In his first year of eligibility, stolen-base champ Ricky Henderson slid into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, netting 95 percent of all the votes cast by the Baseball Writers of America. The speedy leadoff hitter was joined in Cooperstown, N.Y., by Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice, who waited 14 long years to make it into the Hall. If Rice had not been inducted this year, he would have been taken off the ballot. No one was surprised by Henderson’s selection, considering that he is perhaps the best leadoff hitter in baseball history. During his illustrious career, Henderson broke the stolen-base record (with 1,406 thefts) and the record for runs scored (2,295), which may never be broken. “I feel great about it,” Henderson said. “It’s been a long time coming. I played baseball because I loved the game. I wanted to continue playing. It came to a time that I had to stop. And now that it has been five years, they have chosen me to go into the Hall of Fame. I cannot be any more pleased or thrilled about it.” Rice hit 382 home runs and 1,451 RBI but Boston never won a title during his tenure with the team. That could be the reason he was not voted into the Hall for so many years.

TAGS: baseball, Cooperstown, Hall of Fame, Jim Rice, Ricky Henderson, stolen bases

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