OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — When Ken Griffey Jr.'s own baseball-star father struggled to get through to the talented teen, Rickey Henderson somehow could.
The younger Griffey, who considers himself fortunate to this day to have roamed the New York Yankees clubhouse and hit on their field alongside so many all-time greats, made sure to listen and learn.
“I was 15 years old when I met Rickey, and he accepted me in the locker room along with Dave (Winfield) and a couple other guys,” Griffey Jr. shared. “When they talk about it takes a village to raise a kid, I'm thankful for Rickey and Dave and everybody else who raised me.”
Henderson died Dec. 20 at age 65 shortly before his Christmas birthday and was celebrated by former teammates, executives, friends and fans Saturday at the arena next door to the Oakland Coliseum where he played for so many years and, later, had a field named for him.
From Dusty Baker, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre to ex-teammates Jose Canseco, Carney Lansford, Dennis Eckersley, Dave Stewart and Dave Winfield, Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Frank Thomas and home run king Barry Bonds, nearly 3,000 people made their way through steady Bay Area rain to honor the one-of-a-kind Hall of Famer.
MC Hammer and wife Stephanie performed the Oakland rapper's tune “Goin' up Yonder.”
Another Oakland star, Basketball Hall of Fame member Gary Payton, credited Henderson for inspiring his success, albeit in another sport.
“It came from him. It came from me looking at him," Payton said. "That man right here, that is Oakland: Rickey Henderson.”
Former Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson recalled how most conversations with Henderson began with the brazen base-stealer "telling me bluntly, `Rickey needs a new contract.'”
“I'm only one executive who could tell you Rickey could be a pain in the neck,” Alderson said.
But he also watched Henderson as a fan, admiring someone because “he was unique in his talents, his charismatic flair and his special hometown history.”
“On Dec. 20, 2024, you all and we all lost a little bit of our childhood,” Alderson said.
When Dave Stewart won MVP honors after the earthquake-interrupted 1989 World Series the A's swept over the San Francisco Giants, Henderson had a little fun with his close pal.
Henderson had hit .474 with a home run, two triples, a double, three RBIs and three stolen bases over those four games.
“We were talking and whispering in each others' ears, you saw we were always pretty much close to each other when we were in uniform,” Stewart said. “And Rickey, when I was announced as the MVP, and I think he was shocked as he probably should have been because he did hit almost .500, but he briefly whispered in my ear, he said, ‘You know, if you was not there in the community helping all those people you wouldn't have gotten that award.'”
For Griffey, Henderson's care and attention to detail meant the world as the slugger began on his path and dreamed big in what would ultimately be his own Hall of Fame career.
One spring training day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when the veterans were doing their late work, Griffey was shagging balls for the big leaguers. Henderson always said hi on day one, and paid attention to Griffey's progress.
“We'd go on the back field and Rickey would hit balls to me, and I'm wondering, why is he only hitting them to me?" Griffey said. “Found out that he said, he told my dad later on, ‘He’s got a special talent. I just want to see how far he can go.' I am 15 years old. ... Rickey was like a brother, an older brother, an uncle, and sometimes I think that he was thinking that he was my damn dad, too.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press
