(KTLA) — Rickey Henderson, the man who changed Major League Baseball with his blazing, unbeatable speed, has died, according to multiple reports.
The all-time MLB leader in stolen bases and one of the game’s greatest leadoff hitters died in Oakland on Friday after a bout with pneumonia, TMZ reports.
Best known for his time with the Oakland Athletics, Henderson played for nine teams between 1979 and 2003, including brief stints with the Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. He won the 1990 American League MVP award and was a two-time World Series champion — with Oakland in 1989 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
FILE – Oakland Athletics’ Rickey Henderson dives for third base to steal his 939th career base to set the all-time stolen base record during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, May 1, 1991, in Oakland. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
“The Man of Steal” stole a record-shattering 1,406 bases in his career, a record thought by many to be unbreakable. St. Louis Cardinals legend Lou Brock is a distant second with 938.
Henderson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 on his first appearance on the ballot.
He was 65 years old. As of Saturday morning, neither the MLB or the Athletics have confirmed his passing.
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