Just can't get enough of those Rickeyisms

All-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson will be on the Hall of Fame ballot next year, and we all know what that means: Once he’s elected, he’ll have to give an induction speech, with an excellent chance of Rickey not taking the humble pie route and suddenly shifting into the third person as is his habit.

Something along the line of when he grabbed the microphone moments after breaking Lou Brock’s single-season stolen-base record and, with Brock standing just a couple of feet from him, pronounced, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all time.”

Later, after taking much flak for the remark, Henderson said he had the speech OK’d by Brock ahead of time. Henderson did also thank his mother and God, but just as most of his remarks, the story is better sans humility.

Anyone who has ever captured Rickey on tape knows it’s practically impossible to decipher his ramblings.

Rickeyisms are an Internet cottage industry, just like Yogiisms.

Some of the best:

A reporter asked Rickey if he talked to himself. He answered, “No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself, so how can I be talking to myself?

Someone asked Rickey if he had the newest Garth Brooks album. Rickey replied, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

In the 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months, Henderson was called and asked if there was a reason he hadn’t cashed it. Rickey said, “I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”

Teammates have said that before every game, Henderson stood completelynaked in front of a full-length mirror and repeated, “Rickey’s the best,” for several minutes.

During a contract holdout with the A’s in the 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”

When he was with the Yankees in the mid-80s, Henderson told teammates that his condo has such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

In his first season with the Padres in 1996, he boarded the team bus, looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want. Henderson said to Finley, “Ten years? Rickey’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

Rickey asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

In 1999 while playing for the Mets, Henderson saw reporters dashing around the clubhouse before a game. He asked what was going on and was told hitting coach Tom Robson had just been let go. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout victim, Henderson said, “If you haven’t been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you’re nobody.”

The morning after the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, Henderson called someone in the Boston organization, looking for tickets for Game 6 at Fenway Park.

Still wanting to play and nearing the end of his career, Henderson left this message with Padres GM Kevin Towers, “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of major-league players taking steroids was accurate. Henderson’s response was “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

In the early ’80s, the A’s accounting books were off by $1 million. Soon, the culprit was determined to be Henderson, who hadn’t cashed his bonus check. Rickey, very young, said he framed the check and hung it on a wall at his house.

While with the A’s during one of his tours of duty in Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to one for Billy Beane, then a player. Beane was sent to the minors for a few months. When he returned about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

Henderson was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer approached Henderson’s car, the window went down a few inches and a folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Henderson and his money go without a ticket.

You can reach Staff Writer Rich Rupprecht at 521-5275 or rich.rupprecht@pressdemocrat.com.