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The safest man in baseball history

Rickey Henderson, with a homer and a feet first slide, sets the league's career runs record at 2,246.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 5, 2001

SAN DIEGO -- Rickey Henderson promised he'd slide into home plate to officially mark his reign as baseball's career runs leader.

When the moment arrived Thursday, the game's biggest showman kept his word.

Henderson, the Padres leadoff batter, passed Ty Cobb by hitting a home run for No. 2,246 and celebrated with a slide -- feetfirst -- as the Padres beat the Dodgers 6-3.

"Sliding into home plate was really a treat for my teammates," the 42-year-old Henderson said. "I think they were expecting me to go headfirst into home plate but I told them I hate sliding into home plate headfirst, so I eventually went feetfirst.

"It was a thrill, and I guess I made their day as well as my day."

Henderson homered off the top of the leftfield fence with one out in the third inning on a 93 mph fastball from Dodgers right-hander Luke Prokopec.

Henderson clapped his hands and pumped his right fist as he rounded first after his 2,998th career hit.

As he came around third with a big smile on his face, he motioned with his left hand for his teammates to leave enough room for the slide. He popped up and was mobbed.

"It was so fitting for him to hit a home run and he can decide what he does, and we'll play off whatever he does," Tony Gwynn said. "And he comes sliding into home plate and the guys loved it. They were all over him. To me, that's what the game is all about."

Since Henderson couldn't rip out home plate and hold it over his head, like he did with third base when he became baseball's all-time steals leader in 1991, Gwynn presented him a gold-plated replica of home. Henderson held it over his head and raised his right index finger.

Henderson then answered a curtain call, bowing to the fans and blowing kisses.

The Rays' Greg Vaughn, who is a former teammate and close friend, said: "It's awesome. He's the best ever. He's the best leadoff hitter. All aspects of the game. Power, scoring runs, everything. He is a great teammate."

Most of the Dodgers applauded during the four-minute delay. Henderson's home run ball bounced back onto the field, and Gary Sheffield threw it into the infield.

On his way out to leftfield at the end of the inning, Henderson went over the stands and hugged 18-year-old Erin States, a fan of his going back to his days with the A's.

Henderson had said the runs record is the one he considers the most important.

"He is amazing," Los Angeles' Marquis Grissom said. "It's tough not to marvel at what he's accomplished. Of course, Rickey does it with style, which is what you'd expect from him."

It looked like Henderson got hit No. 2,999 when he lobbed a ball into shallow rightfield on a checked swing. The ball appeared to land on the line but was called foul.

Henderson tied Cobb's 73-year-old record of 2,245 runs on Wednesday night when he raced around from first to score on Ryan Klesko's two-run double down the rightfield line.

Cobb retired in 1928.

"It's great," Rays hitting coach Wade Boggs said. "Records are made to be broken. I'm sure he'll (get 3.000 hits), too. He's one of the dynamic players of the game. He plays at such a high level, stealing bases, sliding hard. He's been pretty durable to do it for 20 seasons. He's one of the greats of the game."

This is the second major record Henderson set this season.

On April 25, he became the career walks leader with 2,063, breaking Babe Ruth's record. He's since pushed that record to 2,140.

Henderson has been baseball's stolen-base king since May 1, 1991, when he broke Lou Brock's record with steal No. 939. He has 1,395, including a team-high 25 this year.

Henderson also owns the big-league record with 79 leadoff homers and set the season stolen-base record with 130 in 1982.

-- Times staff writer Mike Readling contributed to this report.

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