This time as the Mets Hitting Coach

source

damn, i was gonna post about this earlier...

any chance that MLB could force him to wear a mic at all times?

That would be GOGLD Jerry!

Rickey be Rickey, man.

"Ricky thinks you should keep your eye on the ball"

This is funny. Dude couldn't even remember his own teammates names, and now he's gonna give professional hitting instruction?

Nice move, Mets.

I think it should be in his contract.



Well it appears that it was either him or Howard " I Corked My Bat" Johnson.

i came in here to make a similar joke
well done

I know this story isn't true, but it certainly could be. Cracks me up just thinking about it:

When he hooked up with the Seattle Mariners last year, Rickey is said to have approached John Olerud, who had once suffered a brain aneurysm, and asked about his unusual practice of wearing a batting helmet in the field. Henderson says, "I used to play with a dude in New York who did the same thing."

"That was me," said Olerud, who was Henderson's teammate with both the Mets and the Blue Jays.

If anyone deserves a reality show...

How long 'til Rickey becomes a player-coach (thus, re-setting his Hall of Fame eligibility)?

I say, thirty games.

The Top 25 Rickey Henderson Quotes of All-Time...

1) Rickey... on referring to himself in the third person:

"Listen, people are always saying, 'Rickey says Rickey.' But it's been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I'm ticked off, saying, 'Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?' They say, 'Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don't you just say, 'I?' But I never did. I always said, 'Rickey,' and it became something for people to joke about."

2) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A's accounting department was
freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

3) In 1996, Henderson's first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, "You have tenure, sit wherever you want." Henderson looked at Finley and said, "Ten years? Ricky's been playing at least 16, 17 years."

4) This one might be my second favorite. This wasn't too long ago, I think it was the year he ended up playing with the Red Sox. Anyway, he called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: "This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball."

5) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next
batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, "Don't worry,
Rickey, you're still the best."

6) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

7) Moments after breaking Lou Brock's stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd - with Brock mere feet next to him - "Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time."

8) Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite - which forced him to miss three games - in mid-August.

9) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti's estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, "Well, Rickey's not one of them, so that's 49 percent right there."

10) Henderson broke Ty Cobb's career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

11) On being Nolan Ryan's 5,000th career strikeout: "It gave me no
chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it's an honor. I'll have
another paragraph in all the baseball books. I'm already in the books three or four times."

12) San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.
Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

13) I didn't believe this one at first. However, I emailed a few
contacts within the Sox organization and they claim it actually
happened. This is priceless, it really is.

The morning after the Sox finished off the sweep against St. Louis last October, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

14) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived - again it was less than a mile - the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.

Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

15) A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, "Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?"

16) a few weeks into Henderson's stint with the
Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, "Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had thesame thing."

Legend also goes that Olerud said, "That was me, Rickey."

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

17) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, "Rickey doesn't have albums. Rickey has CDs."

18) During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, "If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I'll play like Gallego."

19) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman - then a low-level nobody with the organization - called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, "I'm just waiting for the money market rates to go up."

20) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw
reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a
teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team's hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, "Who's he?"

21) This is my all-time favorite. Rickey was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer was approaching Rickey's car, the window went down a few inches and a folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Rickey and his money head home without a ticket.

22) When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told
teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, "The Entire State Building."

23) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson's locker was next to Billy Beane's. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, "Hey, man, where have you been? Haven't seen you in awhile."

24) To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, "Ricky's the best," for several minutes.

25) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his 'going-away' gift.
Henderson said he wasn't going anywhere, but he would like owner John
Henry's Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and
model in less than a week and Henderson said, "No, I want his car."
Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on
the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, "Whose ugly
car is on the field?"
In honor of Rickey claiming he is going for yet another comeback this year here are Rickey's top 25 quotes that Rickey ever said.

This is extra funny because the Jimmy episode of Seinfeld was on last night

Rickey on Rickey

By Jeff Pearlman - Special to Page 2 ( espn.com )

The press conference begins with an announcement from Jay Horwitz, the Mets' media relations chief. "The New York Metropolitans are excited to announce that we have hired Rickey Henderson as our new hitting coach. As many of you know, Rickey played 25 seasons in the big leagues, and is the all-time stolen base king, as well as ..."

RICKEY: Uh, Jim ...

HORWITZ: Excuse me?

RICKEY: Rickey wants to talk.

HORWITZ: My name is Jay.

RICKEY: Yeah. Rickey wants to talk.

HORWITZ: Without further ado, our new hitting coach, Rickey Henderson.

RICKEY: First off, Rickey would like to thank Rickey, God and Rickey, none of whom could have made this day any less possible. Rickey would also like to thank Mr. Steinbrenner. Rickey had some tough times when he was in New York last time, but Rickey ...

HORWITZ: Uhm, Rickey? We're the Mets.

RICKEY: Yes.

HORWITZ: George Steinbrenner owns the Yankees.

RICKEY: Who's paying Rickey to be here?

HORWITZ: Fred Wilpon.

RICKEY: Rickey doesn't know Fred Wilpon.

FRED WILPON (waving awkwardly from two seats over): Uh, that's me. I own the team. We met for the 100th time three minutes ago. Let me just say the Mets are very happy ...

RICKEY: When Rickey Henderson was asked to manage the Mets, he thought to himself, "Rickey, you're handsome, you're intelligent, you're a great dancer, you ..."

WILPON: Uh, Rickey. You're not our manager.

RICKEY: Yes, Rickey is.

WILPON: No.

RICKEY: Rickey's not?

WILPON: No, our manager is Willie Randolph. He's sitting next to you. You played with him for 4½ years with the Yankees ...

RICKEY (turning toward Randolph): Rickey thought you were Wayne Tolleson.

RANDOLPH: Noooo-I'm Willie Randolph. The manager.

RICKEY: Rickey says you look like Wayne Tolleson.

RANDOLPH (chuckling awkwardly): Rickey, I'd just like to say how excited we are ...

RICKEY (turning toward Horwitz): Rickey wants a raise.

WILPON: What?

RICKEY: Rickey wants a raise.

WILPON: You just got here.

RICKEY: Rickey wants a raise. Rickey needs to be highest paid, or Rickey's not playing.

WILPON: Rickey, you're our hitting coach.

RICKEY: Does Rickey know you?

WILPON: I own the Mets. We just spoke ... twice.

HORWITZ: With us today is Jose Reyes, the Mets All-Star shortstop. Jose leads the league in stolen bases, and is very excited to have Rickey ...

RICKEY (turning to Reyes): Does Rickey know you?

REYES: Of course. We ...

RICKEY: This spring Rickey instructed someone who looked just like you.

REYES: That was me.

RICKEY: No. Rickey remembers. Guy spoke Spanish to Rickey.

REYES: Si, hablo Espanol. Me llamo Jose Reyes. Somos amigos.

RICKEY: Rickey doesn't understand what you're saying to Rickey.

HORWITZ: OK ... OK. Let's take some questions. Selena ...

SELENA ROBERTS, NEW YORK TIMES: Rickey, do you have any thoughts about Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record? Do you think he used steroids to get an adv ...

RICKEY: Rickey never used steroids. Rickey is all natural.

ROBERTS: Uh, yeah. But do you ...

RICKEY: Rickey is all natural.

HORWITZ: Joel ...

JOEL SHERMAN, NEW YORK POST: Rickey, are there any hitters you're especially excited to work with?

RICKEY: Most definitely. Rickey.

SHERMAN: Excuse me?

RICKEY: Rickey.

SHERMAN: I don't understand ...

RICKEY: Rickey needs a few minutes of BP, but Rickey can still hit, Rickey can still run, Rickey can still change the game. Rickey will steal 300 bases this year if Rickey is given the green light. (Turning toward Randolph) Wayne, give Rickey the green light.

RANDOLPH: I'm Willie Randolph.

RICKEY: Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, Rickey's the greatest of all time.

WILPON: Rickey, what are you talking about?

RICKEY: Rickey just being Rickey.

MARTY NOBLE, MLB.COM: Rickey, excuse me. Rickey you're 48 years old. The Mets didn't hire you to play ...

RICKEY: Rickey's hammies are sore.

NOBLE: What?

RICKEY: Rickey's hammies are sore. Rickey needs a massage.

RANDOLPH: Rickey, our guys are about to hit from the cage. I think we should ...

RICKEY: Does Rickey know you?

Jeff Pearlman is a former Sports Illustrated senior writer and the author of "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero," now available in paperback. You can reach him at anngold22@gmail.com.

"Jimmy's gonna get you, Kramer! Jimmy holds grudges!!!"

Rickey Henderson is my all time favorite baseball player.

DON'T TOUCH JIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!