Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s father mourns fellow HOFer Rickey Henderson's passing
The outpouring of tributes continues for Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. The "Man of Steal" died on Friday, December 20, 2024, after a battle with pneumonia at 65.
In an Instagram post by fellow Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, the Dominican star remembered the MLB's all-time leader in stolen bases through a touching tribute. Guerrero used a multilingual approach for his tribute to Henderson.
"Baseball mourns today. Rickey Henderson, the stolen base king, has passed. Thank you for everything, legend."
Known as "Vlad the Impaler" during his playing days, Vladimir Guerrero spent 16 seasons in the majors and was a nine-time All-Star, an eight-time Silver Slugger, and was the 2004 AL MVP. In 2018, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. To the younger baseball crowd, he's more known as the father of Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
1,000 stolen bases club ft. Rickey Henderson and NPB Hall of Famer
Fans stateside are very well acquainted with the late great Rickey Henderson's career accomplishments, especially in stealing bases. The Man of Steal tallied a mind-boggling 1,406 stolen bases throughout his major league career. The runner-up on the list, Hall of Famer Lou Brock, has 408 fewer with 938 stolen bases.
Henderson was so dominant in stealing bases that he overtook Brock's record in just his 13th MLB season. He would go on to play for 12 more years.
Unbeknownst to many, however, is the fact that there is another 1,000-stolen base king in the Far East. Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer Yutaka Fukumoto is the only other player in baseball history aside from Henderson to reach the 1,000 stolen bases milestone.
Fukumoto played all 20 seasons of his NPB career with the Hankyu Braves. When he retired in 1988, he tallied a total of 1,065 stolen bases. Interestingly enough, it was Fukumoto's record that Henderson finally broke in 1993 that cemented the latter's place as the undisputed stolen bases king amongst all baseball players.
In true Rickey Henderson fashion, he claimed the base that he stole to break the record. He then gifted it to the Japanese baseball legend as a sign of commemoration.
"When Rickey Henderson passed Yutaka Fukumoto for the stolen base record, he not only gave him the base, but also blessed us with the Rickeyest of Rickeyisms, calling him him "The World's Greatest Base Stealer of Japan" - Gaijin Baseball
Known for his flamboyant and outspoken nature on and off the field, Henderson served as an inspiration to many baseball players far and wide.