HOF Weekend: Player Autographs

When the elite in the baseball community gather annually in Cooperstown, it's common for the local business to set up autographs with Hall of Famers and other baseball stars of past, present and future.



The biggest of these events that I've come across for this year is being run by Jack Berke Sports, and is being held at the CVS pharmacy in Cooperstown of all places. Autographed photos and balls can be had of Hall of Famers such as Robin Yount ($85), Al Kaline ($75), and Gaylord Perry ($30), just to name a few. Non-Hall of Famers such as Ron Darling, Lee Smith, Dave Stewart and even Ellis Burks will also be signing. Full information on all signers and the corresponding prices can be found here.



But, this blogs all about Rickey, and he's going to be there at well. Rickey will be signing on Monday, July 27th from 12:00pm to 1:15pm, with autographs limited to only the first 250 people in line. Here's the complete breakdown of prices:

Flats up to 8X10 / Balls -- $139
Flats up to 8x10 / Balls w/HOF 2009 -- $139
Flats 11x14 / 16x20 / Bobbleheads -- $169
Posters / Caps / Mini's / Figurines -- $229
Equipment / Ltd Ed Lithos / Orig. Art -- $369
Bats / Jerseys / #'s / Clothing -- $425
Personalization's (except HOF) -- $59
HOF 2009 Inscriptions on any item
but Small Flats / Balls -- $85
Cleats / Shoes -- $599

This is definitely a very detailed breakdown on pricing, but I can understand why it's needed. I'm still holding out hope of getting Rickey's autograph at some point in time during the weekend, and I'll keep everyone updated on how the quest is progressing.

Happy 1st Birthday Henry!

It's hard to believe, but my son is celebrating his first birthday today! It really doesn't seem that long ago that we were taking him home from the hospital, and now he's running around the house.



This picture's from Henry's first baseball game, a River Cats game we attended a few months ago. The last River Cats game we'd gone to was in June of last year, about 2 weeks before Henry was born. It was definitely a different experience this time, and surprisingly enough, Henry was content sitting on our laps for the entire game.

In the picture above he's actually hold the first of TWO foul balls that my wife got during the game (which he then proceeded to drop to the ground, forcing me to chase after it as it rolled down about 15 rows of seats). She'd never gotten a foul ball in her life, and she "caught" two within 10 minutes of each other.

Looks like Henry's a little good luck charm!

Rickey and "The Batting Stance Guy"

I hadn't heard of "The Batting Stance Guy" until this morning, but he's surprisingly accurate. He was on Letterman last night, and supposedly can imitate any stance in baseball history.

On Letterman, he started out with impressions of Manny, Big Papi, and Cal Ripken, and then moves on to Rickey. The Rickey portion begins at approximately the 5 minute, 30 second mark of the clip. Enjoy!

HOF Weekend: The Hall of Famers

With the induction ceremony less than two weeks away, more and more details of the weekend are beginning to emerge. This is hopefully the first of many posts that will chronicle my entire Hall of Fame Weekend experience. I'm going to be in New York for 5 days, and will be posting updates often as possible. I started this blog over a year and a half ago with the intention of keeping it going until Rickey was inducted. I've reached that goal, but currently have no intention of stopping here. I can't wait to see what memorable experiences await in the week ahead!

The list of past Hall of Famers planning to attend has been released, which contains 50 of the 65 living Hall of Famers, not counting this years inductees (Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice, and Joe Gordon). The record for most returning members in attendance was set last year, with 54 past inductees attending the ceremony.

Following is a list of those who will be attending:

Sparky Anderson
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Wade Boggs
George Brett
Lou Brock
Jim Bunning
Rod Carew
Steve Carlton
Gary Carter
Orlando Cepeda
Dennis Eckersley
Bob Feller
Rollie Fingers
Carlton Fisk
Whitey Ford
Bob Gibson
Goose Gossage
Tony Gwynn
Monte Irvin
Reggie Jackson
Fergie Jenkins
Al Kaline
Harmon Killebrew
Ralph Kiner
Juan Marichal
Willie Mays
Bill Mazeroski
Willie McCovey
Paul Molitor
Joe Morgan
Eddie Murray
Phil Niekro
Tony Pérez
Gaylord Perry
Robin Roberts
Brooks Robinson
Frank Robinson
Ryne Sandberg
Mike Schmidt
Tom Seaver
Ozzie Smith
Bruce Sutter
Don Sutton
Earl Weaver
Billy Williams
Dick Williams
Dave Winfield
Carl Yastrzemski
Robin Yount

There are a few notable names missing from the list, which has actually changed slightly from the one that I received a few days ago. Lee MacPhail, an executive and the oldest living Hall of Famer, had been scheduled to attend, but his name has now been removed. Also added to the list was Johnny Bench and Lou Brock, the latter of which I was particularly shocked at his omission. Considering it was Brock who Rickey passed for the all-time stolen base crown, I was really hoping that he'd be in attendance, and am glad to see that his name has now been added.

Recent inductees still absent from the list include Cal Ripken Jr. and Nolan Ryan. Ryan's currently the President of the Texas Rangers, but he should have been able to get away for the day. Ryan and Rickey have quite a surprisingly large number of connections to each other, and it would have been nice to see him there. Ripken was just inducted in 2007, but he is very active in the community, and it's possible that he had another commitment.

Other than Jim Palmer, whose 63-years-old, all of the other Hall of Famers not attending are over age 70. This includes Bobby Doerr (91), Stan Musial (90), Red Schoendienst (86), Duke Snider (82), Tommy Lasorda (81), Ernie Banks (78), Hank Aaron (75), Luis Aparicio (75), and Sandy Koufax (73). While I would have loved to have caught a glimpse of such greats as Aaron, Musial, and Koufax, there's still plenty of "big" names to go around.

The day before the induction, all of the attending Hall of Famers are arriving via the red carpet, and I know I'll be there. Although this blog is focused on Rickey Henderson, I'm obviously a huge baseball fan as well. If I end up encountering any of the other greats of the game, I'll definitely post all about it here.

A's Finally Announce Plans to Retire #24

In a follow up to my previous post, the A's finally announced that they would be retiring Rickey's jersey #24 during Rickey Henderson Day at the Oakland Coliseum on August 1.

It's been fairly obvious for awhile that the A's had these plans in place, and I'm guessing that the little blurb that I found in their e-mail last week wasn't supposed to be there. Nevertheless, all is officially set now, and after a return from the Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown, I've got another exciting Rickey Weekend to attend the following week.

Included below is the full text of the press release that the A's put out today:

Athletics Will Retire Jersey No. 24 During Rickey Henderson Day Aug. 1

The Oakland Athletics announced today they will pay tribute to all-time runs scored and stolen base leader Rickey Henderson, arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in major league history, by officially retiring his No. 24 jersey in pre-game ceremonies during Rickey Henderson Day Saturday, Aug. 1.

On-field festivities will honor Henderson prior to the A's game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Due to the extended program, game time has been moved back from 6:05 to 6:20 p.m. Team officials are scheduled to participate in the jersey retirement ceremony, as well as many of Henderson's former teammates and coaches. Included in that group are Dave Stewart, Dave Henderson, Mike Davis, Mike Moore, Bob Welch, Jesse Barfield, Rene Lachemann, Mike Norris, Bip Roberts, Shooty Babitt and Stan Javier.

Henderson, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. July 26, becomes only the fifth Oakland player in history to have his number retired. All five are members of the Hall of Fame, the previous four including pitchers Jim "Catfish" Hunter (No. 27), Rollie Fingers (34) and Dennis Eckersley (43), and outfielder Reggie Jackson (9).
"Rickey Henderson was the most exciting player in our franchise history and without question, the greatest leadoff hitter this game has ever known," said Lew Wolff, the A's owner and managing partner. "To honor him in this way is only appropriate. He re-wrote the record books and provided so many thrills for our fans over the years."

"This is a dream come true," said Henderson, a 10-time American League All-Star and 12-time AL stolen base leader. "When I was a kid growing up in Oakland, I could never have imagined this happening. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Oakland Athletics organization for retiring my number 24. I would like to thank Jackie Robinson for opening the gates and allowing me to be to play the game of baseball. I would like to thank my family, friends and fans for their loyal support over all these years. This honor is for them, as well."

A hometown hero in Oakland, Henderson moved from Chicago at an early age and graduated from Oakland Tech High School. He played 25 major league seasons, including four stints with the A's that spanned 14 years (1979-84, 1989-93, 1994-95, 1998). He also played for the Yankees (1985-89), Blue Jays (1993), Padres (1996-97, 2001), Angels (1997), Mets (1999-2000), Mariners (2000), Red Sox (2002) and Dodgers (2003), and set major league records for runs scored (2,295), stolen bases (1,406) and walks (2,190, later eclipsed by Barry Bonds), and totaled 3,055 hits, 297 home runs and 1,115 RBI, with a .401 career on-base percentage. He also hit 81 home runs leading off a game, still a major league mark.

Some of his most shining moments came in an Oakland uniform. In 1982, he shattered the single-season record (118) by stealing 130 bases. In 1989, he rejoined the A's through a mid-season trade with the Yankees and helped propel Oakland to its last World Championship. In 1990, he was voted the American League MVP after batting .325 with 28 home runs, 119 runs scored and 65 stolen bases for the Athletics' AL title team. And perhaps his crowning achievement came in Oakland in 1991, when he broke Lou Brock's career stolen base record of 938, lofting third base high above his head in exultation as captured in one of baseball's most memorable moments.

The Aug. 1-2 weekend will be devoted to Henderson. The A's give away Rickey Henderson replica jerseys (sponsored by Pepsi) to 10,000 fans on Saturday, Aug. 1, while 10,000 fans receive a Rickey Henderson banner (sponsored by Kingsford Capital Management) on Sunday, Aug. 2. For more information on tickets for this special weekend, go to the A's web site at www.oaklandathletics.com.

A's "Announce" Plans to Retire Rickey's Number

A few months ago, when the A's announced their plans to hold a "Rickey Henderson Day" as part of a Rickey Weekend August 1 and 2, the plans included a "ceremony on the field" before the game. Since a ceremony without a purpose didn't make much sense, I made the prediction that they would also be retiring his number at the same time. This was followed with more evidence, with Kurt Suzuki changing number during spring training.



Although I still haven't seen a formal announcement, a received an e-mail today from the A's, promoting tickets and the giveaways to the upcoming Rickey Weekend. Below the box shown above, tucked on the side of the e-mail, was the following text: "Celebrate Rickey Henderson’s induction into the Hall of Fame with terrific promotional giveaways and retirement of #24 on Saturday, Aug. 1."



The A's have also released pictures of the two giveaways for the weekend. The Saturday, July 1 jersey giveaway is shown above. The jersey is sponsored by Pepsi, and limited to the first 10,000 fans. Looking at the picture, it actually looks like it's an Orange Crush, and not Pepsi logo that's included on the sleeve of the jersey.



I've been eagerly awaiting the image of the banner giveaway, and am pleasantly surprised. The image is the same one that they used on their pocket schedules earlier in the year, and is a classic Rickey pose. Although sponsored by Kingsford Capital Management, their logo doesn't seem to actually appear on the design, which I guess is subject to change. Also limited to only 10,000 fans, I expect this to be a popular giveaway, and am planning on getting to the park pretty early that day so I don't miss out.

30 Years of Rickey Henderson

I had actually forgotten about the significance of today, as it relates to the career of Rickey Henderson, until I saw a post by 30-Year Old Cardboard. It was on June 24, 1979, exactly 30 years ago today, that Rickey made his Major League debut with the Oakalnd A's.

While watching the A's game last year, they played footage of this game, and I was able to take some screenshots and include them in a post. They definitely aren't the best quality, but you'll get the general idea.

Not long after seeing the post by 30-Year-Old Cardboard, the Hall of Fame's weekly online newsletter, the Inside Pitch, arrived in my in-box, featuring an article on the anniversary. The article can be found online here, but I've also included the complete text below.

June 24, 1979: Rickey Henderson makes big league debut
By Craig Muder / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

The signs were there right from the start, though few of the fans at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum that Sunday afternoon figured they were witnessing history.

Rickey Henderson was penciled into the lineup for his first Major League game that day. And by the end of the third inning, A's fans had seen just a glimpse of the talent and drive that took Henderson all the way to Cooperstown.

In that first game of a doubleheader against the Rangers, A's manager Jim Marshall installed the 20-year-old Henderson as his new leadoff hitter and left fielder. In his first at-bat against Texas left-hander John Henry Johnson, Henderson doubled to right. After advancing to third, Henderson was thrown out at the plate while trying to tag up on a fly ball by Jeff Newman.

But Henderson was far from finished. In the third inning, Henderson singled, then stole second off Rangers catcher Jim Sundberg, who won the fourth of his six straight Gold Gloves at the end of the 1979 season. For Henderson, it was the first of a Major League-record 1,406 stolen bases.

Henderson posted a .274 batting average with 33 steals and 49 runs scored in just 89 games in 1979 for an A's team that went 54-108. The next year, Henderson became just the third player in modern history to steal at least 100 bases in one year, joining Maury Wills and Lou Brock.

In his first 12 full big league seasons, Henderson led the American League in stolen bases 11 times -- falling short only in 1987 when injuries limited him to 95 games with the New York Yankees. He scored at least 100 runs in 10 of those seasons and in the 11th, 1981, he paced the AL in runs scored with 89 during that strike-shortened campaign.

Henderson ended his career in 2003 as the all-time leader in runs (2,295), walks (2,190) and stolen bases (1,406) -- and also leads all players with 2,129 unintentional free passes.

"He was the most dangerous player of our generation," said Tony La Russa, a former manager of Henderson's who now manages the St. Louis Cardinals. "That includes all the great sluggers and Hall of Famers. He was the most dangerous."

Henderson was elected to the Hall of Fame in January 2009 after receiving 94.8 percent of the votes on his first try on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot. He will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown along with fellow Class of 2009 members Joe Gordon and Jim Rice.