Rickey Henderson had his detractors during his MLB career which spanned 1979-2003. However many of those who didn’t care much for his personality gave him his due as one of the best leadoff men of his time.
This is his APBA card for the 1983 season. That year, he hit .292 for the Oakland A’s. Even better, he led the AL with 108 stolen bases and 103 walks. Those are two categories which are key for a leadoff hitter.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 Totals | 145 | 622 | 513 | 105 | 150 | 25 | 7 | 9 | 48 | 108 | 19 | 103 | 80 | .292 | .414 | .421 |
This pock-marked card has a total of six 14* result numbers. And if we’re being technical, it has nine 11s but only two are in the first column.
This should go without saying but Henderson was rated as a Fast baserunner. He was a top-notch OF-3 defender.
Hindu’s power was solid at three zeroes with six ones and eight 2s in the second column. Starting the next year, his power surge began, regularly hitting homers in double-digits.
This year would be the last time that Henderson would steal 100 bases but he was right in the midst of leading the league in thefts nine of ten years straight (Harold Reynolds led in 1987).
Henderson was recognized in 2009 by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He has career 3,055 hits and is number 1 in runs scored (2,295) and stolen bases (1,406).
I’ll just leave you with this humorous story about Rickey Henderson by Tony La Russa.
Great stuff Tom.
Just a great leadoff card. With nobody on base, he has 11 chances to be in scoring position. Wow! It also seems like the card projects a little higher than .292. Probably a plus .300 card.
When I was a kid, Rickey Henderson was my favorite player. In all the years I’ve watched baseball, nobody has been more exciting than Hindu. This card is awesome. I just wish they would have given him a couple 7s in the second column instead of 11s and added some 6*s in that column. Rickey was awesome at stealing 3rd. The addition of the * was one of APBA’s coolest enhancements.