ASMA KHALID, HOST:
Major League Baseball's stolen base king and one of its most flamboyant stars has died.
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BILL KING: Rickey Henderson. No contest, steals third base, jerks the bag from its moorings and holds it aloft, representing No. 939.
KHALID: Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was 65 years old. His family announced his death over the weekend. Moments after that record-setting call from Bill King on the Oakland A's radio station, KSFO, Henderson spoke to the crowd, as the previous record holder stood alongside.
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RICKEY HENDERSON: Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, I am the greatest of all time. Thank you.
KHALID: Howard Bryant argues Rickey Henderson was even better than he said he was. He's an ESPN columnist and the author of "Rickey: The Life And Legend Of An American Original." And Howard joins us now. Good morning.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning.
KHALID: So what made Rickey Henderson so special?
BRYANT: Well, that clip says it all. And, you know, there's laughter and there's pain here because he was criticized very heavily for that because he sounded like Muhammad Ali, because he was so brash and so bold and so convinced of his ability and the style. People said that baseball was so boring. But then came Rickey in 1979, and he played he played baseball the way you played football. And a lot of people - he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because he was so bold and so unafraid to not just tell everyone how good he was but to show it. And then over time, people began to warm to him because, one, you loved the way he played. And then two, he had done it so long. And then three, he just absolutely obliterated the record book. There was no - by the time Rickey retired in 2003, there was no doubt who the greatest base stealer was of all time, as he said. There was no doubt who the greatest leadoff hitter was as well.
KHALID: So many people believe that his stolen base record will perhaps never be broken. I mean, is that because there are just fewer stolen bases these days?
BRYANT: It's because there are a fewer stolen bases these days, and it's also because nobody stole at a clip like Rickey. I mean, 1,406 stolen bases. He's 1,000 stolen bases ahead of the nearest active player.
KHALID: That's wild. Yeah (laughter).
BRYANT: It's one of those records like Cy Young's 511 wins. It's not going anywhere any time soon.
KHALID: So I want to ask you before we let you go that - you wrote the biography on Henderson. What is one of your favorite stories about him, his life?
BRYANT: I think one of my favorites - there's just too many to count, real and imagined, but my favorite one says it all about Rickey. I once asked him when he realized that he had world-class ability. And to play in the major leagues in any sport, it's like a 0.0003% chance of being a professional. And I asked Rickey, when did you know that you were going to be a pro? And he said, oh, I don't know, when I was, like, 10 years old.
KHALID: (Laughter).
BRYANT: And so he just knew from the start he was special.
KHALID: Love that story.
BRYANT: Very sad.
KHALID: Well, that's Howard Bryant, ESPN columnist and author of "Rickey: The Life And Legend Of An American Original." Thank you so much for speaking with us.
BRYANT: Thank you.
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