So this morning I grabbed my coffee and fired up the laptop, thinking about baseball stats that actually matter. Dave Henderson popped into my head – dude played outfield back in the 80s and 90s, right? Wanted to see what numbers really told his story. Started digging into season records like I was panning for gold.
The Hunt for Numbers
First thing, I hit up Baseball Reference because, c’mon, where else? Scrolled through Henderson’s career page until my eyes crossed. Noticed something weird right away – his 1988 season with the Red Sox showed 42 RBIs in just 85 games. Did the math on my phone calculator: that’s basically driving in a run every other game. Wild for a guy batting seventh most days.
Spreadsheet Time
Pasted everything into Google Sheets – yes, I’m basic like that. Made columns for these things specifically:
- Postseason homers (dude had 7 in 28 games!)
- Clutch hits with two outs and runners in scoring position
- Centerfield jump metrics – found some old scouting reports talking about his first-step quickness
Color-coded the cells until it looked like a rainbow threw up. Highlighted in bright yellow where he hit .324 against lefties in ’91. Left-handed pitchers must’ve hated seeing him step up to bat.
The Head-Scratchers
Got stuck for like an hour trying to verify his 1986 ALCS stats. Different sites showed slightly different numbers for his Game 5 performance – was it 2 RBI or 3? Finally dug through a newspaper archive PDF that confirmed he drove in two during the ninth-inning rally. Felt like Sherlock Holmes finding that clue.
Another thing jumped out: Henderson had thirteen 3-hit games during the 1988 season, but the A’s traded him anyway next year. Made ZERO sense until I checked Oakland’s outfield depth chart. They had Rickey Henderson AND Dave Parker – no wonder he became expendable. Front office math sucks sometimes.
Lightbulb Moment
Realized his true value wasn’t in batting titles but in three things most people ignore:
- How many runs he scored per hit (.38 average across full seasons – insane)
- His strikeout-to-walk ratio in high-pressure at-bats (nearly even when it mattered)
- Those sneaky stolen bases during playoff runs (swiped 5 bags in ‘89 postseason alone)
Almost spilled cold coffee on my keyboard when I connected this: His “down” years in Oakland aligned exactly with knee surgeries. Like, duh. Why do people ignore injury context?
Wrapping It Up
Finished the breakdown around lunchtime. Saved the spreadsheet as “Hendu_NumbersThatSlap” – don’t judge my naming skills. Main takeaway? Henderson’s career is proof that RBIs and homers get headlines, but the real story’s in the splits and situational stats. Still blows my mind that he only made one All-Star team. Stats don’t lie, but they definitely don’t get seen enough.
