact, he said he could play until he is 50.

"I've kidded around a lot with reporters about that, because they keep asking me how long it's going to take," Henderson said. "But I really believe it's in the good Lord's hands. One day, maybe I'm gonna come out here and He's gonna say, 'That's enough.'

"But right now, I'm still having fun."

Francisco Examiner. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.

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