Hats Off to Henderson and Rice

Yesterday was a day of celebration and remembrance for the newest inductees to the Hall of Fame.  Rickey Henderson, played for nine teams between 1979-2003. During that time, he lead the league 12 times in stolen bases and holds the record for steals (1406), runs (2295) unintentional walks (2129) and home runs leading off games (81) He also holds the modern major-league record for stolen bases in a season at 130. He was only the 44th player elected to the HOF in his first year of eligibility. Henderson briefly choked up during his speech, remembering manager A's Billy Martin, whose aggressive style of management made the most of Henderson's explosive speed. " Billy got the mostout of me.  Billy, I miss you so much and I wish you were here today.

Jim Rice was inducted in his last year of eligibility but didn't seem to mind a bit. Said Rice, " It doesn't matter that the call came 15 years later. What matters is that I got it." Rice batter .298 with 382 home runs and 1451 RBIs in a career that spanned 1974-1989.

Joe Gordon, who played in the 40's and 50's for the Yankees and Indians was also inducted posthumously.