“But when, when he came over to Toronto, and I had a chance to delve in a little bit deeper about who he was and his desire to win. And, yes, maybe he did take making it to the show — he kind of took that literally, he wanted to be a show — but he was really respectful about coming to Toronto late in the season, a good team, and he fit right in. The ego things were nonexistent.”
Henderson was an entertainer but also wanted to be a winner. And Rickey being Rickey was enjoyment for anyone around him.
“There was the whole idea of sitting on the bus,” Molitor said. “And someone told him, ‘You have to have tenure to sit at the front of the bus.’ And he said, ’10-year? I’ve got 14-year.’ Those type of stories.”
It will never be known what teams would have done with Henderson if he played today. Would they have tried to get him out of that deep crouch and make him more of a power hitter? Would research and development departments implore their managers to keep Henderson from stealing third base so much? And how would he have tried to stand out among the bat-flipping generation?
This was a player who, on July 29, 1989, went 0-for-0 at the plate but stole five bases and scored four runs.
Would managers today let Rickey be Rickey?
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