Rickey Henderson is a farging corksucker
 

Henderson keeps ball, signs another for young fanESPN.com news services


SAN FRANCISCO -- For all of his accomplishments, you'd think snagging a foul ball in the stands would be small stuff for Rickey Henderson. Hardly the case.


"Everybody was asking me for the ball. I said, 'You're not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one's going on a shelf at home."
-- Rickey Henderson
Henderson, who caught a foul ball on Monday at AT&T Park, where he was watching the Mets play the Giants, kept the ball instead of handing it to a young fan.

"Everybody was asking me for the ball," Henderson said Tuesday, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. "I said, 'You're not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one's going on a shelf at home."

The young fan didn't go home empty-handed, though, as Henderson signed another ball the fan already had.

Henderson joked that his catch in the stands shows he's still got the skills to play the game.

"Showing 'em I've still got good hands. The ball found me. I was so quick."

And if Henderson has his way, fans might soon be catching foul balls hit off the bat of the man himself.

Roger Clemens' big announcement this week has Henderson hoping some club might give him one more chance to make a major league comeback.

Otherwise, he will call it a career -- for good this time.

"Seeing Roger come back, all the seed that it plants is ask me to come back one time," Henderson said Tuesday in the Mets clubhouse before New York played the Giants.

"I'm going to look at it at the end of the year. I might come out with some crazy stuff, a press conference telling every club, 'Put me on the field with your best player and see if I come out of it.' If I can't do it, I'll call it quits at the end," he said.

On Sunday, the 44-year-old Clemens announced during the seventh inning of the Mariners-Yankees game that he would once again put on pinstripes and return to the Bronx to pitch this season.

"I see Roger can come back and play. I can come back and play," the 48-year-old Henderson said. "They say I've done too much. What'd he accomplish? ... The players they put on the field nowadays, they couldn't make it in my day. They'd get sent back to Triple-A."

Henderson played in the independent Golden Baseball League two years ago, trying to attract the attention of big league teams. He hasn't played in the majors since appearing in 30 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, his 25th year at baseball's highest level.

Henderson, a special instructor for the Mets this season, is the career leader in runs scored (2,295) and stolen bases (1,406) and is second behind Barry Bonds in walks with 2,190. He also has 3,055 career hits, 297 home runs, won the 1990 AL MVP award and made 10 All-Star games. He won an AL Gold Glove in 1981 as an outfielder with Oakland.

Henderson is four months younger than Mets infielder Julio Franco.

"Julio's out there. I know I can play with Julio," Henderson said. "You need to name a whole lot of players before you get to Julio. ... I just want a spring training invite. Most clubs said if I got an invite, I'd probably make their club, but [they] don't have a spot."

For now, Henderson is keeping busy and fit by maintaining the 455 acres he owns near California's Yosemite National Park. He hasn't hit the gym for a while, but he drives a tractor, rides horses and raises cows -- and insists he will win a trophy in competitive fishing one day.

"I'm an old country boy. I don't look like it," he said.

But if he landed a deal like Clemens' one-year contract for $28,000,022, Henderson said he could get himself back in baseball shape in a hurry. By June, no less.

Henderson also is a realist.

"I'm through, really. I'm probably through with it now," he said. "It's just one of those things. I thank the good Lord I played as long as I played and came out of it healthy. I took a lot of pounding."

Henderson said the "bitter" thing about it is that he didn't get to leave the sport on his own terms: finishing on the field.

If his playing career indeed is over, Henderson will stay involved in baseball and even pull on a uniform from time to time to help out. He enjoys coaching players in the fundamentals of leading off and baserunning.

"I always want to be around the game," he said. "That's something that's in my blood. Helping them have success feels just as good."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/s...=ESPNHeadlines

Whatever.

Dissapointed in his use of the first person there.

I don't see what he did wrong.

Baseball needs more Rickey Hendersons. There's so much pressure for everyone in sports these days to act and talk exactly the same. Sports would be much more interesting if there were more Rickey Hendersons and Curt Schillings who reveal the world their quirks and imperfections, and let us feel like we kind of know them as people.

Ditto.

I agree with that too - what's up with this social requirement to give a foul ball to a younger fan? When I was a kid, it would have been exciting to actually catch, or otherwise retrieve a foul ball, but if someone just handed it to me after they caught it, I would have just though they were some poser trying to look good in front of everyone.

meh

farging iceholes

I don't think it's so much the adult/kid angle as it is "former baseball player who probably has shit more baseballs than this kid will ever see in his life" angle.

The problem with that is, in the age we live, people are not only not rewarded for doing that, but they are unmercilessly criticized for it, and when it crosses the bounds that someone somewhere thinks is unacceptable, it could cost a guy his job.

The Rickey's and Charles Barkley's of the world are few and far between, because it's not worth the risk to be that way.

Seriously. You catch a foul ball, you get to keep it. When I was a kid I would have never gone begging for a foul ball that someone else caught, but somehow these days you're supposed to hand it over to the nearest kid. Screw that, if I ever catch one I'm keeping it.

Catching a foulball at a MLB baseball game is a big deal. I can see how this would be a big deal even to a MLB player who finally got to watch.

Don't make me delete this thread. You bet your sweet ass I will!

Ponderous I tell you.

Agreed on Henderson, but Schilling is actually the exact opposite -- he's completely manufactured, never says a word without carefully considering how it will impact his public image. He's a complete phony, but how can you blame him when anyone who shows any personality gets strung up for it.

You won't do it.

When I was two years old, foul ball was headed right to me at a Dodger game. Problem is, we were seated back near the overhang for the next deck up, and a guy leaned over and snagged the ball on its downward path.

I reacted about like most two year olds would, but I survived.

This kid will too.

Are you triple dog daring me? I'll delete this mutha so hard you'll lose posts from other threads.

He has watched MLB games for almost 30 years and snagged as many foul and fair balls as 1 human could possibly want. This would be like an actor buying the last ticket to a sold-out showing of his movie.

and saying in your face to all the people waiting behind him

nobody gives a shit about the kid or people that missed out on the foul ball. it's that henderson is a complete moron.

In the stands as a fan?

I quadruple dawg dare you.

I'd rather have the baseball signed by a hall of famer than a foul ball anyday.

Eih - No big deal here. I guarantee that a signed Rickey ball is certainly worth more than the foul ball. Not to mention the fact that the kid didn't even catch the foul ball so I would think getting an auto from Rickey Henderson would be much more memorable than a getting "gifted" a foul ball from an adult.

I mean, it's not like Rickey ripped the ball out of the kids hands.

I don't disagree on Schilling, but to me, the whole "Schilling character" is more interesting than 98% of professional athletes these days. Posting on fan message boards, possibly painting red paint on his sock for the sake of drama, badmouthing Barry Bonds, his Everquest nerdiness, etc. He's a jackass, but at least he's interesting.

oh shi


this thread is now on double secret probation and just one more slip up from you guys then no more thread.

You have no ma'bles!

I don't want to deny pumpy a chance to weigh in on this. He's sensitive that way.

I hope he signed the ball "Not Yours"

I guess I'm missing the point here...I don't really care about the kid so much as the fact that a future HoFer, one who potentially could still play, would care enough about a foul ball to keep it from anyone else in the stands - regardless of age. Unless it's a matter of self-preservation, I can't imagine why he'd even make the effort to catch it. He's one of the privileged few who has no need for capturing a "piece" of the game as a spectator. He probably didn't even pay for his ticket to the game.

I just picture him clutching the ball and muttering to himself over and over again, "No way man, this is Ricky's Ball, this is Ricky's Ball right here".

Whoa, how did I get involved?

I'm going to go get my glasses and my shoes - so I have them - and you and I can walk out of this thread together, shaking our heads.

I remember Doug Flutie catching a ball at a Red Sox game not too long ago. I'm pretty sure he didn't give it away either, the announcers kept showing him with it during the game. Where's the article about him?

I'm 100% in agreement here. Of course, I've always been a Ricky Henderson fan so that would make it far cooler. Ricky didn't do anything wrong here and probably made the kids day.

Yeah, I'd much rather have a signed Henderson ball.

He's not a fan! He's a freaking Hall of Famer!! The reason people make an effort to catch foul balls is because they'll never step foot on a real field and this is the closest they'll ever come. It's a tangible attachment to the game itself.

let's go. I'm going to blow this f-er up. you too pumpy. clear out.

What about me. :(

don't do it man, i got some shit invested in this thread

dur. you want a henderson ball. unless you start with some bashing pretty quick you are on your own.

I look at it differently, I guess. To think the guy is supposed to give up the ball to a kid doesn't make any sense to me.

I have no idea why this story would bother anyone. The basic story is that he autographed a ball for a young fan. That makes him an asshole?

The act in and of itself isn't "wrong" per say. Taking the act in context with who he is and his profession and it strikes me as moronic.

The desire of this man to cherish a foul ball is so farcical I'm amazed at this thread.

So he wanted to keep the ball. Big deal.

Catching a foul ball or fly ball as a player is a completely different experience than catching a foul ball as a spectator in the stands, so I can see where Rickey's coming from with that.

And come on, he signed a kid's ball. He didn't have to do that and I'd say that was a pretty classy move on his part.

So he wants to try again to play professional ball, realizes he probably won't make it, but hey wants to try anyway. More power to him.

My estimation of Rickey Henderson went up because of this article, not down.

Why can't Ricky look at it the same way from the other side? It must be weird for him so sit in the stands at a baseball game - it's probably a trip for him to catch and keep a ball, since it's the closest he'll come to being an ordinary fan.

So you'd do it differently. So what?

No! I don't care who he gives it to! It's the fact that a MLB player would care whether he kept a foul ball. It's the fact that he acted like my 3-year old in claiming the ball was "his" when he has access to a pile of MLB baseballs at home. It has nothing to do with the relative value of the foul ball versus the signed ball, either - irrelevant. It's the simple fact that he caught the ball to begin with and felt compelled to keep it.

It's like going to a kid's birthday party that is short on cake. Instead of giving up the last piece of cake to one of the kids, I decide to eat the piece I was given. That's an asshole move. You know why? Because I'm in a position to drive to the store and buy myself an entire cake to eat if I want, whereas the kid's just not going to get a piece of cake.

me and ksyrup with enjoy sanityland whilst all you suckas catch foul balls

And it must be weird for Bill Gates to see people so desperate that they'd spend their hard-earned money to play lotto. But it would be ridiculous, IMO, for him to play, notwithstanding "what a trip" it'd be if he actually won. There's nothing illegal about it, and he's perfectly able to do what he wants, but it is offensive to some that he would even consider it. Same with what Rickey did.

You're in crusade-land. The end result is the kid has a Rickey Henderson autograph he didn't have before going to the game, yet Rickey is somehow the bad guy. *shurg*

There's no guarantee the kid would've gotten the last slice of cake to begin with as there's other people at the party for one, and for two, driving to the store and buying a cake to eat is not the same thing as eating a piece of birthday cake. Totally different experience, totally different feeling about it.

Furthermore, Henderson autographed a ball for the kid. That'd be like giving the kid a fantastic cake from one of the best bakers on the planet and I guarantee the kid would be a hell of a lot happier with that terrific cake rather than just the last piece of that one cake.

If you think it's odd, I get that. But calling Ricky (and Gates) "moronic" or "offensive" because they want to do something that you don't understand their reasons for is kind of ridiculous. It's exactly the mindset that pressures ahletes and other public figures to be as bland as possible.

you are missing the point which is not the end result

mabye corksucker is strong here. moron would fit nicely. or loon.

Irrelevant to the actual issue. I don't care what he did after the fact, it's that he did what he did at all. For all you know, Rickey signed the ball while mumbling, "Maybe this will shut the whiny fuck up. Rickey needs some Rickey Time."

Maybe Ricky keeps all the ticket stubs and programs from these cherished games he gets to go to as a spectator. The third wing of the memorabilia section of his house is dedicated to these. It's next to all his broken bats.

I don't see what's so ridiculous about making an observation of someone's actions that I consider to be, really, just plain common sense and a matter of fairness, given that person's status.

Jedikooter thinks Rickey is gonna do what Rickeys gonna do.

I rented Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball for the SNES one time (the one where you can rename players), and some maroon before me renamed the Blue Jay players to their current (at the time) roster. So batting leadoff, their LF, with a speed of 10/10 was... Carlos Delgado.

That's not Henderson bashing, but I still find it funny.

I dunno- people have these ridiculous standards for athletes - they're supposed to be Ruth on the field, and Ghandi off it. I don't K's stance at all.

Right, since you're not allowed to be a fan of a sport you play. That sentiment is farcical and really, it's pretty obvious that Henderson is a fan since he's rich but kept playing minor league ball because he loves the sport so much. If I loved something that much and I fairly caught a foul ball I'd darned well want to keep it and giving a kid a hall of famer's autograph is going to be something the kid will remember far longer than some random foul ball he catches ( oops, didn't catch ).

Rickey Henderson is clearly a loon, but the problem here is the kid (or whoever) crying that something wasn't given to him... when something was given to him. I hope Rickey gets a job as a manager someday (I think he works spring training as a coach for some team).

Where is it that anyone is crying about it? I'm sure the kid or whoever is thrilled to get an autograph. The loon part is the focus here. This is indicative of that. He and Carl Everett should start up baseball card business.

Exactly! I was just about to point that out. Look at the article - not a single word of description about the kid or what happened on the play. My guess is the adults around Rickey were chiding him for not giving the ball to a kid who happened to be sitting near him, so he autographed the kid's ball. There's no indication the kid even wanted the ball, let alone cried about it.

So then why are we talking about this?

sigh

I guess because some people that weren't even there are crying that the kid wasn't given something... oh wait, he was given something.

I love Rickey Henderson. I think he's the most misunderstood guy ever.

I bet nobody said one word and this all came right from henderson. I bet he was seen catching the ball and then at some point was approached by a reporter where henderson recounted what happened. He's the whole article. Nobody else is quoted as saying one word.

how can nobody grasp the point that was made over and over again

even if you don't agree with the point, just acknowledge you get it.

I don't know how many times I have to say that this has nothing to do with the kid. It is the mere fact that Henderson would want the ball and keep it, given his status as a major league player. That is it. You guys keep changing the focus back to "Rickey didn't give the kid a ball" or "But he gave him a valuable autograph." I don't care - irrelevant!

When does the shuttle leave to take us back to Planet Earth? I don't want to get inadvertently left here on Planet Bizarro.

There's still something about catching one for yourself. I never have...

If you're a lawyer, you've used many pens before. But if a Hall of Fame lawyer threw his pen and you caught it, wouldn't you want to keep it instead of giving it to some kid?

wtf is a hall of fame lawyer. does he have 10/10 speed?

if you yourself are a hall of fame lawyer and catch some other hall of fame lawyer's pen you probably could care less about it. you have lots of nice pens.

That's really nonsensical and twists the facts, since I would have to be the HoFer to be equated with Rickey. In that case, I would be more like a normal "fan" of the lawyer (as absurd an analogy is this is). What you've just stated would be the equivalent of a minor league player catching a foul ball hit by a Rickey Henderson type of player, which of course would have a degree of significance attached to it. But that's not the case here.

If I was F. Lee Bailey and Roy Black tossed me his pen, I'd probably be so pissed at the insinuation that I'm a lesser attorney than him that I would sue him for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

You have no point. I think we all accept the right of people to catch and keep foul balls at baseball games, it happens thousands of times each season.

So Rickey catches a foul ball, a kid gets an autograph from a hall of famer, and somehow Rickey is the villian. I just don't see it.

I'm sorry, I don't understand your point at all. Should he not even go to baseball games then?

wtf

Yeah, you're right. My example is messed up.

But it sounds like this is the first ever foul ball that Henderson has caught as a fan. That is still special.

Well, at least you can admit your censure is based on guesses not anything in the story. That makes it understandable that you'd feel the way you do based on your guesswork.

I'm guessing that the kid is actually an alien from the planet zoonar and that the zoonarians travelled across the universe solely to get a Ricky Henderson autograph so in my guess, it's a win/win all the way.

Yeah, my example isn't equivalent to what happened here.

I don't know, a hall of fame lawyer would be one that has a high win %? Or efficiency in winning cases? Hmm... now I have to think of criteria.

Well, honestly if nobody grasps your point maybe, just maybe, it's time to reevaluate that point to make sure it's a valid one.

By the way I never caught a foul ball at a baseball game, but I did once catch a FAIR ball. It was a homerun hit by Brady Anderson in Fenway Park.

This is truly the most bizarre thread I've read on here in quite some time.

Keep it up, people!

Hey, the article says:


So the kid already caught another foul ball? Or maybe he was handed a foul ball earlier?

Why do you keep bringing up the kid? WHY?

Look, if Rickey went to a game and it was "Escaped Felons Get In Free" Night at the game, and Rickey caught a foul ball at the game, turned to the crowd and like a normal HoF player would, said, "I just caught a foul ball. But seeing as though I'm Rickey Henderson and me keeping a foul ball would be like an eskimo hording ice, I don't really see the need for me to have this. Since I know it would bring more joy to one of you peon "fans," I'm going to give it away. Do we have any child killers in the crowd? We do? Great! Here, sir, is a foul ball. I hope you have great memories of today's game."

If he did that - it still wouldn't make a difference to the underlying point we're trying to make.

Some of us keep pointing out that it's a matter of the experience of the thing and Rickey is perfectly reasonable to want to keep the memoir of that experience.

oh it's valid.

and the fact you are calling ksyrup a nobody is very insulting. he won't take that standing down.

Well, since you get your panties in a bunch over the fact that a paying fan catches a ball, no one complains and then autographs another ball for another fan, I can see how you'd win the emotional distress thing in the hypothetical you present. ;)

No, I was merely quoting you. I called him an emotional mess in my last post but you didn't know that when you replied to this.

I'm going to say this as politely as I can in typing:

:) :) :) FUCK. THE. KID. :) :) :)

Seriously, just fuck him. Forget he exists. Pretend Rickey is the only person in the damn place and the ball is hit right to him. If his initial instinct isn't to say, "What the hell do I need ANOTHER one of these for?!" and tosses the ball over his shoulder without a thought, then I have an issue with someone, in his position, who would act that way.

How do you know he even paid (not that it makes a difference to my point)?

FORGET HE IS A PAYING CUSTOMER!!!!

We will whittle this down.

At this point, I'm beginning to wonder how you can even call yourself a sports fan.

what in the hell are you talking about, sally

And I personally think that's hogwash - BUT, I accept that argument. At this point, afew people aren't even within a moonshot of getting to this point with me. They keep arguing about things that have no relevance to my point, and then tell me that's the point I'm trying to make. I'm no longer in this to argue FOR my point as being right, just for my point to be understood.

oops, misread. Post deleted pending a proper reply. Curse this work thing

that was my goal a page ago. just partially get within range of what the issue is.

So, Ricky is so disrespected that he is given free access to the game but is made to sit in foul ball territory?

Someone paid for the ticket he used and if it was the ballclub then yeah, that was an insult and if it was someone else, my point still stands.

Dude, seriously, I feel like Bob Newhart and I'm debating with Larry and Darryl, his other brother Darryl, and a bunch of their cousins named Darryl.

If it was Don Mattingly, the story would be about what a great guy he was for hanging out with the paying fans and giving out autographs.

Too bad for Rickey that he's black.

If there's a debate with darryl, his other brother darryl and their cousins is it really a debate?

Someone please unbox jbmagic to bring some sanity to this thread.

It just seems to me that taking the stance that Rickey, because he's caught balls as a player and because he'd have access to a bunch of baseballs, he should just not care about the foul ball he caught as a fan is rather cold, unfeeling, and denies one of the principle values of sports.

Namely, the emotional experience that goes along with fandom.

Catching a foul ball as a fan, regardless of what level of baseball you've played at (if any), no matter whether you paid or not, is an experience that makes the catcher feel great that hey, they got the ball.

The ball then becomes not just any ball, but a signifier of that elated emotional state and a symbol of the memory of that happy moment.

Emotions, both positive and negative, and the memories associated with those emotions, are the foundation of sports fandom.