Pic of the Day 04.03.09

Since Opening Day kicks off on Sunday, I thought it fitting to dedicate today's pic to a baseball player. For those of you who don't know the person above, it's Hall of Fame shoe-in and Oakland Athletics great Rickey Henderson. But why Rickey Henderson, right?
For starters, he's widely regarded as baseball's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner -- he holds the major league record for stolen bases, runs scored, and leadoff home runs. In fact, his 1,406 career steals is 50% more than the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock; the 468-steal difference in these totals alone would place in the top 50 all-time.
Still, there are other players with as good, or even better credentials than Henderson. So, why him?
Well, perhaps it's because Henderson reminds me of the baseball of my youth -- one filled with excesses and driven to make the game a spectacle. Perhaps it's because he ate uppers like M 'n' M's. Better yet, maybe it's because he was a one of the first illeists in sports -- constantly referring to himself in the third person.
All of those would be good and valid reasons, but more so than the actual player, I loved the stories that emanated from his being. Confused? Let's put it this way, Rickey Henderson was the clown prince of baseball in his heyday. Before there was Manny being Manny, there was Rickey being Rickey.
Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci put it best when he said, "There are certain figures in American history who have passed into the realm of cultural mythology, as if reality could no longer contain their stories: Johnny Appleseed. Wild Bill Hickok. Davy Crockett. Rickey Henderson. They exist on the sometimes narrow margin between Fact and Fiction."
Below are my three favorite Rickey being Rickey moments -- they tell us as much about Henderson as they do about the bygone era he flourished in; one where political correctness and marketing didn't matter as much as winning games. Enjoy...
1. On more than one occasion, teammates reported seeing Henderson standing naked in front of a mirror before a game, practicing his swing, and declaring, "Rickey's the best! Rickey's the best!"
2. During one off-season, Henderson called San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers and left this message: "Kevin, this is Rickey. Calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball."
3. In his early years on the A's, Henderson was so proud of a $1 million signing bonus he got, that he framed the check and put it up in his house. Months later, the A's GM realized that the team had an unaccounted for $1 million surplus. Rickey had forgot to cash his check.