Henderson, Rice elected to Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP)—Rickey Henderson’s specialty was scoring runs. Jim Rice’s job was to knock ‘em in.

No matter how they did it, though, few players frightened opposing pitchers more than the two newest members of the baseball Hall of Fame.

Henderson and Rice were elected in balloting announced Monday by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, vastly different stars now headed to Cooperstown together.

Henderson zipped in on his first try, Rice with a final swing. Henderson played for nine teams, Rice only one. Henderson built his game around speed, Rice a powerful stick.

“Rickey could make things happen. He was the type of guy that you wanted to keep off the bases,” said Rice, the Boston slugger who was previously passed over 14 times for the Hall. “During that time you needed players like that. You needed some excitement.”

The undisputed standard for leadoff hitters, Henderson received 94.8 percent of the vote, well above the 75 percent needed. Rice, among the game’s most feared boppers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, got 76.4 percent in his 15th and final year on the BBWAA ballot. Last year, he fell just shy with 72.2 percent.

“The only thing I can say is I’m glad it’s over with,” Rice said. “I’m in there and they can’t take it away.”

Henderson, baseball’s career leader in runs scored and stolen bases, became the 44th player elected in his first year of eligibility. Rice was only the third chosen by the BBWAA in his final year, joining Red Ruffing (1967) and Ralph Kiner (1975).

The pair will be inducted into the Hall during ceremonies July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y. They’ll be joined by former Yankees and Indians second baseman Joe Gordon, elected posthumously last month by the Veterans Committee.

“It’s really just an honor to me. I’m really just spaced out,” Henderson said. “I haven’t really thought about what I’m going to say.”

Plenty of people are curious, though.

While Rice was known for his no-nonsense attitude, Henderson was renowned for his confounding comments. He has a penchant for referring to himself in the third person—at any point during a stream of sometimes indecipherable chatter.

“I can’t wait to hear his acceptance speech,” former teammate Willie Randolph said.

Henderson was picked on 511 of 539 ballots and Rice was selected on 412, just above the 405 needed.

Rice received only 29.8 percent of the vote in 1995, when he appeared on the ballot for the first time. He initially topped 50 percent in 2000 and reached 64.8 percent in 2006.
The highest percentage for a player who wasn’t elected in a later year was 63.4 by Gil Hodges in 1983, his final time on the ballot.

Some thought Rice’s prickly personality and acrimonious relationship with reporters during his playing days helped keep him out of the Hall all those years.

“I don’t think I was difficult to deal with for writers. I think the writers were difficult to me,” he said. “I wasn’t going to badmouth my teammates. When you start talking about my teammates or what goes on outside baseball, I couldn’t do that.

“I don’t know why it took me so long. I don’t even want to think about it,” he added. “I’m just happy I’m in and that’s what I’m going to cherish.”

What did he learn all these years?

“Be patient and wait until the last out,” Rice said. “I guess everything was just timing, because my numbers have not changed over the last 14 years.”

Andre Dawson fell 44 votes short with 67 percent. He was followed by Bert Blyleven (62.7 percent), Lee Smith (44.5), Jack Morris (44.0), Tommy John (31.7) and Tim Raines (22.6). John appeared on the ballot for the final time.

Mark McGwire, stigmatized by accusations he used performance-enhancing drugs, received 118 votes (21.9 percent) in his third year of eligibility, down from the 128 votes he got in each of his first two tries.

Henderson, who played with McGwire in Oakland, said the first baseman was one of the best people he’s ever been around.

“He played the game the right way to me,” Henderson said. “I feel he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”

Henderson, the 1990 AL MVP, was a 10-time All-Star who swiped 1,406 bases. Lou Brock is second with 938.

A showman in every sense of the word, Henderson batted .279 with 297 homers, 1,115 RBIs, 3,055 hits, 2,190 walks and 2,295 runs. He owns the modern-day season record with 130 steals in 1982, and the career mark with 81 leadoff homers. He played 25 seasons for Oakland, the Yankees, Toronto, San Diego, Anaheim, the Mets, Seattle, Boston and the Dodgers.

“No one was able to impact the course of a game in as many ways as Rickey,” Randolph said.
Henderson wanted to be a football star before his mother persuaded him to give pro baseball a try, figuring it offered a better chance at a long career.

If it were up to Henderson, now 50, he’d still be playing ball.

“They said I have to be retired to go in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “Maybe they give me that day or two that I come back and it wouldn’t mess up anything.”

Henderson wasn’t sure which team’s cap will go on his Hall of Fame plaque. He gets some say in the matter, but ultimately it’s the Hall’s decision.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Henderson said about his election. “I was nervous, waiting.”
Rice, the 1978 AL MVP, was an eight-time All-Star who hit 382 home runs in 16 seasons with the Red Sox from 1974-89. He had a .298 career batting average and 1,451 RBIs, and from 1977-79 averaged .320 with 41 homers and 128 RBIs.

He becomes the fourth Hall of Famer to have spent his entire career with the Red Sox, joining fellow left fielders Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, along with second baseman Bobby Doerr.

“That’s I think one of the biggest accomplishments,” Rice said.