Rickey Henderson has been featured twice on Monster Monday, for his 1982 card and his 1990 card. This 1985 may be one of his best, however. It certainly is most indicative of his talents. Not everyone is a Rickey Henderson fan but no one can argue his talent on the ball field. He currently ranks first among all Major League ballplayers in career runs scored (2.295) and stolen bases (1.406) and comes in second in walks (2,190).
In 1985, Henderson had just been traded to the Yankees. The consummate leadoff man, he batted first in the lineup in all but two of his games that year. He responded by hitting a robust .314 with 80 stolen bases. This was also the first time in Henderson broke the 20-homer barrier as his cracked 24 dingers for New York. Rickey almost hit the century mark in walks with 99.
For his efforts, Henderson came in third in the AL MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger award.
| Split | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Totals | 143 | 547 | 146 | 172 | 28 | 5 | 24 | 72 | 80 | 99 | 65 | .314 | .419 | .516 |
Henderson’s 1985 card has it all. Hitting, power, speed, patience, you name it. The 22-8 is a little off-putting but is necessary due to his three 11s and one 10 not to mention his five 14s. My estimate is that this card should hit around .325.
I haven’t even talked about Rickey’s power. A 1-5-6 is certainly not Babe Ruth but with everything else considered, it’s all gravy. The only downside is that you may be batting a hitter with a 5 in the leadoff spot.
A side note: the 42-12 on this 1985 card will be aggravating for Rickey fans. What should be a obvious walk might well be an inning-ending double play.
best lead-off man in the history of the game, imo.