“As smart as any position player I’ve ever been around,” La Russa said. “ (He had) that stance with the small strike zone, but he was ready to strike. He was smart. And he learned to be a great base stealer, learned to be a better hitter.

Tony La Russa was extolling the virtues of Rickey Henderson as a Hall of Famer and one of the all-time great players in Major League Baseball history during a 20-minute Zoom with Chicago writers on Sunday,