Chances are, when people think about the Oakland A’s, the first player they think of is Rickey Henderson. He was a force of nature unto himself, a player that has not been seen before or after his time in the majors came to an end. Chances are, there will never be another player like Rickey Henderson.
As it is, there may never be another player better than Henderson in A’s franchise history. According to ESPN, he ranks as the 23rd greatest player in MLB history, the highest rated player to wear an A’s uniform for the majority of his career.
Rickey Henderson considered A’s greatest player
ESPN did have one player who spent time with the franchise ranked higher than Henderson. Ty Cobb spent the final two years of his major league career in Philadelphia as a part of Connie Mack‘s teams. However, absolutely no one remembers Cobb for his time with the A’s.
That is not the case with Henderson. While some may remember his time with the Yankees, he had four different stints in Oakland, always returning to the place where it all began. Through it all, he was the same dynamic player, a leadoff man who blended power and speed unlike anyone in the history of the game.
Henderson put together an impressive career. A ten time All Star and the 1990 AL MVP, Henderson is the all time MLB leader with 2295 runs and 1406 steals. He produced a .279/.401/.419 batting line in his 13346 plate appearances, hitting 297 homers while collecting 3055 hits.
Suffice to say, he made an impact with the A’s as well. Henderson ranks second all time in bWAR in franchise history, trailing only Eddie Plank. He wore number 24 in tribute to Willie Mays, but there will be plenty of players that wear that number in honor of Henderson as well.
ESPN considers Rickey Henderson to be the greatest player in A’s franchise history. Given his accomplishments, it is easy to see why.