The roots of so many criticisms of Rickey were born of racism, both inherent and explicit Bryant doesn’t shy away from that reality, acknowledging that many in baseball at that time viewed Rickey’s behaviors and style of play as somehow less than simply because of the color of his skin. Thanks to a stunning number of interviews – including some with the man himself – Bryant is able to assemble a complex and comprehensive look at a complicated legacy.

The triumphs of Rickey are here, but so too are the tribulations, as we’re given insight into the struggles that marked Rickey’s life both on the field and off it. Bryant – a gifted writer who spent a good chunk of time covering baseball in the Bay Area during Rickey’s myriad stints there – gives us a soup-to-nuts rendering of the man, from his humble beginnings in Oakland to his rapid ascent into stardom to his arrival the apex of the baseball world to his slow evolution into a hardball folk hero. a deep and definitive look at one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball. Now, in the hands of critically acclaimed sportswriter and culture critic Howard Bryant, one of baseball's greatest and most original stars finally gets his due. Henderson embraced this shift with his trademark style, playing for nine different teams throughout his decades-long career and sculpting a brash, larger-than-life persona that stole the nation's heart.

And it's a story of a sea change in sports, when athletes gained celebrity status and Black players finally earned equitable salaries. 'If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you'd have two Hall of Famers,' the baseball historian Bill James once said.īut perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson's is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he's scored more runs than any player ever. From the author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron comes the definitive biography of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, baseball's epic leadoff hitter and base-stealer who also stole America's heart over nearly five electric decades in the game.įew names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson's does.

Rickey by howard bryant