Special Editor : DongA.com, Song Chi-Hoon

With a decade of experience as a sports journalist and 30 years as a devoted baseball fan, Song Chi-Hoon brings deeper insights into the fascinating hidden stories of Major League Baseball.

※ This content is part of a special collaboration with MLB Park and features unique items from the Eland Museum.

 

On October 4, 2001, Qualcomm Stadium hosted a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.

 

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, with the game tied 1-1, a solo home run by a San Diego player brought the home team dugout onto the field. The player rounded the bases and slid into home plate, fulfilling a pre-game promise as his teammates celebrated. Lifting a golden home plate, he received a standing ovation from the 21,606 fans.

This home run marked his 2,246th run in Major League Baseball, surpassing the previous record held by Ty Cobb. The player was none other than Ricky Henderson.

Henderson is considered the greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history. Billy Beane, the former Oakland A's general manager and protagonist of "Moneyball," praised Henderson: 

"He's the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. I'm not sure there's a close second."

 

 

The official 2,301-page baseball encyclopedia, "Total Baseball," ranked Henderson higher than Stan Musial and Lou Gehrig, explaining: 

"'Henderson is the best leadoff hitter in history is like saying 'The sky is blue' or 'The fire is hot.'" 

Henderson's career supports such high praise. He holds the records for most runs scored (2,295) and most stolen bases (1,406)* in MLB history. His on-base percentage of .401 makes him the only leadoff hitter with a career OBP over .400. He also amassed 3,055 hits, a .279 batting average, a .419 slugging percentage, an .820 OPS, and a wRC+ of 132.

*The second-highest stolen base record is Lou Brock's 938, a significant gap from Henderson's record. No active players are in the top 10, making this an unbreakable record.

 

Henderson, who debuted in 1979 and retired after the 2003 season, won 12 stolen base titles over his 25-year career. He recorded over 100 steals in three seasons, including 130 in 1982, the second-highest single-season total in MLB history.  

After winning his first stolen base title in 1980, his second year, Henderson led the league for seven consecutive years. At age 39, in 1998, he won his last stolen base title, making him the oldest player ever to do so. Naturally, he earned the nickname "Man of Steal." 

 

 

Pitchers preferred to give up a hit rather than a walk to avoid increasing their pitch count, but Henderson excelled at drawing walks, securing 2,190 over his career, the second-most in MLB history. Excluding intentional walks, he holds the record for the most walks, surpassing Barry Bonds, who has the overall record due to many intentional walks.  

Henderson excelled at getting on base, stealing bases, hitting 297 home runs, including four 20-home run seasons, and holds the MLB record for leadoff home runs with 81. 

 

 

Some argue that Henderson's extraordinary baserunning skills were underrated because advanced metrics like UBR (Ultimate Base Running) and wGDP (Weighted Grounded Into Double Play Runs) weren't included in his era. This further solidifies his status as the greatest leadoff hitter.  

Although naturally left-handed, Henderson became a right-handed batter because he saw other kids batting right-handed. His records might have been even more impressive if he had remained a left-handed hitter*.

* Left-handed batters are closer to first base, giving them a slight advantage in reaching base.

Henderson's famous quote is a testament to his relentless hustle: 

"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." 

Despite his stellar performance, Henderson was often a journeyman. Traded to the New York Yankees in 1984, he returned to Oakland in 1989 at manager Tony La Russa's request. Financial difficulties led to another trade to the Toronto Blue Jays.

After becoming a free agent in 1995, Henderson rejoined Oakland but lacked a long-term contract due to his age. He played for various teams until retiring with the LA Dodgers in 2003 at 44.  

 

 

Bill James, the founder of sabermetrics, once said, "If you split Henderson in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers," underscoring his greatness.  

Although he played in independent leagues until 2006, raising eligibility questions, Henderson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009 on his first ballot with 94.8% of the vote.  

 

His beloved number 24, for which he once paid $25,000 to a teammate, was retired by the Oakland A's. 

 

 

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