Flashback 1989: Yankees Trade Rickey Henderson

December 2, 2008

By DailySkew

June 21, 1989 Rickey Henderson was traded by the New York Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk, and Luis Polonia.

The decade of the 1980’s was full of drama for the New York Yankees: George Steinbrenner would fire managers, pitching coaches, general managers; big money was thrown at big names, and he traded away prospects at the drop of a hat. The MEDIA anointed the New York Mets as the toast of the town, while the Yanks had great W/L records, but no results.

In Rickey Henderson’s case, fans had high expectations when the Yanks got Rickey in 1985. He performed great in his 4.5 seasons with the Yankees, but had some hamstring injuries. The Yankees didn’t win a championship due to poor pitching, and the MEDIA started to attack Henderson’s weird and aloof personality. George Steinbrenner had accused Rickey of not playing hard and when it came time to get a contract extension, the Yanks didn’t want to invest money in him.

Here are some excerpts from the New York Times article from the day Rickey was sent back to Oakland. Let’s travel back to the past as it happened:

The Yankees, uncertain whether Rickey Henderson was worth a new three-year contract and desperately in need of pitching help… sent Henderson back home to the Oakland Athletics for two relievers and an outfielder.

The deal…will bring the Yankees help for their wavering bullpen. In return for Henderson, who has not agreed to a contract with the Athletics and can still become a free agent when the season ends, the Yankees will receive Eric Plunk, a right-hander; Greg Cadaret, a left-hander, and Luis Polonia, an outfielder with speed.

The Yankees needed Henderson’s approval before making any trade..The Yankees were willing to part with their left fielder and leadoff hitter because of a feeling throughout the organization that his skills had begun to fade. The 30-year-old Henderson, who has 819 career stolen bases, had been caught 8 times in 33 attempts this season, sometimes by alarmingly wide margins. His batting average of .247 is well below the career average of .292 he had entering this season, and he has hit only 3 home runs. But he is leading the league in walks with 56.
The team believed it would have been taking something of a gamble by signing him to a three-year contract, even though the two sides were relatively close. The Yankees were offering a pact that would have paid Henderson about $2.4 million a year; Richie Bry, Henderson’s agent, was asking $2.8 million.

There is not a significant void with his loss. Dallas Green, the Yankee manager, put Steve Sax in the leadoff spot last night against the Chicago White Sox and can use either Polonia or Mel Hall in left. A bigger problem is making room for Plunk and Cadaret, who have started in the past but who will initially be put in the bullpen.

And here’s what Rickey said:

”I felt it was time. There were rumors that I’d be traded, and then they came to me and asked if I would take a trade. Oakland was the only place I knew I’d like to go. I knew that if we didn’t come to an agreement by the All-Star break I’d be a free agent anyway, and we had the opportunity to do it now, so I decided to go back home. ‘I’m in between. I’m a little sad because I’m leaving New York, but I’m happy to be going back home. Oakland is a great organization.”

Here’s what the jerk Dallas Green had to say:

“I truthfully didn’t think anybody would take Rickey, not because he’s not a great player but because of his high contract and the fact he hadn’t gotten untracked this year. The negotiations were somewhat of a hindrance to his production. We just didn’t see the juice we were told he’d have when he was on a hot streak.”

Here what a couple of players said:

Jesse Barfield: ”I’m very disappointed, not only because we’re friends but because I think he’s an outstanding player and a catalyst to the ball club.”

A frustrated Don Mattingly said: ”It’s tough losing Rickey. It kind of makes you remember that anyone can go, but I guess I knew that anyway.”

In the end, it was a horrible trade for the Yankees, as Rickey was still in his prime and would go on to play and be valuable into his 40’s. The Yanks never had the speed and on-base expertise before or after Rickey. The “talent” the Yanks got back was bad. Of course, the Yanks were so poorly run before Gene Michael and Buck Showalter were able to rebuild from scratch in the 1990’s, that Rickey would have been unable to help the Yanks win any rings anyway.

Before “Manny being Manny”, there was “Rickey being Rickey”. In New York he was known for flashy catches, people debating when he should take a stolen base, showing up late to Spring Training every year, and having behind closed door meeting with whoever the manager was. All of that nonsense that the MEDIA reported took away from how great Rickey was, and how unappreciated he was in New York.

Now everyone will be watching Rickey Henderson be inducted into the 2009 Hall of Fame wearing an Oakland A’s hat.