Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice Cooperstown Bound

Ricky Henderson, arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, gained entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame today earning 94.8% of all votes casts by the Baseball Writers of America. Joining Henderson in Cooperstown, New York, will be Jim Rice who made the cut after being denied for 14 years. If Rice, a slugger with the Boston Red Sox in the 70's and 80's, hadn't made it this year he would have been taken off the writers ballot but could have been elected by fellow players who vote on a panel.

Henderson's choice in his first year of eligibility is hardly a surprise. His career saw him break the in stolen bases (1,406) and runs scored (2,295) and those marks will likely never be broken.

“I feel great about it,” Henderson said. “It’s been a long time coming. I played baseball because I loved the game. I wanted to continue playing. It came to a time that I had to stop. And now that it has been five years, they have chosen me to go into the Hall of Fame. I cannot be any more pleased or thrilled about it.”

Rice hit 382 home runs and 1451 RBI but the BoSox never won a title in his long tenure with the team which probably was the reason many voters shunned him for so many years, along with the fact that he wasn't exactly media friendly during his playing days. Bert Blyleven, who was a hurler for the Indians in the mid 80's and struck out over 3700 hundred batters, once again failed to get elected despite his 287 career wins. Also on the outside looking in is Andre Dawson who hit over 400 home runs and stole 314 bases in a 21 season career.