Rice and Rickey

Kudos to Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson for the nods they received from writers this week to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame ...

Jim Rice was a player whose name I learned only because I had his baseball card during the final year of his career. I had no idea of what a slugger he was until reading some of the things written about him this week ...

Rickey Henderson, on the other hand, was a guy I discovered during his days with the Yankees. I admired him for his base stealing prowess and for his ability to pop a home run any time he led off a game. I remember with fondness the day he stole base No. 939, the same day -- May 1, 1991 -- Nolan Ryan threw No-hitter No. 7. Rickey's poster was stapled on my bedroom wall throughout the 1990s.

Good reads ...
a Rickey Henderson Says He'll Only Join Hall Of Fame If He Can Start
a Sneak peek at Henderson's Hall of Fame plaque
a Henderson Is an Enigma Wrapped in a Record Book
a Rickey Henderson looks back at Yankee days as opportunity stolen
a Getting into Rice numbers
a Long wait ends for Sox slugger Rice
a It takes one to know one: Yaz extols Rice