Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. Rickey Henderson

[TarHeelPhenom]

Rickey was a STUD. One of the best to ever do it He played the game with charisma and was the fastest man I've ever seen run bases. He also was a workhorse, playing 25 MLB seasons (ridiculous). He's the best lead off batter in MLB history.

Here are his MLB Career STATS:

MLB statistics

Batting average .279
Hits 3,055
Home runs 297
Runs batted in 1,115
Stolen bases 1,406
Runs 2,295

Accolades

10× All-Star (1980, 1982–1988, 1990, 1991)
2× World Series champion (1989, 1993)
AL MVP (1990)
ALCS MVP (1989)
Gold Glove Award (1981)
3× Silver Slugger Award (1981, 1985, 1990)
12× AL stolen base leader (1980–1986, 1988–1991, 1998)
Oakland Athletics No. 24 retired
Athletics Hall of Fame

MLB Records

1,406 career stolen bases
2,295 career runs
130 stolen bases, single season

With the way baseball is played now, I don't think we'll ever see his stolen base records being broken. However....

If there is one guy who could at least threaten his throne as best lead off man of all-time, provided his career remains on it's current trajectory, it's Ronald Acuna Jr.

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Current MLB Stats through 2023

Batting average: .292
Home runs: 161
Runs batted in: 402
Stolen bases: 180

Hits: 767

Runs: 543

Accolades

4× All-Star (2019, 2021–2023)
NL MVP (2023)
All-MLB First Team (2023)
2× All-MLB Second Team (2019, 2020)
NL Rookie of the Year (2018)
NL Hank Aaron Award (2023)
3× Silver Slugger Award (2019, 2020, 2023)
2× NL stolen base leader (2019, 2023)

There is so much that can happen during a career. Will Acuna stay healthy? Will his career stay on this current trajectory? Will he continue hitting lead-off for the remainder of his career? He'll more than likely surpass Rickey in HR's in short order. But, the other stats, and the longevity, can he reach Rickey? To the youngsters who may not know, Rickey Henderson was a BADDDDDDDDD man!!!

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. Rickey Henderson

Acuna is great and all, but Rickey, to quote Rickey, or paraphrase, rather - ''Today, Rickey is the greatest of all-time. Thank-you.''

[Sportsforever]

Re: Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. Rickey Henderson

Acuna is good, amazing actually...but Rickey was something else. Rickey played 25 seasons in the bigs and has a .401 OBP; Acuna, in his prime, has a .381 OBP. It might climb towards Henderson in the next few years, but when I was growing up Rickey was kind of mythical.

As a Braves fan, Acuna is as exciting as it gets...I love the guy, but he needs to do what he did last year for 10+ years just to get into the discussion.

[Madden08PCgmr]

Re: Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. Rickey Henderson

It too early for a verses thing here, IMO

Acuna is only 26.. and its such a shame he lost on big chunks of 3 seasons with Covid and the knee injury. Otherwise his stat line may have looked like Juniors. Maybe even A-Rods.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. Rickey Henderson

It too early for a verses thing here, IMO...

Yeah, call me when Acuna leads the majors in steals when he's 39 years old. Then I'll revisit the conversation.