Remembering my conversation with Rickey Henderson

by gondeee on Jan 13, 2009 10:23 AM EST

I'd like to congratulate Rickey Henderson on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many Braves fans get sore at the mention of the Hall because one of the Braves greats, Dale Murphy, has been repeatedly denied entry. The pros and cons for Murphy's induction are argued about every year with little change in the voting in his favor. As for Henderson, there isn't much doubt that he deserved to be in there.

Back in March of 2007, I traveled down to Florida for Spring Training, taking in not only Braves games but other teams in other stadiums. I was lucky enough to have press access to some of these stadiums, including the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie. It was there on the dugout bench during batting practice that I saw Rickey Henderson sitting and talking to a reporter. I got up the courage and sat next to the reporter and waited my turn to talk to the stolen base king.

It's still one of those pinch-me moments, but on that spring day in Florida, I did one of the best interviews I have ever done, and had one of the most candid conversations with a ball player that I've ever had -- and it was future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

I figured this was a perfect time to share that interview once again. Click here to read the interview over at Baseball Digest Daily. Enjoy.

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YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!

It’s done. Lowe is a brave! DOB has reported it! Now, let’s get a bat.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/braves-sign-der.html

by ryan c on Jan 13, 2009 11:05 AM EST reply actions

nice interview… don’t remember if i read this the first time around. it’s obvious that rickey is battling the language somewhat, but he’s still making some really sharp arguments for why the steroid era should be considered differently than the current one.

by brndn on Jan 13, 2009 1:09 PM EST reply actions

Interesting stuff. Kind of confirms what I’ve always heard, Ricky’s a great guy…as long as you don’t ask for his autograph. I know experienced collectors don’t even bother to ask him.

And I have some friends who study Linguistics who would love to dissect his speech patterns.

by cbwilk on Jan 13, 2009 2:10 PM EST reply actions

i suggest ricky’s book. Off Base: Confessions of a Thief. Didnt really exspect to enjoy it and was really suprised. By the way, he must have got someone to write it for him! lol a whole lot easier to understand than his interview. but regardless good interview

by jbizzie10 on Jan 24, 2009 3:14 AM EST reply actions