In the game of Major League Baseball, there are good players and there are great players. I mean, let’s be honest here, you do get to baseball’s highest level by being just ok or being a complete flop.

And then there are those rare one-of-a-kind / once-in-a lifetime players; those who usually spend eternity enshrined in the sacred Halls of Cooperstown. Early Saturday morning, news broke that the baseball world had lost one of those rare one-of-a-kind / once-in-a lifetime players – Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson. He was only 65 years old.

Although the extremely popular Chicago, IL native, who was born on Christmas Day 1958 in the back of his parents’ Chevy, spent only one of his remarkable 25 seasons (that’s not a typo) with the Dodgers, his last in 2003, he still managed to steal three of his MLB all-time career record 1,406 bases – as a 44-year-old – while being caught only 335 times during his Hall of Fame career (none as a Dodger), an all-time MLB record low.

“When you’re old and gray, sitting around with your buds talking about your career in baseball, you are going to talk about Rickey,” said two-time World Series Champion, four-time All-Star, and five-time Gold Glove left-hander Ron Guidry, a former Yankees teammate of the man affectionately known as the “Man of Steal” (note the spelling). “He was just amazing to watch. There were great outfielders, there were great base stealers, there were great home run hitters. Rickey was a combination of all of those players. He did things out there on the field that the rest of us dreamed of.”

“I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson,” fellow Hall of Famer Dave Winfield posted on Instagram. “Rest in peace,” he added.

Henderson, who notoriously always spoke of himself in the third person, is survived by his wife Pamela and daughters Angela, Alexis, and Adrianna.

The entire staff at ThinkBlueLA.com sends our sincerest thoughts and prayers to Rickey’s family, friends, and former teammates.

  *  *  *  *  *  *