Wednesday, October 21, 2009

#214) STEVE HENDERSON

Steve Henderson was traded by the Cincinnati Reds with Doug Flynn, Pat Zachry, and Dan Norman to the New York Mets for Tom Seaver on June 15, 1977. Henderson played his rookie season with the Mets and fell one vote short of defeating Andre Dawson in the 1977 Rookie of the Year ballot. Steve will be best remembered by Mets fans for his game winning home run on Flag Day, June 14, 1980. The Shea Stadium faithful, armed with game give-away American flags in hand, saw the San Francisco Giants jump out to a 6-0 lead. The Mets charged back and found themselves trailing by two runs with two runners on base and Steve Henderson stepping to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning. The scoreboard flashed "Hendu can do." Steve hits an Allen Ripley pitch out and wins the game 7-6. The scoreboard then reads "Hendu did do." The sound of cheering fans could be heard on all the ramps leaving Shea Stadium that night. Steve was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Kingman on February 28, 1981.

Steve Henderson signed his card in the set from an autograph request sent to the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, 2009. He is currently the hitting coach for the Rays.

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