Henderson, Rice earn Hall passes

The doors to Cooperstown swung open on Sunday for Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice as they were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rickey Henderson was in his first year of eligibility and Jim Rice in his 15th and final year. Henderson was the all-time leader in two categories - 1,406 stolen bases and 2,295 runs scored. He also holds the record for unintentional walks and leadoff home runs. Considered to be the greatest leadoff hitter ever, Rickey Henderson was elected with 94.8 percent of the votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Jim Rice, a career-long member of the Boston Red Sox, was in his final year of eligibility. He received seven votes over the 75 percent threshold to garner 76.4 percent. Last year, he fell just 16 votes short. His percentage last year was the highest ever for a player not elected.

Henderson and Rice are the first left fielders elected to the Hall of Fame in 20 years. They bring the number of players in the Hall to 202.

Rickey Henderson established himself as baseball's supreme leadoff hitter by banging out 3,055 hits in a 25-season career that spanned four decades (1979-2003). He played for the Oakland Athletics (four times), New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres (twice), California Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

A career .279 hitter with a .401 on-base average and 297 home runs, Henderson won World Series rings with the 1989 A's and '93 Blue Jays, was the American League’s MVP in 1990 and set the bar so high with the single-season stolen base record of 130 in 1982 that no player since has come within 20 bags of equaling it. His 81 home runs leading off games are the most in Major League history.

A .298 career hitter with 382 home runs, 2,452 hits and 1,451 RBIs in 16 seasons, Rice had four seasons of more than 200 hits, led the American League in home runs three times, RBIs twice, hits once, slugging percentage twice, was the AL Most Valuable Player in 1978 and was an eight-time All-Star.