Henderson Looks Back on His (Disappointing) Days as a Yankee

From Bill Madden:

Proud and joyful as he was about playing for 25 years and establishing career records for runs scored and stolen bases, Rickey Henderson admitted regretting that his Yankee career wasn't longer. His manager with the A's and Yankees, and surrogate father figure, Billy Martin, had told Henderson that he was destined to be a Yankee and that once he was, he would surely earn himself a place in Monument Park.

"Billy Martin brought me to the Yankees - he always said I should've been a Yankee star - and I do have regret that when I was there we had a great team that somehow never could get by Toronto," Henderson said. "For me, I was never able to overcome everything about that hamstring injury."

Ah, yes, the famous Henderson "hammy" that dominated the New York baseball news that summer of 1987. By then, Lou Piniella was the Yankee manager - Martin had been fired by George Steinbrenner two years earlier, for the third time - and a season that had started out with much promise gradually disintegrated amid a rash of injuries. Of all the ailments, Henderson's pulled hamstring, which kept him on the disabled list for 55 games, proved most vexing.

It was remembered that Henderson had sat out the first two weeks of the 1985 season when Yogi Berra was manager and returned to the lineup only after Yogi was fired and replaced by Martin. Henderson had made no secret that he wasn't crazy about Piniella, and that fueled speculation that Henderson was holding himself out of the lineup.

It got to the point where Steinbrenner ordered the Yankee team physician to examine Henderson and make a determination on how debilitating the injury was. At the same time, the Yankee owner, who was warring with Piniella over a number of petty issues, released a rambling press release in which he said, "Lou Piniella says Rickey is jaking it and should be put on the disabled list."

That only served to undermine Piniella's influence and cast Henderson as a malcontent with the fans.

"Anybody who knows me knows how much I hated not playing," Henderson said. "Before I pulled that hamstring, I thought I was heading for an MVP season. I'd worked so hard all winter for that. But then, when all that happened, the media misunderstood and blew it all out of proportion and I got a bad rep. It just wouldn't heal and I took a lot of grief. That's why I never fulfilled myself as a Yankee."

He also had this to say when he was asked if HGH or steroids would have helped his hamstring heal faster:

"Man," he said, "I had no clue about steroids. I saw guys working out in the weight room, but I always felt if I built my body up it would slow me down. That's why I was naive about steroids."

Knowing he played with McGwire and Canseco I find it hard to believe that he "had no clue about steroids," but that's a topic for another day. (I'm not saying he used, but I'm sure he had some idea about them.)

Rickey may not have become the Yankee he thought he would be, but his days here were not all bad. Four all-star appearances, a silver slugger award in '85 - a year that also saw him lead the American League in runs scored and finish 3rd in the MVP voting. He once again led AL in runs in '86, and in his 4 1/2 years as a Yankee racked up 326 stolen bases.

He also played on two teams that won over 90 games (97 in '85), and had there been a wild card back then, would have made the playoffs twice.

He also taught an entire generation what not to do after catching a fly ball.