Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, Who Got to ALCS with Seattle Mariners, Dies at 65

The all-time stolen base king died at the age of 65 from a battle with pneumonia.

MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson waves to the fans before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park on Sept 29. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Baseball legend Rickey Henderson died this week at the age of 65. He was battling pneumonia.

Rickey Henderson, Hall of Famer and MLB’s all-time stolen bases leader, dead at 65 https://t.co/e554V5CzCU pic.twitter.com/IwUTZnZZQ0

— New York Post (@nypost) December 21, 2024

One of the greatest players to ever live, Henderson had a 25-year career with the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. He is baseball's all-time leader in stolen bases (1,406) and runs scored (2,295).

He is a member of the 3,000 hit club (3,055) and the 200 home run club (297). Henderson was a 10-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger, a two-time World Series champion, an MVP and a Gold Glove winner.

Henderson spent only 92 games with the Mariners back in the 2000 season, but he left an impression that I will remember forever.

See, in that 2000 season, I was just 10 years old. One of my best early sports memories is going to Game 1 of the 2000 ALCS between the Mariners and Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I remember scarce few details from that game, but I do remember the following:

1) The Mariners won the game 2-0.

2) The game was started by Freddy Garcia for the Mariners and Denny Neagle for the Yankees.

3) Alex Rodriguez hit a home run, for the Mariners, to make it 1-0.

4) The second run of the game was a single by Henderson that scored veteran Mark McLemore.

In the grand scheme of things, that was just one playoff hit for Henderson, who had 63 of them. It was just one RBI of 20 career postseason RBI. But to me, it's a memory that will last forever in my M's fandom.

Rest in peace.

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