Taking Strikes Just to Watch Rickey Run (Good Piece)

Taking Strikes Just to Watch Rickey Run (Good Piece)

There was no better position from which to appreciate the wonder that was Rickey Henderson than the No. 2 hole in the batting order, which was occupied with the Yankees in the mid-to-late-1980s by a pretty fair table setter himself, Willie Randolph.

“Don’t get me wrong, I saw a lot of fastballs,” Randolph said in reference to the four seasons he hit behind Henderson in a potent Yankees lineup that also featured Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield. But it is a matter of pure baseball logic that Randolph took his share of pitches, allowing Henderson to steal his base and putting the pitcher in a jam with “and the home of the brave” still ringing in his ears.

nytimes.com
1/13/09