MLB – Page 14 – Dugout Tales

I first met Rickey Henderson the winter of 1989 at a baseball card show held at the Holiday Inn off J st in Sacramento. It was cold and raining when my mom dropped me off. Admission was $5 and there was a $10 fee to meet Rickey and get his autograph. I’m grateful that my parents foot the bill, but it also cut into my baseball card allowance. I waited in line for what seemed like an eternity to meet Rickey and although I was fifty feet away from him at most, I couldn’t see him because of the crowd. When I finally got to the front of the line I handed Rickey a card to sign and shyly asked, “Mr. Henderson can I get a picture with you?” Without looking up he simply replied “yes.” I handed my camera to the gentleman behind me and sat in the folding chair next to Rickey. A quick snap and it was done. I was excited to meet Rickey and to that point getting a picture with him was the highlight of my life. This was long before digital cameras so once I got my photo back from being developed I was greatly disappointed. I had a weird look on my face, my mouth was open as though I was saying something, and Rickey was still signing my card. Oh bother!

I would run into Rickey again 30 years later during the summer of 2019 while covering the Bay Bridge Series between the A’s and Giants. That weekend included a reunion of the 1989 World Series Champion Oakland A’s. I was standing near the A’s dugout when Rickey appeared and walked right by me on his way to do a radio interview on the field. I
followed close behind and took a few quick photos. Once the radio interview was over Rickey came back to mingle with his old teammates and answer a few questions from the media. Sadly I wasn’t fortunate enough to get a question in, but behind his sunglasses we appeared to make eye contact. After 30 years I never expected Rickey to remember me but ever since that day….

Rickey Henderson is in the Hall of Fame and deservedly so. His career spanned four decades and he is considered to be the greatest lead off hitter of all time. Rickey is also the all time stolen base leader with 1,406 which far easily eclipsed Lou Brock’s previous mark of 938. I don’t follow crime rates but it’s easy to see that Rickey was a master base stealer.

We live in a fairly quiet neighborhood, we have two cats and a dog, and are pretty happy; but when crime hits home it hurts. Since that day in Oakland last summer, my things are going missing around the house and I think it’s Rickey. As a matter of fact, since I sat down to write this my pen disappeared. It was right next to me on the desk. The door is closed and I didn’t even hear Rickey come into my office! Why would Rickey want my pen?? Wait a minute…
here’s my pen, it rolled under my printer. Sorry about that. Okay, maybe I was wrong about the pen but there are other things missing that I’m sure Rickey must have taken.

I don’t think Rickey takes my stuff maliciously but more so to irritate me. I get why someone would steal a car, but why my car keys? My wallet is regularly stolen but conveniently returned and hidden in the back pocket of yesterday’s pants. The funny thing is that Rickey never takes anything of any value.

I wear reading glasses now and it really upsets me when I can’t find them. There isn’t a day that Rickey doesn’t swipe a pair of glasses from me, he is 60 years old now, but it gets worse. The other day I went for some leftover pizza in the fridge, and when I opened the door, it was gone! Obviously “someone” stole this in the middle of the night. I guess if he is so hungry he must be in a pickle.

Living in the capital of the Golden State, along with the recent protests, civil unrest, and looting over the murder of George Floyd, I hear politians talk about getting “tough on crime.” When it comes to Rickey and his habitual stealing, I, like the catchers during his career, would like to lock him up and throw away the key. Better yet, hang them on the key rack where they belong and I’ll never find them there.

Disclaimer: This post is all in good fun. In no way am I claiming that Rickey Henderson is
taking my things, I just have a wild imagination. Maybe one day I’ll write about my dream where Junipero Serra stole my goat.

Draft week is upon us and as the tension mounts let’s go back in time to an interview I had with former Yankees #1 pick Slade Heathcott. This article was originally published on Bridget Mulcahy’s “Cheap Little Swing” Blog:

Slade Heathcott was drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft by the New York Yankees and spent 10 years in professional baseball with the Yankees, White Sox, Giants, and A’s. He retired on January 15, 2019. Below is a transcript of this interview:

DE: When were you first considered a prospect and start having scouts get in contact with you about the possibility of being drafted?

SH: My junior summer after having lived in Dallas and playing for a travel team, teams started coming to see me that summer and throughout the rest of the year.

DE: You were as they say a “bonus baby.” How did that impact the life you knew, and how did it help shape who you are today?

SH: I was a mess right after being signed. I was bouncing in bars the first couple weeks after signing, staying out all night partying, and so many other opportunities all of which I am very thankful for because they were a part of the process to get where I am today. I think it definitely gave me a sense of entitlement that was quickly calmed due to all my injuries and surgeries.

DE: Who told you that you were first going up, and how did they do it?

SH: My manager Miley, I was holding my son feeding him late after a game one night. I didn’t have phone on me, so they actually called one of my roommates and relayed that I needed to call.

DE: Can you tell me about your first day up, and what your favorite memory is of your time with the Yankees?

SH: It was surreal, it happened all so fast. I packed overnight and was in DC the next morning. My time with the Yankees was full of so many incredible moments; my first roll call, first home run on Memorial Day of all days, and the home run to put us ahead in Tampa Bay.

Slade Heathcott — Slade played for the Sacramento River Cats during the 2017 season. He appeared in 26 games and had a .290 AVG, .435 SLG, and .837 OPS.

DE: What was it about your Minor League experience that made you want to get involved with More Than Baseball?

SH: Jeremy and I had something in common, in that we wanted to make the lives of Minor League players better right now. Minor League players are in the top one percentile of their profession and get paid as a season intern title. Food and equipment are some of the biggest challenges when you are getting $7,500 a year before taxes and expenses. Other challenges are paying for an apartment at your affiliate, living on the road eating fast food because that is all players can afford, and the worst is guys having to retire because they do not have a bat to play with.

DE: Looking back at your experience, what advice would you give to this year’s and future draft picks, and would that advice change if they went in either the 1st
or 40th round?

SH: Go to college, get prepared for life and then come out ready to tackle the world and to tackle the game of baseball. Baseball allows for an amazing opportunity for players to build their own personal brands and use connections around the game to make things happen on the entrepreneurial front. Take full advantage of that and use your platform to impact as many lives as possible.

You can follow Slade Heathcott at @heathcott_slade. For other projects that Slade is involved with and that support the betterment of Minor League Baseball and its communities, please check out and follow:
MoreThanBaseball.org — @MTB_org

Thank you to Slade Heathcott for his time and cooperation. This interview was conducted by David Espinoza in May 2019. Published by Bridget Mulcahy on Cheap Little Swing.

Tag: MLB

And There Goes Rickey!

Draft Day Rewind