"There will be never another" - Alex Rodriguez mourns the loss of HOFer Rickey Henderson with a heartfelt tribute

Major League Baseball lost a generational icon in Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson as reports confirmed that he died on Saturday. New York Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez shared an emotional message mourning the demise of the all-time stolen base king after losing his battle against pneumonia. Henderson would have celebrated his 66th birthday on Christmas Day.

Rickey Henderson posted 1,406 stolen bases in the MLB and is the only player to record 100 steals in the American League. He did so on three occasions during his 25-year MLB career with nine different teams, 14 of which were spent with the Oakland Athletics over four separate stints. Henderson made 10 All-Star teams and was named the AL MVP in 1990.

Three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez posted a touching tribute through Instagram on Saturday.

(Image Source: Instagram)

There will never be another Rickey Henderson," he wrote.

"He played with such passion, flair and joy. He was a true force of nature and an incredible teammate. Devastated to hear about his passing.

"RIP Rickey."

In 2000, Henderson and Rodriguez were teammates together for the Seattle Mariners during the latter's final season with the team.

Unique stature of Rickey Henderson

Rikckey Henderson joined the Baseball Hall of fame in 2009 (Image Source: Imagn)

Rickey Henderson will always hold a unique place in baseball history, both for his ability and flamboyance on the field. Henderson set the single-season stolen base record with 130 in 1982 while he also led his league in steals 12 times during his career.

Moreover, moments such as his peculiarly crouched batting stance and him lifting the base after passing Lou Brock for the all-time stolen base record will be etched in the minds of baseball fans forever.

Yet, Henderson was more than just that as he set the gold standard for a modern-day leadoff hitter. Besides his exceptional baserunning, Henderson possessed excellent bat-to-ball skills, had excellent plate discipline, and was a deceptively strong power hitter with nearly 300 career home runs.

Rickey Henderson ended his uniquely outstanding career with a .279/.401/.419 slash line and an .820 OPS, in addition to the all-time records of 1406 stolen bases and 2295 runs scored. He recorded 3055 base hits in his career, including 510 doubles, 66 triples, and 297 home runs. He also posted 111.1 bWAR over his career, which puts him in 14th place on the all-time list for position players.

In 2009, Henderson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility after earning 94.8% of the votes.