The Day Rickey Henderson Said "You're #1"

I haven't felt like writing in awhile, but I just saw something on Letterman that made me giggle and want to post.

On tonight's Top Ten list, newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice presented the list for "top ten highlights of my hall of fame baseball career."

The presentation was hilarious and it brought me back to the last time I saw Rickey Henderson play baseball. I want to say it was 1999 and Rickey Henderson was back playing for the Met's. We were sitting with friends at Candlestick Park way out in the bleachers and had seats fairly close to the field. I had worked for the Giants in my youth and was a diehard fan. My husband was a huge Oakland A's fan. Our friends were from Los Angeles and didn't care for either team playing, at least until one of them got a little buzzed from excessive beer consumption in the sun. Then his attention turned directly to Rickey Henderson.

"HEYYYYYYY RICKEY! You sack of shit. Gonna catch that thing?"

Know when you're out somewhere public and you see someone acting like an idiot? This was our friend. He was THAT guy. And he wouldn't stop. Every chance Rickey was in the outfield, our friend would stand and scream something mortifying.

"COME ON OLD MAN! Hey Rickey...FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCK YOU!"

With each comment I sunk deeper into my chair. I was an usher for the Giants in high school and knew it was only a matter of time before security was called and we'd be escorted out of the park.

The taunting continued for what felt like an eternity, and although I tried, our friend wouldn't stop. Rickey took the abuse for several innings, but finally something was said that crossed the line. At that moment, Rickey turned to face us and proceeded to flip us off, causing the crowd around us to roar in laughter.

My husband pointed out that this would one day be a historical moment. He said something to the effect that we were just flipped off by a future hall of famer. That prediction is now true nearly a decade later and I'll never forget the day Rickey Henderson told us to fuck off.