On May 30, 1913, Red Sox outfielder Harry Hooper became the first major leaguer to lead off both games of a doubleheader with a home run. The feat would not be repeated until 80 years later, in 1993, when A’s leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson opened each game of a twin bill against Cleveland with a homer.
My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders. But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best.
~ Rickey Henderson
Considering his reputation for an inflated ego, referring to himself in the third person and the like, Rickey Henderson’s Hall of Fame induction speech is pleasantly humble. He seems genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to join the big names in Cooperstown.
If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.
~Rickey Henderson
On November 25, 1981, Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers became the first relief pitcher ever to win the American League MVP award. He narrowly beat Rickey Henderson by 11 points for the honor, taking 15 first place votes to Henderson’s 12. That year, Rollie Fingers also won the Cy Young Award for the American League.
On August 22, 1989, Nolan Ryan threw a 96 mph fastball to strike out Rickey Henderson — the 5,000th strikeout of his career. Over the course of the game, Ryan struck out 13 batters and gave up only five hits, but still ended up losing to Oakland 2-0. To this day, Nolan Ryan remains the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strike out 5,000 batters (5714 total). Coming in second is Randy Johnson, with 4,875 strikeouts.
