Well, I think that, if you ask Rickey himself, he will tell you that he came to win, he came to compete, he came to beat the other guy.Īnd one of the reasons why I wanted to do this book was because it is one of those American stories where he was not a popular player, despite his greatness, despite everything he did. And I really felt like it was - as he would say as a player, I thought it was Rickey's time. He was one of the most exciting, electric, unique players. They don't steal bases in baseball anymore. And I wanted to get back and to write a story about somebody who really was a giant in the game, and was really going to allow me to dig into some of the issues that really built this last sort of half of the sport, where money sort of dominates and where you're looking at a certain type of player that really in a lot of ways doesn't exist anymore.

And when you write about baseball these days, it feels like it's steroid, steroids and more steroids. I just felt like there aren't as many people as we think who can really carry a full biography, and especially one that is not completely tainted by drugs. Howard Bryant, Author, 'Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original': Well, I think the biggest reason I wanted to talk about him is because he is underappreciated, if it's possible to steal 1,400 bases and be under appreciated, and to have 3,000 hits and to really obliterate the record book as he did. What made you want to tell his story now? So, Rickey Henderson played his last game back in 2003. Howard Bryant, welcome back to the 'NewsHour.' Good to have you here. It's called 'Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original.'Īnd I spoke with Bryant recently about his latest work.

He also had 3,000 hits, 2,000 runs and 2,000 walks.Ī new book by sportswriter Howard Bryant makes the case for Rickey Henderson as an underappreciated historical great. Over the course of a career that lasted more than two decades, Rickey Henderson was arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in history, and is officially the all-time leader in stolen bases with more than 1,400. That gives us a moment to look back at one of the sport's all-time greats, but one who's hardly a household name these days. Well, baseball's All-Star Game is tomorrow night, a showcase for the best in the game.

Rickey howard bryant