NEW YORK -- Rickey Henderson, released by the New York Mets
over the weekend, reached agreement Wednesday night to play for the
Seattle Mariners.
Henderson and the Mariners made their deal about eight hours
after baseball's career stolen base leader cleared waivers.
"We've been looking for an outfielder for a long period of time
and Rickey became available," Mariners general manager Pat Gillick
said. "We just hope he has something left."
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What the ...?
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Rickey Henderson is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, probably one of the five or six greatest left fielders ever. That said, what in the world would the Mariners want with him?
Do they need a left fielder who has no power? Not really. They've already got Mark McLemore and Stan Javier.
Do they need a leadoff man? Well, that's the role McLemore was signed to fill. True, McLemore has struggled, posting a subpar, .346 on-base percentage to this point. Compare that to Henderson's .387, and this move starts to make sense.
But while people in Seattle are going to wonder about Rickey's character, it's his performance they should worry about. At 41, he simply isn't going to be healthy enough to play regularly. And when he does play, he won't give the Mariners much more than McLemore would. Seattle GM Pat Gillick does like veterans, but this is ridiculous.
-- Rob Neyer |
The Montreal Expos also pursued signing Henderson, 41. The
leadoff man spoke to managers Lou Piniella of Seattle and Felipe
Alou of the Expos shortly before making his decision.
Piniella was Henderson's manager with the New York Yankees from
1986 through 1988. Gillick was Henderson's general manager at Toronto in
1993.
"It went down to the bottom of the ninth," agent Jeff Borris
said. "The Expos made a valiant effort to get him, but so did the
Mariners."
The deal includes a team option for a 2001 contract at $3
million with a $250,000 buyout. He is making $1.9 million this
season. The Mets will pay the majority of that since Henderson cleared waivers.
The Mariners said they expect Henderson to arrive in Seattle
either Saturday or Sunday and play immediately against Tampa Bay.
"I'm happy to see him come over and I told him that," Piniella
said of his phone conversation with Henderson. "He told me he wants to come here and help us win a ring. I
was asked my opinion and I gave it, but the decision was made
upstairs."
John Olerud played with Henderson with the Mets last year. "I thought he was a good guy to have in the clubhouse and I think it will be good to get him over here," Olerud said. "I know he's got an incentive to keep playing. He's up there in a lot of career statistics. ... I enjoyed Rickey. I had a good time
with him and on the field he did a great job."
Henderson was cut by the Mets on Saturday in the midst of a
troubling season. Slumping at the plate and booed by fans at Shea
Stadium, his attitude angered manager Bobby Valentine and general
manager Steve Phillips.
"He'll probably help them if he has an incentive. I'm happy for
him," Valentine said Wednesday night after the Mets beat Colorado
4-2.
Henderson needs 163 hits for No. 3,000. He also hopes to become
baseball's career leader in runs scored and walks -- he needs 125
runs to match Ty Cobb's mark and 59 walks to tie Babe Ruth's
record.
"He could have been content to go home and rest for the rest of
the year, but the guy wanted to play," Gillick said. "He's a guy
who at times has been a little sensitive. He's coming to Seattle
because he wants to win another ring."
Gillick said he spoke to a few Mariners players before making
the deal, and said they agreed Henderson would help.
Henderson had been upset since the start of spring training
because the Mets wouldn't raise his salary or give him a contract
extension.
"We knew he and Bobby Valentine didn't see eye to eye,"
Gillick said.
|  | | Rickey Henderson figures to fill the leadoff and left-field slots for the Mariners. |
The Mariners only had to pay a portion of the minimum salary to
get Henderson -- meaning it cost them about $150,000, with the Mets
responsible for the rest.
In addition, after Henderson twice passed through waivers
without anyone claiming him, the Mariners were willing to take a
chance on him -- including a significant raise -- for next season.
The Mariners are leading the AL West and will use Henderson as their regular leadoff
hitter and left fielder.
Henderson batted .219 with no homers and two RBI for the Mets.
He stole five bases in seven tries, and has 1,339 career steals in
a major league career that started in 1979.
"A lot of people believe Rickey has a lot of baseball left in
him," Borris said.
Seattle has used Mark McLemore and Mike Cameron as its leadoff
hitters. Stan Javier has played mostly in left field.
Seattle had been interested in Henderson after the 1997 season,
when he was a free agent. Henderson eventually signed with Oakland
and played there for a season before signing with the Mets for
1999.
The Mariners talked to the Mets before this season about a
possible trade involving pitcher Brett Tomko. The Mets also talked
to the Detroit about a deal for outfielder Bobby Higginson.
Henderson, a 10-time All-Star and the 1990 AL MVP, is regarded
by many as the greatest leadoff hitter in major league history. He
was MVP of the AL championship series in 1989, when he helped the
Athletics on to the World Series championship.
Since starting in the majors, Henderson has shifted teams nine
times. He's had four stints with the Athletics, and also has played
for San Diego and Anaheim.
Last Friday night, Henderson was criticized by Valentine for
failing to run out a long drive -- Henderson said he thought it was
going to be a home run.
Prior to Saturday's game against Florida, Henderson shouted at a
reporter who wrote about the incident.
"After considering everything that happened last night and this
morning, something had to be done," Phillips said at the time. "I
think the reasons are fairly obvious. No matter how much talent you
have, if you continue to create problems and situations, you wear
out your welcome. We got to the point where we had to compromise
our ideals and what we expect from our players too often."
Henderson created a stir last year when he and Bobby Bonilla
were accused of playing cards in the Mets' clubhouse during the
season-ending, extra-inning loss at Atlanta in the NL championship
series.
Henderson, though, said he was not the reason the Mets, the NL
wild-card winner last year, were hovering around the .500 mark this
season.
"I didn't cause them to lose. Look someplace else," he said
before quickly leaving the clubhouse following a 7-6 loss to
Florida, his final game for the Mets.
During his career, Henderson often has slumped when unhappy.
Last season, he hit .315 with a .423 on-base percentage -- best
among NL leadoff men -- and stole 37 bases. | |
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