Left Field: Rickey Henderson
The Oakland Athletics have always prided themselves on having a talented farm system that can help the major league team. One of the many players that the A’s drafted who rose to become a successful player with in Oakland was outfielder Rickey Henderson. Henderson was drafted in 1976 and reached the majors by 1979.
Henderson was known for his speed and was nicknamed “The Man of Steal” during his playing days. In 1983, Henderson made MLB history by finishing his third 100 runs/100 stolen bases/100 walks season, which no player after 1900 has achieved. Additionally, he still holds the single-season record for stolen bases, with 130 successfully stolen in 1982.
For the A’s, Henderson was an amazing lead-off hitter. He holds the record for the most lead-off home runs, accumulating 81 lead-off long balls over his 25-year career. He was able to get on base a lot, steal an absurd amount of bases per season, and had great base-running skills.
Even though he played with eight other organizations besides the Athletics, Henderson always returned to Oakland. He had four separate stints with the A’s that made up 14 years of his MLB career. Henderson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 – the same year the Oakland Athletics retired his number.
Runner Up: Bob Johnson
Even though the Philadelphia Athletics began to slowly decline during the Great Depression due to all of the team’s stars being sold off, Bob Johnson was just a rookie and remained on the team. He played with the A’s from 1933-1942 and maintained a .298 batting average and .915 OPS while with the organization. Despite playing for some down-and-out teams throughout his career, Johnson continued to succeed and established himself as a solid outfielder in the MLB.
Next: The Outfield: The Backup Fielders