Going to miss Rickey Henderson. Here's the backstory about how I wrote about him for the first cover story of USA Today Baseball Weekly.
Rickey was the first professional athlete I encountered who spoke about himself in the third person. As in, "Rickey slides head first because it closer to the ground. That way Rickey doesn't get hurt."
The all-time base stealer was a major character in my book DOWN TO THE LAST PITCH.
Here a few highlights:
"People who played against me called me cocky," Rickey said, "but my teammates didn't."
Billy Beane, former Oakland GM: "He's the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, and I'm not sure there's a close second."
Henderson about his teammate Jose Canseco and the rise/use of steroids in the A's clubhouse: "They kept that [stuff] a secret from me," Henderson told the New Yorker in 2005. "I wish they had told me. My God, could you imagine Rickey on 'roids? Oh, baby, look out!"
My heart goes out the A's fans. First, their ballclub leaves town and now the death of one of their all-time greats.