2008 Hall of Fame Inductees: Jim Rice Finally In, Rickey Henderson
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Hello again, Baseball fans. Been away from baseball blogging again for the past six days doing double-duty on 2 Israel blogs reporting on Operation Cast Lead which is now temporarily in cease-fire mode. Those interested can follow the war news here and here.
After years of frustration, last Tuesday Baseball writers finally chose former Boston Red Sox veteran leftfielder for 16 seasons Jim Rice. They chose 25 season veteran journeyman outfielder and base-stealing specialist Rickey Henderson in his first attempt to make the Hall.
Rice, who followed and had to fill the shoes of all-time Boston leftfielding Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, was part of the Red Sox teams which went to the World Series in 1975, losing to Cincinnati who had won 108 games, and in 1986 losing to the New York Mets who also won 108 games. In 1986, the BoSox had come painfully close to winning their 1st World Series title since the infamous “Curse of Ruth,” before 1st baseman Billy Buckner muffed an easy 3rd out ground ball in the 6th inning as Boston went on to blow a 3 games to 2 lead and lose the series in 7 games.
Rice hit 382 career homers, drove in 1,451 runs, scored 1,249 runs, collected 2,452 hits and carried a career .298 batting average. He and Fred Lynn made up as potent a one-two offensive punch as you could find in 1979 each hitting 39 homers and combining to drive in 252 runs. But despite all of that power, Boston finished 3rd in the the AL East that season.
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum notes that:
Yaz was the last leftfielder voted to Cooperstown (1989) until Henderson and Rice got the call Monday. Henderson scooted in on his first try, Rice in his 15th and final year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.
Henderson, who holds both the MLB career stolen base record with 1,406 and the modern-day single season record of 130 set in 1982 with the Oakland Athletics actually stole 100 or more bases in each of 3 seasons — 1980, 1982 and 1983 — all with the Oakland A’s.
Henderson collected 3,055 hits in his 25 seasons hitting 297 homers and carried a lifetime .279 batting average. He played in both the 1989 and 1993 World Series with the Oakland Athletics in ‘89 going 9-19 and hitting .474 and with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 going 5-22.
AP’s Blum further notes;
The pair will be inducted into the Hall during ceremonies July 26 in Cooperstown. They’ll be joined by former New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians second baseman Joe Gordon, elected posthumously last month by the Veterans Committee.
Gordon will be depicted on his plaque wearing a Yankees cap. He played seven of his 11 seasons in New York, winning four of his five World Series championships and the 1942 AL MVP award.
An exhibit on the class of 2009 will open in Cooperstown this spring, Hall president Jeff Idelson said.
One piece of memorabilia that’s missing is the home plate Henderson crossed when he scored his 2,246th run, breaking Ty Cobb’s career record. Henderson said he and San Diego Padres chairman John Moores went out to the field the following day and dug up the plate as a keepsake.
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