Rickey Henderson

Athletics: Rickey Henderson is hitting .150 at home (9-for-60). Rafael Bournigal has one hit in his past 18 at-bats. Rookie Ben Grieve is the only Oakland player to start in all 29 games this season. He has played all but three innings.Pub Date: 5/04/98

Athletics: Right fielder Jason McDonald got two assists. He threw out the Tigers' Joe Randa trying to go from first to third on a single in the first, and caught Tony Clark at the plate when he tried to score from first on a third-inning double by Luis Gonzalez. Tom Candiotti had won his previous three decisions. Rickey Henderson has 17 walks in his last 13 games.Indians: David Justice was called out in the first inning for passing Omar Vizquel at third base on a pop-up to shortstop. Justice was trying to score from second on Alomar's pop with one out.Pub Date: 5/08/98

HittingCraig Grebeck, Blue Jays: 4-for-5, double.Edgar Martinez, Mariners: 4-for-4, HR, 2 doubles.Rickey Henderson, Athletics: 3-for-3, 2 steals.PitchingDavid Cone, Yankees: 7 innings, 0 runs, 4 hits.Pub Date: 9/27/98

HittingWill Clark, Rangers: 2 HRs.Shawn Green, Blue Jays: 2 HRs.Paul Molitor, Twins: 4 RBIs, double.Chuck Knoblauch, Yankees: 4-for-5, double.Rickey Henderson, Athletics: 4-for-5, double.Pub Date: 8/29/98

Athletics: Rickey Henderson took over the AL lead in stolen bases when he stole third in the fifth inning, his 24th steal of the season. He added his 25th when he stole second in the seventh inning. He began the night tied with Tom Goodwin of Texas for the league lead with 23 steals.Mariners: With his homer last night, Ken Griffey tied Lance Parrish for 65th on the career homer list with 320. Griffey has 15 RBIs in his last 12 games.Yankees: Have the best road record in the majors at 21-8; they have won 20 of 24 road games since going 1-4 to begin the season.

Most players with such a clear view of the end of their baseball careers want to settle in one final place as they ease into retirement. Sign that last contract and enjoy that last bit of stability.Then there's Rickey Henderson, who can't seem to sit still long enough for the ink to dry.He's the hired gun, the weapon who stopped being a secret long ago. Henderson, a 10-time All-Star, was brought to Anaheim on Wednesday for the same reason Oakland reacquired him in 1989 and Toronto snatched him four years later: to provide an extra push toward a world championship.

Astros: Starter Doug Drabek pitched on the side yesterday to test his hamstring pull and will pitch Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants.Cardinals: Shortstop Ozzie Smith is still bothered with a right hamstring pull and continues to be day-to-day.Cubs: Ryne Sandberg is 0-for-8 after coming out of retirement.Dodgers: Hideo Nomo declined to talk about his losing outing, shunning the media, including his following of 80 Japanese credentialed media for the game because he said they distracted him when he warmed up Tuesday.

Pennington keeps cool in a hot spotOn the biggest day of his professional life, Orioles reliever Brad Pennington was calm when it appeared all about him was not.That's not to say that Pennington, who made his major-league debut in the Orioles' 7-5 loss to the California Angels yesterday, wasn't fired up.To the contrary, Pennington, who was called up Thursday from )) the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, looked excited enough during his warm-up tosses to throw a pitch through a wall."That's the only way I've ever seen him," said Orioles manager Johnny Oates.

For obvious reasons, it won't be evident from within their own division, but the Orioles have a lot of industry support in their stretch run against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.This is not your traditional case of the haves vs. the have-nots. When it comes to money matters, revenue-sharing for instance, the Orioles now find themselves on the same side as the big boys.But when it comes to assembling parts for a run at the pennant, the Orioles still prefer the old-fashioned way -- using a shoestring rather than a checkbook -- which is why they are the sentimental favorites of the baseball purists.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A's put a lot of faith in Shawn Hillegas by awarding him a spot in their rotation, and yesterday Hillegas took the first step toward justifying the team's decision.The 28-year-old right-hander shut out the Milwaukee Brewers for six innings in his first start for Oakland, and that performance was the cornerstone of an 8-2 victory at the Oakland Coliseum.It took more than Hillegas' strong effort to wrap up the A's first homestand with a 4-2 record. Dave Henderson, who had been off to a 1-for-11 start, including four strikeouts on Saturday, had a pair of RBI and his first home run of the season.

Hall of Fame announcement 2 p.m. [MLB Network] Find out who makes it to Cooperstown this year. In honor of Rickey Henderson (left), talk about yourself in the third person.

Rickey Henderson is at the top of the list of first-time Hall of Fame candidates. He's a lock, considering he's the all-time leader in stolen bases and is a member of the 3,000-hit club. He's also a 10-time All-Star and one of the most exciting players ever to wear a uniform. So we'll be seeing him on stage next summer. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

Now that baseball's career home run record has fallen after a 33-year reign by Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, the question is what's next? Which career record will be eclipsed and who will do it? One guess is runs scored, with the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds, the new home run king, closing in on speedster Rickey Henderson. Here's a look at some career records and whether we can expect an eventual changing of the guard. Home runs Record holder -- Bonds, 758 and counting Threats -- The common belief is that Bonds, 43, is just keeping the throne warm for New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, 32, who last week became the youngest player to reach 500. Ten more years at an average of 40 homers, and Rodriguez will obliterate whatever number Bonds reaches.

NEWARK, N.J. - Tucked in the middle of downtown Newark, Riverside Stadium can hold about 6,200 fans, but on days the Atlantic League's Bears are playing, the 4-year-old stadium with an elevated view of the New York skyline is usually half-full. On Sunday, 3,738 were on hand to see the Bears play the Pennsylvania Road Warriors, and they were treated to a group of Clydesdales carting out the team mascot, Rip N' Ruppert, a water-chugging contest and old television show theme songs, which played over the sound system when Road Warriors came to bat. It was an unlikely place to see the greatest leadoff hitter of all time.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Rickey Henderson is still looking for a job at age 44, but the Orioles aren't interested. Henderson, who holds baseball's all-time records for stolen bases (1,403), bases on balls (2,179) and runs scored (2,288), played in 72 games for the Boston Red Sox last season, batting .223 with a .369 on-base average. Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie spoke with Henderson's agent, Jeff Borris, yesterday at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, saying thanks but no thanks. "I saw [Henderson]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Orioles right fielder Jay Gibbons lost six pounds while fighting a viral infection over the past week, so it's no coincidence his offensive production suffered, too. Gibbons came down with the virus in Tampa Bay two weekends ago and had a difficult time eating. He was batting .317 with seven home runs and 12 RBIs through the first 17 games, but came into yesterday riding a 2-for-19 slump. Losing six pounds is a bigger deal to Gibbons these days because he dropped 20 pounds over the off-season on a vegetarian diet, slimming down his muscle mass to produce more bat speed.

Most major-league bats are made from white ash, but the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds has his made from sugar maple wood. "If Bonds breaks Mark McGwire's [home run] record, will he get an ash-terisk next to it?" Bert Sugar asks in SportsBusiness Journal. Sugar's play on words shows he's a sportswriter with good punmanship. Some others in his company: Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, who wrote of the NBA's repeatedly fining Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for blasting the officiating: "If this keeps up, we may have a Cuban whistle crisis on our hands."

Quote: "When it comes to the point that I play two or three games in a row and then need a day off for a rest, it's time I hang up my shoes." - Mets' Rickey Henderson, unhappy at not playing yesterday It's a fact: Yesterday's rainout was the 29th since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958 but the second in new Pacific Bell Park. Who's hot: The Cubs' Eric Young is 24-for-61 (.393) over his past 14 games. Who's not: At 11-20, the Brewers are still off to their worst start since 1970, their first year in Milwaukee.

Now that Cal Ripken has become the third player in the past year to get his 3,000th career hit, the focus can shift to the on-deck circle. Who's next? There are two veteran players close enough to get there if they can just hang on a little longer. New York Mets outfielder Rickey Henderson and Orioles designated hitter Harold Baines are both within striking distance. With Ripken at 3,000 Henderson needs 177 hits, a total that probably would require him to play into 2001 to accumulate.

Mike Bordick -UP- His production while hitting No. 9 hasn't slipped from 1999's career-best numbers at No. 2. Moose - DOWN - It's all relative. Three starts, no wins. Mussina's best start was an Opening Day loss. The Orioles have scored eight runs in his games, only six with him around. Struggling in early innings. Middle relief -DOWN- Al Reyes drops a three-run, eighth-inning lead. Tim Worrell has surrendered a home run every time he's appeared. Mike Trombley is beaten by Rey Sanchez.