An independent baseball league is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball ).
73-645: The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams. During the initial season, two Hawaii -based teams, the Hawaii Stars and the Maui Warriors , played inter-league games against the Baseball Challenge League of Japan; California teams played against
146-511: A player to be named later . The Padres acquired George Arias to complete the trade. As an Angel, Henderson batted only .183 for the rest of the season. In January 1998, Henderson signed as a free agent with the Athletics, the fourth time he played for the franchise. That season he led the majors in stolen bases (66) and the AL in walks (118), while scoring 101 runs. In so doing, the 39-year-old became
219-551: A .420 on-base percentage (third in AL) and led the AL by reaching base 301 times. That winter, Henderson played in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League ; his 42 stolen bases broke that league's record as well. Henderson was an MVP candidate a year later, in a season shortened by a players' strike . He hit .319, fourth in the AL, and led the league in hits (135), runs (89) and in steals (56). Henderson
292-528: A Mets player since Willie Mays ' retirement in 1973. Nonetheless, Henderson and the Mets were an uneasy fit. Following the Mets' loss in the 1999 NLCS , the New York press made much of a card game between Henderson and Bobby Bonilla . Both players had been substituted out of the lineup, and they reportedly left the dugout before the playoff game had concluded. Henderson sought a raise on his $ 1.9 million salary for
365-470: A homer), while stealing three more bases. On August 22, 1989, he became Nolan Ryan 's 5,000th strikeout victim, but Henderson took an odd delight in the occurrence, saying, "If you haven't been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you're nobody." A year later, Henderson finished second in the league in batting average with a mark of .325, losing out to the Kansas City Royals ' George Brett on the final day of
438-590: A level considered major league from 1914 to 1915. Few independent leagues existed between 1915 and 1993. Major exceptions included the Carolina League and the Quebec -based Provincial League . The Carolina League, based in the North Carolina Piedmont region, gained a reputation as a notorious "outlaw league" during its existence from 1936 to 1938. The Provincial League fielded six teams across Quebec and
511-442: A lot, and you'd think people would look at it as a fantastic career. Instead, Rickey thinks people want Rickey to quit more than anything." Henderson played his last major league game on September 19, 2003; he was hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance, and came around to score his 2,295th run. Though it became increasingly unlikely that he would return, he continued to publicly debate his own official retirement. After leaving
584-399: A man." I guess I do that to people. Regarding Henderson's 1982 season, the mid-'80s book The Hidden Game of Baseball looked at such statistics as .78 expected runs with a runner on first and no outs, 1.07 expected runs with runner on second and no outs, and only .25 expected runs no one on and one out. The authors concluded that with Henderson's 130 stolen bases he contributed 22.2 runs to
657-400: A press release claiming that manager Lou Piniella wanted to trade Henderson for "jaking it" (playing lackadaisically). Still, Henderson had his best on-base percentage to that point in his career (.423), with a .291 batting avg., was fifth in the AL in stolen bases (41) and hit 17 home runs despite playing only 95 games. It was the only season from 1980 to 1991 in which Henderson did not lead
730-564: A season, having done so three times (in 1980, 1982, and 1983). His 1,406 career steals is 50% higher than the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock . Henderson is the all-time stolen base leader for the Oakland Athletics and previously held the New York Yankees ' franchise record from 1988 to 2011. He was among the league's top ten base stealers in 21 different seasons. Henderson was named the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1990, and he
803-619: A stolen base. He batted .274 with 33 stolen bases in 89 games. In 1980, Henderson became the third modern-era player to steal 100 bases in a season ( Maury Wills 104 in 1962 and Lou Brock 's 118 in 1974 had preceded him). His 100 steals broke Eddie Collins ' franchise record of 81 in 1910 with what were then the Philadelphia Athletics and set a new American League (AL) record, surpassing Ty Cobb 's 96 set in 1915. He also batted .303, had 179 hits (tied for ninth in AL), scored 111 runs (fourth in AL), drew 117 walks (second in AL), had
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#1732858593520876-529: A variety of independent semi-professional leagues consisting of industrial teams , where the players are regular employees of the company that own the team and are additionally paid to play baseball for the company on the side. South Korea also has series of small independent leagues. Additionally, as of 2024, two Japanese teams without affiliation to NPB teams play within NPB's minor leagues (the Eastern League and
949-521: A year off", adding, "I can't say I will retire. My heart is still in it ... I still love the game right now, so I'm going to wait it out and see what happens." On May 18, 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Oakland general manager Billy Beane was considering adding Henderson to the roster for one game in September, provided it did not "infringe on the integrity of the roster or of
1022-540: Is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with his original team, the Oakland Athletics . He is widely regarded as baseball's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner . He holds MLB records for career stolen bases , runs , unintentional walks and leadoff home runs . At
1095-736: The Eastern League . After the minor league season ended, he played the 1978–1979 winter season for the Navojoa Mayos of the Mexican Pacific League . He played in six games for the team, which won its first championship. In 1979, Henderson started the season with the Ogden A's of the Pacific Coast League . In 71 games for Ogden, he had a batting average of .309 and stole 44 bases. Henderson made his major league debut with Oakland on June 24, 1979, getting two hits in four at-bats, along with
1168-565: The Freedom Pro League of Arizona. Both Hawaii teams ceased operations after playing the 2013 season citing high travel costs of bringing in opponents from Northern California. The East Bay Lumberjacks also did not return for a second season. Two expansion clubs were added in 2014 (the Sonoma Stompers and Pittsburg Mettle ) bringing the total number of teams to four. In 2017 San Francisco businessman and entrepreneur Jonathan Stone
1241-749: The MLB Draft League , which operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league in the first half of each season and a professional league outside of the structure of Minor League Baseball for the remainder. Independent baseball leagues and teams exist outside of North America, though rarer. In Japan, the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization, which consists of the Shikoku Island League Plus and Baseball Challenge League , operates independently from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Japan also has
1314-519: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson . Gary Carter , another Hall of Famer, managed in the league. The Atlantic League has had many notable managers and coaches, including Wally Backman , Frank Viola , Tommy John , Sparky Lyle , and Bud Harrelson . The Northern League alumni include Leon "Bull" Durham , J. D. Drew , and Darryl Strawberry . Independent leagues are those professional leagues in
1387-628: The Seattle Mariners . In his second game as a Mariner, on May 20, Henderson hit a leadoff home run, thus becoming the third player to hit a home run in four different decades ( Ted Williams and Willie McCovey were the others). Despite starting the season in the National League, Henderson finished fourth in the AL in stolen bases (31). A free agent in March 2001, Henderson returned to the Padres. During
1460-464: The St. Louis Cardinals . On July 16, 1993, Henderson broke the world stolen base record by stealing his 1,066th base, thus going past the record which was previously held by Yutaka Fukumoto . In 90 games with Oakland, he was batting .327 (second in AL) with 17 home runs and 47 RBIs. He also had scored 77 runs, stolen 31 bases, drew 85 walks, had a .469 on-base percentage and was slugging .553. In July 1993,
1533-628: The Western League ). Similarly, within KBO Futures League , the minor league of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), there is an unaffiliated team that consists only of South Korean military personnel . A select number of Japanese independent teams also participate in the off-season Miyazaki Phoenix League alongside Japanese and Korean minor league teams. Rickey Henderson As coach MLB records Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958), nicknamed Man of Steal ,
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#17328585935201606-505: The 2000 season, but the Mets refused to renegotiate. He also feuded with manager Bobby Valentine and complained about traveling to Tokyo for the 2000 season opening series against the Chicago Cubs . Henderson batted .219 with no home runs and two RBIs before the Mets put him on waivers and granted him his release in May. After his release from the Mets, Henderson signed as a free agent with
1679-485: The 2001 season, he broke three major league career records and reached an additional major career milestone. He broke Babe Ruth 's record of 2,062 career walks, Ty Cobb 's record of 2,245 career runs, and Zack Wheat 's record of 2,328 career games in left field, and on the final day of the season (October 7) collected his 3,000th career hit, a leadoff double off Rockies pitcher John Thomson in San Diego. That final game
1752-427: The A's offense. By being caught stealing 42 times, he cost his team 20.6 runs, and therefore, the authors concluded, the net effect of his running activity was merely 1.6 extra runs for the season. A later analysis determined his net contribution was 5.3 runs for the season. Henderson also made MLB history in 1983 with his third 100 runs/100 stolen bases/100 walks season (no modern player has done it once), when he led
1825-416: The AL in runs scored (130) and stolen bases (87) for the second year in a row, and was seventh in walks (89) and extra base hits (64) while hitting 28 home runs (9 of which led off games) and had 74 RBIs. In 1987, he had a below-average season by his standards, fueling criticism from the New York media, which had never covered Henderson or his eccentricities kindly. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner issued
1898-577: The AL in steals (93), was third in runs scored (118), fifth in OBP (.394) and seventh in walks (82), while hitting .305. Though only in New York for 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 seasons, Henderson set the Yankees' franchise record with 326 stolen bases; the previous high (248) had been held by Hal Chase , who last played for the Yankees in 1913, when the team was still known as the Highlanders. On May 28, 2011, Henderson's total
1971-434: The AL in steals. Seattle's Harold Reynolds led the league with 60 steals; Reynolds tells the story of getting an impish phone call from Henderson after the season: The phone rings. 'Henderson here.' I say, 'Hey, what's going on, Rickey?' I think he's calling to congratulate me, but he goes, ' Sixty stolen bases? You ought to be ashamed. Rickey would have 60 at the break.' And then click, he hung up." In 1988, Henderson led
2044-411: The AL in stolen bases (108), walks (103) while finishing fourth in runs scored (105). He was also second in on-base percentage (.414), tied for ninth in triples (7) and fifth in times on base, reaching 257 times. In 1984, Henderson hit 16 home runs while leading the league in stolen bases (66), finishing second in runs scored (113) and third in on-base-percentage (.399). After the season, he was traded to
2117-473: The AL in walks (116), was fourth in runs (119) and third in on-base percentage (.398). Inspired by Dodgers leadoff hitter Rudy Law , Henderson adopted an exaggerated crouch as his batting stance, which reduced his strike zone without sacrificing much power. Sportswriter Jim Murray described Henderson's strike zone as being "smaller than Hitler's heart". In 1982, he described his approach to Sports Illustrated : I found that if I squatted down real low at
2190-481: The AL's MVP award and helped Oakland to another pennant. He again performed well in the World Series (.333 batting, .667 slugging, a home run and three steals in four games), but the A's were swept by the underdog Cincinnati Reds . On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke one of baseball's most noted records when he stole the 939th base of his career, one more than Lou Brock 's total compiled from 1961 to 1979, mainly with
2263-595: The All-Star break. In 30 games with the Dodgers, he had 15 hits and three stolen bases, with a .208 batting average. Before the 2003 season, his last in the majors, Henderson discussed his reputation for hanging onto his lengthy baseball career: Each and every day I set a record, but we never talk about it. We'll talk about a home run hitter 24/7. Well, they haven't broken any all-time records, but they hit homers, and that's what matters nowadays. You continue playing, you accomplish
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2336-461: The Athletics traded Henderson to the playoff-bound Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Karsay and José Herrera . He performed disappointingly for the Jays, hitting only .215 in 44 games, which was probably due to the fact that he fractured a bone on his hand early on with the team, after being hit by a pitch, although he still contributed 22 stolen bases and 37 runs scored. However, his hitting woes continued in
2409-491: The California Collegiate League for 2022. With no new news from the league's website and social media after the 2020 season cancellation, it is believed that the league has indeed folded. League members Former Team Independent baseball league Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises . Because they are not subject to
2482-756: The Dodgers, Henderson started his second consecutive season with the Newark Bears in May 2004. In 91 games he had a .462 OBP, with more than twice as many walks (96) as strikeouts (41), and stole 37 bases while being caught only twice. On May 9, 2005, Henderson signed with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the Golden Baseball League , an independent league. This was the Surf Dawgs' and the Golden Baseball League's inaugural season, and Henderson helped
2555-716: The National Association after one season of independence. Notable exceptions were the California League , which was independent in 1902 and from 1907 to 1909; the United States Baseball League , which folded during its independent 1912 season; and the Colonial League, a National Association Member that went independent in 1915 and then folded. Another independent league, the Federal League , played at
2628-587: The New York Yankees. As his muscular frame developed, Henderson continued to improve as a hitter. His increasing power-hitting ability eventually led to a record for home runs to lead off a game. During his career, he hit over 20 home runs in four different seasons, with a high of 28 in 1986 and again in 1990. In December 1984, Henderson was traded to the New York Yankees along with Bert Bradley for five players: Tim Birtsas , Jay Howell , Stan Javier , Eric Plunk , and José Rijo . In his first season with
2701-522: The Northern League's success paved the way for other independent leagues like the Texas-Louisiana League and Northeast League . Over the next eight years, at least 16 independent leagues formed, of which six existed in 2002. As of the 2024 season, there are seven active leagues, with four of them acting as MLB Partner Leagues . Additionally, Major League Baseball co-operatively operates
2774-563: The United States and Canada not under the purview of organized Minor League Baseball and the Commissioner of Baseball. Independent baseball existed in the early 20th century and has become prominent again since 1993. Leagues operated mostly autonomously before 1902, when the majority joined the NAPBL. From then until 1915, a total of eight new and existing leagues remained independent. Most joined
2847-553: The Yankees, he led the league in runs scored (146) and stolen bases (80), was fourth in batting average (.314), walks (99) and on-base percentage (.419), seventh in slugging (.516), third in OPS (.934) and hit 24 home runs. He also won the Silver Slugger Award , and was third in the voting for the MVP award. His 146 runs scored were the most since Ted Williams had 150 in 1950, and he became
2920-460: The back seat of an Oldsmobile on the way to the hospital. Henderson later joked, "I was already fast. I couldn't wait." He was named Rickey Nelson Henley, after singer-actor Ricky Nelson , and is the son of John L. Henley and Bobbie Henley. When he was two years old, his father moved to Oakland, California . Rickey lived with his grandmother in Pine Bluff, Arkansas , from when he was two until he
2993-463: The catch. In 1982, Henderson broke Lou Brock 's modern major league single season record by stealing 130 bases, a total which has not been approached since. He stole 84 bases by the All-Star break; no player has stolen as many as 84 bases in an entire season since 1988, when Henderson himself stole 93. Henderson's 130 steals outpaced nine of the American League's 14 teams that season. He also led
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3066-474: The entire history of Major League Baseball through the 2008 season, only 57 position players are known to have batted right and thrown left, and Henderson is easily the most successful player to do so. Henderson later said, "All my friends were right-handed and swung from the right side, so I thought that's the way it was supposed to be done." In 1976, Henderson graduated from Oakland Technical High School , where he played baseball, basketball and football , and
3139-494: The first player since Jimmie Foxx in 1939 to amass more runs scored than games played. Henderson became the first player in major league history to reach 80 stolen bases and 20 home runs in the 1985 season. He matched the feat in 1986, as did the Reds' Eric Davis ; they remain the only players in major league history who are in the "20/80 club". It was with the Yankees that Henderson, who had previously worn number 35 with Oakland, which
3212-731: The league for the Pecos League . The California Dogecoin was listed as an expansion team on the league website, but after the season was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic were removed without having played a game. The 2020 season was officially cancelled on July 17, 2020. Later, the California Dogecoin formed the Liberation Professional Baseball League. The Sonoma Stompers announced in October 2021 their intentions to join
3285-570: The league record for team stolen bases. The Modesto A's finished the season with 357 stolen bases, just shy of the league record of 370. While Woodard tied the single-season player record with 90 stolen bases, Henderson beat the record by stealing 95 bases, and was awarded the Sundial Trophy, given to the Modesto A's Most Valuable Player. Henderson spent the 1978 season with the Jersey City A's of
3358-499: The most dominant and innovative players of all time. He was further known for his unquenchable passion for playing baseball and a buoyant, eccentric, and quotable personality that both perplexed and entertained fans. Once asked if he thought Henderson was a future Hall of Famer, statistician Bill James replied, "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers." Henderson was born on December 25, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois , in
3431-547: The oldest player to lead a league in stolen bases, and the oldest player to reach 50 steals. A year later, Henderson signed as a free agent with the New York Mets . In 1999, he batted .315 with 37 steals and was seventh in the NL in on-base percentage. Henderson was voted the 1999 National League comeback player of the year by The Sporting News . He wore number 24, which—although not officially retired—had not been regularly worn by
3504-505: The plate ... I could see the ball better. I also knew it threw the pitcher off. I found that I could put my weight on my back foot and still turn my hips on the swing. I'm down so low I don't have much of a strike zone. Sometimes, walking so much even gets me mad. Last year Ed Ott of the Angels got so frustrated because the umpire was calling balls that would've been strikes on anybody else that he stood up and shouted at me, "Stand up and hit like
3577-635: The post-season, batting .120 in the American League Championship Series and .227 in the World Series . Nevertheless, Henderson was involved in the final play of the World Series that year, as he and Paul Molitor scored on Joe Carter's Series-ending home run , one of the most famous moments in baseball history. After the 1993 season, Henderson re-signed as a free agent with Oakland in December 1993. In 1994 and 1995, Henderson finished in
3650-468: The report the following day. On February 10, 2006, he accepted a position as a hitting instructor for the Mets, while leaving the door open to returning as a player. In July 2006, Henderson discussed an offer he'd received to rejoin the Surf Dawgs for the 2006 season, which would have been his 31st in professional baseball, but suggested he'd had enough. Six weeks later, though, on August 11, he claimed "It's sort of weird not to be playing, but I decided to take
3723-796: The season", so that Henderson could retire as an Oakland A's player. A month later, Henderson appeared to reject the overture, saying, "One day? I don't want one day. I want to play again, man. I don't want nobody's spot ... I just want to see if I deserve to be out there. If I don't, just get rid of me, release me. And if I belong, you don't have to pay me but the minimum—and I'll donate every penny of that to some charity. So, how's that hurtin' anybody? ... Don't say goodbye for me ... When I want that one day they want to give me so bad, I'll let you know." The Athletics retired Henderson's #24 on August 1, 2009. Henderson finally conceded his "official retirement" on July 13, 2007: "I haven't submitted retirement papers to MLB, but I think MLB already had their papers that I
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#17328585935203796-463: The season. Henderson had a remarkably consistent season, with his batting average falling below .320 for only one game, the third of the year. Reaching safely by a hit or a walk in 125 of his 136 games, he led the league in runs (119), stolen bases (65), on-base percentage (.439) and OPS (1.016) was second in slugging percentage (.577), fourth in walks (97) and extra base hits (66), sixth in home runs (28) and total bases (282) and had 61 RBIs. Henderson won
3869-487: The team to the league championship. In 73 games he had a .456 OBP, with 73 walks while striking out 43 times, and 16 steals while being caught only twice. It would be his final professional season. Henderson would not accept the end of his major league career. In May 2005, he was still insisting that he was capable of playing in the major leagues. NBC and ESPN reported that Henderson had announced his much-delayed official retirement on December 6, 2005, but his agent denied
3942-558: The ten top base stealers who were still active as of 2002, the other nine each stole fewer bases in 2002 than the 42-year-old Henderson. In February 2002, Henderson signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox , where at age 43 he became the oldest player to play center field in major league history when he replaced Johnny Damon for three games in April and another in July. Henderson's arrival
4015-645: The territorial limitations imposed on affiliated minor-league teams, independent clubs can relocate as close to affiliated teams (and one another) as they choose to. For example, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , cannot have an affiliated team because of its proximity to the Harrisburg Senators and Reading Fightin Phils , leaving the Atlantic League to place a team—the Lancaster Barnstormers —to fill
4088-473: The time of his last major league game in 2003, the ten-time American League (AL) All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in walks . In 2009 , he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Henderson holds the single-season record for stolen bases (130 in 1982) and is the only player in AL history to steal 100 bases in
4161-648: The top 10 in the league in walks, steals and on-base percentage. His .300 average in 1995 marked his sixth and final season in the AL with a .300 or better average. Henderson signed with the San Diego Padres in the offseason. In 1996, he again finished in the top ten in the National League (NL) in walks, OBP, steals and runs. On August 13, 1997, the Padres traded Henderson to the Anaheim Angels for minor leaguers Ryan Hancock and Stevenson Agosto, as well as
4234-714: The void. Another example is the greater New York City metropolitan area, where there are many independent teams: the Long Island Ducks , Staten Island FerryHawks , New Jersey Jackals , New York Boulders , and Sussex County Miners . The Atlantic League considered as the top level of competition among the independent leagues, and has had more marquee players than any other independent league, including Jose Canseco , Mat Latos , Steve Lombardozzi Jr. , Francisco Rodríguez , Chien-Ming Wang , Roger Clemens , Rich Hill , Scott Kazmir , Juan González , John Rocker , and Dontrelle Willis . Two former Atlantic League players are in
4307-415: Was already taken by Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez . As the 2003 season began, Henderson was without a team for the first time in his career. He played in the independent Atlantic League with the Newark Bears , hoping for a chance with another major league organization. After being named the Atlantic League All-Star Game MVP and receiving much media attention, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him over
4380-406: Was already taken by his Yankees teammate Phil Niekro , switched to his now famous 24, a number he would wear for the rest of his career (with two exceptions: (1) he briefly wore number 14 in 1993 while playing with the Blue Jays, (2) he wore his "old" number 35 in 2000 and 2002 while playing with the Mariners and the Red Sox, and (3) he wore number 25 while playing with the Dodgers). In 1986, he led
4453-454: Was also Tony Gwynn 's last major league game, and Henderson had originally wanted to sit out so as not to detract from the occasion, but Gwynn insisted that Henderson play. After scoring the game's first run, Henderson was removed from the lineup. At the age of 42, in his last substantial major league season, Henderson finished the year with 25 stolen bases, ninth in the NL; it also marked his 23rd consecutive season with more than 20 steals. Of
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#17328585935204526-648: Was also third in on-base percentage (.408), tied for second in triples (7), fourth in walks (64), eighth in total bases (185) and second in times reaching base (201). In so doing, he became the emblematic figure of Oakland manager Billy Martin 's aggressive "Billy Ball" philosophy, which received much media attention. Finishing second to the Milwaukee Brewers ' Rollie Fingers in the MVP voting, Henderson's fielding that season also earned him his only Gold Glove Award . He later became known for his showboat "snatch catches", in which he would flick his glove out at incoming fly balls, then whip his arm behind his back after making
4599-549: Was an All-American running back with two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He also ran track , but did not stay with the team as the schedule conflicted with baseball. Henderson received over a dozen scholarship offers to play football. Despite a childhood dream to play for the Oakland Raiders , he turned down the scholarships on the advice of his mother, who argued that football players had shorter careers. In 1983, Henderson married his high-school sweetheart, Pamela. They have three children: Angela, Alexis, and Adrianna. Henderson
4672-472: Was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fourth round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft . He spent the first season of his minor league career with the Boise A's of the Northwest League . In 46 games, Henderson batted .336 and hit three home runs and two triples . Henderson spent the following season with the Modesto A's . He batted .345 in 134 games during his record-setting season with Modesto. Henderson, along with Darrell Woodard , nearly broke
4745-456: Was elected as part of the 2009 Hall of Fame vote , in his first appearance on the ballot. At a press conference two days after his election, the 50-year-old Henderson told reporters, "I believe today, and people say I'm crazy, but if you gave me as many at-bats that you would give the runners out there today, I would outsteal every last one of them ... they can always ring my phone and I'll come on down and help their ballclub, that's how much I love
4818-425: Was independent from 1948 to 1949. Similarly to early 20th-century independent leagues, it joined the National Association in 1950, playing for six more years. Independent leagues saw new growth after 1992, after the new Professional Baseball Agreement in organized baseball instituted more stringent revenue and stadium requirements on members. The Northern League and Frontier League both started play in 1993, and
4891-467: Was marked by a statistical oddity. During the 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 years from his June 1979 debut through the end of the 2001 season, he had stolen more bases by himself than his new team had: 1,395 steals for Henderson, 1,382 for the Boston franchise. The Red Sox finally "passed" Henderson on April 30, 2002. At age 43, Henderson was the oldest player in the American League. While playing in Boston, Henderson wore his old number 35, as his regular number 24
4964-417: Was named MVP of the American League Championship Series ; he hit .400 while scoring eight runs and delivering two home runs, five runs batted in (RBIs), seven walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage . Leading the Athletics to a four-game sweep over the San Francisco Giants and the franchise's first World Series title since 1974 , Henderson hit .474 with an .895 slugging average (including two triples and
5037-407: Was named league commissioner. Expansion came again in 2018 with the addition of the Martinez Clippers and Napa Silverados . This brought the league to an all-time high of six member clubs. Before the 2019 season the league lost two teams, Martinez and Pittsburg, which both folded. The Salina Stockade were added to the league for 2019 as a travel team. Prior to the 2020 season, San Rafael left
5110-424: Was retired." Characteristically, he added, "If it was a situation where we were going to win the World Series and I was the only player that they had left, I would put on the shoes." Contrary to speculation, Henderson's refusal to officially retire had not been delaying his eligibility for Hall of Fame induction. Since the 1970s, the five-year waiting period has been based on major league service only. Henderson
5183-475: Was seven, when he migrated to Oakland with his family. His father died in an automobile accident 10 years after leaving home. His mother married Paul Henderson in Rickey Henley's junior year of high school and the family adopted the Henderson surname. As a child learning to play baseball in Oakland, Henderson developed the ability to bat right-handed although he was a naturally left-handed thrower—a rare combination for baseball players, especially non- pitchers . In
5256-434: Was surpassed by Derek Jeter , who by that point had already played 1,700 more games as a Yankee than Henderson. On June 21, 1989, the Yankees traded Henderson back to Oakland for Plunk, Greg Cadaret , and Luis Polonia . After the trade, his 52 steals and 72 runs scored led the Athletics into the postseason; his 126 walks for the year were the most for any AL hitter since 1970. With a record eight steals in five games, he
5329-445: Was twice the lead-off hitter for World Series champions: the 1989 Oakland Athletics and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays . A 12-time stolen base champion, Henderson led the league in runs five times. His 24-year career elevated him to the top ten in several other categories, including career at-bats , games, and outfield putouts and total chances . His high on-base percentage , power hitting, and stolen base and run totals made him one of
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