Rickey Henderson is the first Hall of Famer whose career I vividly remember from beginning to end. As a young fan of the game, it was easy to root for Henderson, who took the torch from Lou Brock, whose career was coming to an end just as Henderson’s started.

Henderson brought a different approach to the game than Brock did, an approach I did not completely understand or appreciate when I was younger. He worked the count like few others in the game did, particularly at the time, routinely walking in excess of 80, 90 and 100 times over the course of the season. It’s pretty amazing that he was able to amass 3,000 hits over the course of his career given how much he took the free pass to make the most of his speed on the basepaths.

And while he set the single-season and career mark for stolen bases, surpassing Brock’s career total by nearly 500 swipes, his most impressive career mark was finishing first all-time in runs scored. After all, getting on base and scoring runs are the objective of the lead-off man, and no one did those two things better from the top spot, ever, than Rickey Henderson.

His induction didn’t come without some controversy. Fans have criticized the voters for not unanimously voting him into Cooperstown, as five percent of said voters decided not to cast Henderson on their ballots. Many have wondered why such a player would be left off, although we have learned throughout the years that many tried and true voters believe that no players should be unanimously voted in, and many also believe that there is a difference between first, second, third, and so forth, ballot hall of famers.

I personally think that’s rather silly, as in my opinion a player is either belongs in the Hall of Fame or he doesn’t. I’m undecided as to whether or not something should be done to change the voting process, because I don’t have a viable solution in mind and generally believe that unless you do, you shouldn’t automatically assume something can be done better even if it doesn’t always make sense.

What matters is that Henderson is going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, on my 35^th birthday to boot, which just happens to be the number he wore when he made his big-league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1979.

Rice to open the flood-gates?

Jim Rice was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, who of course had a very good career with the Boston Red Sox. However, I have always contended that Cooperstown is for the great players, not the very good, and in my opinion Rice was not a great player. I fully admit that I didn’t get to see Rice at his peak in the 70s, but enjoyed his career throughout the 80s and fully recognize that he was a feared hitter in a time dominated by pitching.

I’m a big fan of players that enjoy long careers, especially if those careers are spent with one team. However, when I’m discussing Hall of Fame credentials, I like to see some major statistical milestones achieved. 3,000 is of course the standard for hits, with standards for RBI (1,500) doubles (400-500) and home runs (also 400-500) falling in place in value. Big power numbers may not always have to be achieved if a player adds speed to his game, or reaches the 3,000 hit plateau, or plays a premium position, or a combination of variables.

However, Jim Rice played left field, a position in which offensive production is expected. Hall of Fame left fielders should put up numbers over the course of one’s career similar to the numbers an All-Star left fielder should put up over the course of one season.

I’m happy Rice made it in, as he just fell short in my mind of being worthy. The thing is, now that he is in, who is next, or better yet, who should be next? Dale Murphy put up just as impressive of a career, yet the voters don’t think he comes anywhere close to the Hall of Fame. Will Andre Dawson get the support he should from the same voters that got Rice in? What about Dave Parker? Or even Allan Trammell considering that he played shortstop? Why wasn’t Ted Simmons inducted, or Dick Allen? (Yankees fans will emphatically claim that Don Mattingly deserves to be in, although his career was unfortunately far too short, even if it was cut short due to injury.)

Before you dismiss any of those players while supporting Rice, you had better take a good hard look at the numbers. I know numbers aren’t everything, but they’re close to everything when it comes to Hall of Fame consideration. Just ask a disgruntled Bert Blyleven (who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame).

Bronze Rock!

I would like to offer my support for Tim Raines, who may not have had as dynamic of a career as Henderson did, but wasn’t too far off. From hits and walks to stolen bases, Raines was one of the most exciting players to watch throughout the 80s, and had a very good career that was highlighted by his seasons from 1981 to 1995. He finished fifth all-time in stolen bases, but like Henderson, I don’t think many people remember just how good he was in other aspects of the game.

I also would vote in Lee Smith for the amazing save totals he posted, and would probably also give the nod to Jack Morris, who never met a big game he didn’t like.

MLB Network debuts

Since baseball is hard to come by this time of year, the MLB Network has been a breath of fresh air. Their programming may seem a little repetitive right now, since they too have so little to report, but their historical features and looks at the game makes the current sub-zero temperatures a little easier to handle.

Tuesday nights are particularly fun for me, being a big fan of Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary, which originally aired on PBS. It never seems to get old being reminded of the great careers of players that bridged the origins of the game to the modern era such as Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, Sam Crawford, Mordecai Brown, Walter Johnson and Christy Matthewson.

You can also bet that the MLB Network is going to provide extended coverage of events that we aren’t usually privy too. Their spring training coverage is sure to be unrivaled, and I’m guessing that they also have plans to keep a keener eye on the minor league side of the game as well as the June Amateur Free Agent Draft. While I haven’t heard whether or not ESPN will continue to cover the first round of the draft, having more extensive coverage on the league’s home channel not only makes sense, it has to be considered a requirement.

Offseason Doldrums

The offseason continues to progress very slowly, as there continues to be quite a few free agents that haven’t signed with the 2009 ballclubs. While Derek Lowe agreed to terms with the Braves earlier this week (if you haven’t noticed, the Braves are quietly having a nice offseason, and may be set to sign Andruw Jones now that he has been released by the Dodgers), seven Type A free agents are still available, including notable star players such as Manny Ramirez, Ben Sheets and Jason Varitek.

There are also six Type B free agents that are still available, as well as numerous high profile free agents that were either not offered arbitration or didn’t qualify for compensation (Andy Pettitte, Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Randy Wolf, Garret Anderson).

It’s not a good season for any free agent to be looking to ride off into the sunset with the comforts of a new, multi-year, multi-million dollar deal, unless of course you were one of the apples of the Yankees’ eye. Almost all teams are showing patience, knowing that these players will eventually sign, and they will sign for a lot less than originally expected.

Don’t be surprised to see some shocking one or two-year deals announced over the next few weeks as players realize that time is running out. After all, pitchers and catchers report in a month’s time.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.