March 12, 2007
Rickey to Retire
Rickey Henderson is going to retire!
Henderson told reporters that he intends to officially announce his retirement this summer, unless, of course, a team says, "Hey, let me see, can you go out there and play?," in which case he'll return to action.
Given that the independent league teams are no longer interested in him despite his gaudy OBAs, I think Rickey is already retired. Does anyone know if playing in an independent league keeps the Hall of Fame clock from starting?
Independent league involvement has no bearing on Hall of Fame eligibility. He will appear on the ballot 5 years after he last played in a major league game.
Is it last major league game or last with a major league affiliate? They could be quite different.
Rule 3c:
"Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise connected with baseball."
I suspect "active" requires being on the 40 man roster. So if a guy is injured, sits out a year on the DL, decides to heck with it and then retires, that's when the 5 year clock starts ticking. I could be wrong though.
And yet, despite all his accomplishments, he's still going to be left off of some ballots, and still going to generate a controversy in 5 years when he's not a unanimous choice...
rbj,
No, the player must actually appear in a game to affect his eligibility. For example, the Orioles (for insurance reasons) kept Albert Belle on the roster for three years after he was no longer able to play and it had no effect on his eligibility.
Ah, thanks largebill. I thought there was something like that out there, but wasn't sure.
Whoever does not vote in Rickey on the 1st ballot does not deserve to vote ever again. In fact, they should never be allowed to even watch baseball ever again.
I do not think ricky hendersonshould not retire until next year because he is a king of baseball.