Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson was an American professional baseball outfielder whose record-setting speed and leadoff hitting produced career records for stolen bases and runs scored.

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1,406 stolen bases: The Major League Baseball career record for stolen bases, set by Rickey Henderson. Henderson’s defining statistical record stands far beyond every other player’s total.
Stolen base: A baserunner’s advance to the next base during a pitch without the ball being put into play. This is the play Henderson mastered more than any other major leaguer.
Lou Brock: A Hall of Fame outfielder who held baseball’s career stolen-base record before Henderson surpassed it. Brock’s record made Henderson’s 1991 achievement a direct changing of the standard.
Oakland Athletics: A Major League Baseball franchise based in Oakland from 1968 through 2024, with earlier roots in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Oakland drafted Henderson and became the team most closely associated with his career.
Baseball Hall of Fame: A museum and institution in Cooperstown, New York, honoring major figures in baseball history. Henderson was inducted in 2009, his first year of eligibility.
2,295 runs scored: The Major League Baseball career record for runs scored, set by Rickey Henderson. His record captures how often his speed and on-base ability turned into runs.
Leadoff hitter: A batter placed first in a team’s batting order, typically chosen for on-base ability and speed. Henderson’s place at the top of the lineup let his baserunning pressure begin early.
Ty Cobb: A Hall of Fame outfielder who held the major-league career runs-scored record before Henderson passed him. Henderson broke Cobb’s long-standing record in 2001.
1979 Major League Baseball draft: The annual selection process through which Major League Baseball teams chose eligible amateur players in 1979. Oakland selected Henderson in the fourth round of this draft.
Baseball statistics: The quantitative recording and analysis of performance in baseball. His career records remain reference points in the measurement of baserunning and scoring.