Tricky Rickey

Off and Running

When Brock set the record in 1974 he had 14 stolen bases at the end of April. Henderson stole 22 bases in April of 1982 and showed no signs of slowing down.  Through Oakland’s first 49 games he collected 48 hits and 57 walks and once he got on, he ran. Four stolen bases in a doubleheader split with Detroit near the end of May gave Henderson 49 swipes in Oakland’s first 49 games.

“He’s going to get that record this season,” said A’s manager Billy Martin. “He’s going to get the record, but legitimately, not when we’re eight runs ahead or eight runs behind.”

That turned out to not be the case. At least not at first…

The A’s closed a twelve-game homestand on August 24th and both Henderson and Martin wanted to set the record at home. Henderson entered the day with 115 stolen bases and a four-swipe day was not out of the question but it also wouldn’t be easy. The situation called for some creativity, so Billy Martin came up with a plan. Henderson walked in his first plate appearance, then stole second and third. He was just two away from the record, but he flew out in his next two at-bats. The game moved to the eighth inning, in which Fred Stanley drew a leadoff walk to bring Henderson to the plate.

Stanley was in the final season of a major league career that began in 1969 and he had amassed half as many stolen bases (11) over the course of his career as Henderson did in April of 1982 alone (22).

For Henderson to break the record at home, he would need to get on and steal second and third again, but Stanley was in his way. The stakes grew higher when Henderson singled to left field, moving Stanley to second. This was where Martin’s plan came in.

The deception begins

Oakland’s third-base coach, Clete Boyer, walked over to Stanley and told him to steal third. At the same time, Oakland’s first-base coach told Henderson to stay put. If Stanley was cut down on the front end of a double steal then Henderson wouldn’t get credit for a stolen base even if he slid safely into second. With Stanley off the bases, the path would be clear for Henderson to steal second and third to set the record.

But Detroit manager Sparky Anderson caught on and yelled at his team to let Stanley go. As Tigers pitcher Jerry Ujdur got set to pitch, Stanley took a large lead off second. Ujdur spun and made a pickoff throw to shortstop Alan Trammell. Stanley didn’t move. Anderson yelled at Trammell not to tag Stanley, so Trammell threw to third baseman Enos Cabell. Again, Stanley didn’t move. Cabell threw to second baseman Lou Whitaker, who tagged Stanley out, much to the chagrin of Anderson.

Henderson now had a clear path to set the record. Ujdur threw to first three times to keep Henderson close, then finally came home. 

“A pitchout,” wrote Henderson in his book, Confessions of a Thief. “I took off. (Tigers catcher Bill) Fahey threw to 2nd, and I got under the tag. Yes! I’ve tied Brock. Hallelujah.”

Only he hadn’t, because umpire Durwood Merrill called Henderson out on the play. Henderson howled in protest, as did the fans and Henderson’s teammates. Dwayne Murphy flew out to end the inning and earned an ejection on his way out to his position in center field after expressing his opinion to Merrill. “You’re motherbleeping horsebleep. Those were my exact words,” Murphy told The San Francisco Examiner. Martin came to the defense of Murphy and also got tossed. Oakland won the game 3-0, but Henderson would not break the record in front of the home crowd. The stunt so upset Anderson that he was shaking in his post-game press conference.

“All honor has left this game,” he said. “If Fred Stanley isn’t fined the biggest figure ever fined, then we have no commissioner of baseball. Fred Stanley has discredited this game; What he did is totally unforgivable. He did something that takes all honor away from the game. I’ll never forgive him for it, and I’ll think of it every time I see him for the rest of my life.” Anderson then turned his ire to Henderson, saying, “He has control of it. He can say no. Somewhere along the line you’ve got to be a man. If you can steal that many bases, you can steal (them) straight.”

Rickey eventually did just that. Oakland began their road trip in Milwaukee and Henderson stole one base in the series opener to tie the mark, followed by four more the following day. He would finish the year with 130.