The Oakland A’s celebrated Rickey Henderson bobblehead night against the New York Yankees on Friday night, and the franchise legend took the field for the ceremonial first pitch. The kicker was that Henderson took his place behind the plate while his daughter, Adrianna, threw a strike.
As their final season in Oakland comes to a close, the A’s brought back Henderson, who spent 14 seasons tearing up the Oakland Coliseum basepath. The all-time MLB leader in stolen bases (1,406) and runs (2,295), Henderson spent his time behind home plate instead of crossing it on Friday.
Henderson gave the spotlight to Adrianna, and she made the most of it. She threw a high-arcing pitch right down the middle into her father’s glove.
The magic of bringing Henderson back to the Coliseum wasn’t enough for the A’s to overcome the Yankees. Oakland lost the game, 4-2, but right fielder Lawrence Butler swiped a bag in front of the all-time leader in stolen bases.
After this season, the A’s will be moving away from the historic Coliseum to Sacramento, where they will play through the 2027 season. In that time, owner John Fisher will attempt to finalize plans for a Las Vegas relocation, despite criticism from some players around the league.