Top 40 Rickey Henderson Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Today I am the greatest of all time.”

— Rickey Henderson

2. “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”

— Rickey Henderson

3. “Nothing’s impossible for Rickey. You don’t have enough fingers and toes to count out Rickey.”

— Rickey Henderson

4. “Rickey was never motivated by stats. He was motivated by numbers. Wins, runs, steals.”

— Rickey Henderson

5. “To all the kids out there: Follow your dream. Believe in your dream. Because dreams do come true.”

— Rickey Henderson

6. “My impact on the game was going out there and making things happen.”

— Rickey Henderson

7. “If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.”

— Rickey Henderson

8. “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

— Rickey Henderson

9. “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

— Rickey Henderson

10. “Rickey got a big ranch. Rickey got a big bull. Rickey got horses. Rickey got chickens and everything. And Rickey got a 20-gallon hat.”

— Rickey Henderson

11. “Rickey don’t like it when Rickey can’t find Rickey’s limo.”

— Rickey Henderson

12. “My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders. But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best.”

— Rickey Henderson

13. “Lou Brock was a great base stealer but today I am the greatest.”

— Rickey Henderson

14. “Oakland is home, and you always want to go home. Anytime you get the chance, you’re happy to go home.”

— Rickey Henderson

15. “People say I stole a lot of bases. I stole the bases for a reason. I crossed the plate.”

— Rickey Henderson

16. “I can still steal a base anytime I get ready.”

— Rickey Henderson

17. “I was stealing all the bases, and when you had to go to arbitration they said, ‘You know, only the big boys make the money.’ So I got to try and figure out how to hit a home run, too.”

— Rickey Henderson

18. “All I’m asking for is what I want.”

— Rickey Henderson

19. “It’s always exciting that you can rub elbows with some of the greatest players who have ever played the game, and just being around the “family” again from baseball.”

— Rickey Henderson

20. “In baseball you train the whole body, except for the hip and eyes.”

— Rickey Henderson

21. “Rickey doesn’t have albums, Rickey has CDs.”

— Rickey Henderson

22. “I patterned myself after Reggie Jackson. I wanted to have that same swing and hit some homeruns. When I was down in A-ball, I was trying to be Reggie Jackson and I was striking out all the time. And I was like, ‘This isn’t the way Reggie is doing it, so I got to change.’”

— Rickey Henderson

23. “Somehow, I’ve been blessed to be able to have the young spirit inside – not feel like every year I get a year older. I feel like every year I get a year younger. I don’t wake up in the morning with aches and pains.”

— Rickey Henderson

24. “The only name on my birth certificate was Henley, no first name.”

— Rickey Henderson

25. “I have always had fun playing the game of baseball because I loved it so much.”

— Rickey Henderson

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26. “If you look at some of the people in the Hall of Fame, my numbers are compatible.”

— Rickey Henderson

27. “I love the game and I wanted to continue playing. It came to a time that I had to stop.”

— Rickey Henderson

28. “People always ask me why I still want to play, but I want to know why no one will give me an opportunity. It’s like they put a stamp on me: ‘Hall of Fame. You’re done. That’s it.’ It’s a goddamn shame.”

— Rickey Henderson

29. “Certain guys, they can see a guy do a certain thing with their glove and know what pitch is coming. I couldn’t do that. But I can get on first base and I can tell you by his move if that pitcher is going to first base or home plate every time.”

— Rickey Henderson

30. “Just because I believed in what I was doing on the field and dedicated myself to playing the game, does that mean I’m cocky? Does that mean I’m arrogant?”

— Rickey Henderson

31. “I can’t find a job. It makes me crazy.”

— Rickey Henderson

32. “When you’re a kid, you want to be a millionaire.”

— Rickey Henderson

33. “I love talking about baserunning.”

— Rickey Henderson

34. “You never had the opportunity to play with some of the great ballplayers, but being that close around them, and being in the same category, was a great feeling, to feel that vibe of all the best players who played the game.”

— Rickey Henderson

35. “Let’s see, for breakfast Rickey will have bacon and eggs, and grits if I can get ’em.”

— Rickey Henderson

36. “Speeches and me don’t get along sometimes. It is kind of like putting a tie too tight on my neck. I’m going to do whatever feels right.”

— Rickey Henderson

37. “I’m a walking record.”

— Rickey Henderson

38. “I haven’t had the time to say, ‘I’m retiring.’ But baseball says, ‘You’re retired.’”

— Rickey Henderson

39. “I’m disappointed about how my career ended.”

— Rickey Henderson

40. “I like playing for Oakland, they have a very colorful uniform.”

— Rickey Henderson

41. “I told myself that if I ever make it to the big leagues that I would be the one to appreciate the fans. Take a little time out to sign autographs and shake their hands and say hello to them.”

— Rickey Henderson

42. “My journey as a player is complete.”

— Rickey Henderson

43. “I wanted to be a part of something special and contributing to the launch of a new league was very exciting to me.”

— Rickey Henderson

44. “You have to keep running. I always believed I was going to be safe.”

— Rickey Henderson

45. “I have to play baseball to make me happy. I have to be an athlete. But when it’s all said and done, I’ll be a normal father. A normal-type house man.”

— Rickey Henderson

46. “Even the slowest guy can go from first to third and help win a ballgame.”

— Rickey Henderson

47. “I don’t think I ever got proper credit about being smart about the game.”

— Rickey Henderson

48. “I don’t think some of the players understand what the people are about. The people are coming out to show you their appreciation of the game, and the player that you are.”

— Rickey Henderson

49. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it up any better than how things went, of being at my peak at just the right time, and have everything go my way.”

— Rickey Henderson