On September 26th, 1998, Oakland A’s Rickey Henderson swiped second and third off Steve Sparks and Phil Nevin in the bottom the third inning of the A’s 4-3 victory over the Angels. 39 year-old Rickey became the oldest player ever to steal over 50 bases and lead the league in stolen bases.

Let’s face it, any chance I get to mention Rickey Henderson, I will do so. He was that great. That iconic.

I have mentioned here before that I was at the Oakland Coliseum for Opening Day this year to watch the Oakland A’s lose to the Cleveland Guardians. The field there was called the Rickey Henderson Field. (I use the past-tense “was” because at the end of September the Oakland franchise will be no more.)

It was highly appropriate that the field in Oakland was named for Rickey Henderson. In my life-time as a baseball fan, no player has dominated a field and a game like Rickey did. The steals, the lead-off homers, the runs, the whole package. Any time he was on the field your eyes were on him.

There is only a handful of home games left for the Oakland Athletics. After September 26th, they will be the TBD Athletics and Rickey Henderson Field will host no more Major League games. Rickey, and the fans of Oakland, deserve better.