Best Of The Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Seasons In Left Field
By Phil Watson
5. Rickey Henderson, 1981
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22 | 108 | 493 | 89 | 135 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 56 | 22 | 64 | 68 | .319 | .408 | .437 | .845 | 151 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/13/2014.
Strike or no strike, the 22-year-old Henderson had a tremendous season in 1981, finishing second to Milwaukee’s Rollie Fingers for the MVP while winning his only Gold Glove as the A’s got back to the postseason for the first time since 1975. He led the league with 89 runs, 135 hits and 56 stolen bases in just 108 games.
He was second in the AL with a 6.6 WAR and 81 Runs Created, third with a 4.3 Offensive WAR, fifth with a 2.0 Defensive WAR and sixth with a 151 OPS-plus and a 10.8 Power-Speed number.
Henderson was also second in the league with seven triples, third with a .408 on-base percentage, fourth with 64 walks, fifth with a .319 batting average, eighth with 185 total bases and ninth with a .845 OPS.
In the ALDS against the Royals, Henderson was 2-for-11 with three runs, two steals in three attempts and two walks in a three-game sweep. He was 4-for-11 with two doubles, a triple, an RBI and two steals in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees in the ALCS.