MLB Trade Deadline: Top 25 midseason deals of all-time

22. A’s acquire Rickey Henderson, June 21, 1989

The trade deadline was in mid June for many years, so when the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees agreed to a blockbuster deal in 1989, there was a deadline-esque buzz around it.

Acquired from the A’s before the 1985 season, Rickey Henderson spent five years with the New York Yankees before he was shipped back west. The Yankees were three games under .500 and already 7.5 games out of first place in the American League East, and opted to part with Henderson for Greg Cadaret, Luis Polonia and Eric Plunk (who was also in the deal that sent Henderson to the Bronx in 1984).

Hitting just .247/.392/.349 with three home runs in 65 games at the time of the trade, Henderson hit .294/.425/.438 with nine homers, 72 runs scored and 35 stolen bases in 85 games with the A’s the rest of the season. He then hit .400/.609/1.000 with two homers, eight runs scored and five RBI to earn MVP honors in the ALCS, and collected nine hits, including a hom run, in a four-game sweep over the Giants to win his first World Series ring.

The 1989 deal wouldn’t be the last time Henderson was traded during a season, and it wouldn’t be the last time he was dealt to a club that won the World Series. The A’s traded Henderson to the Toronto Blue Jays at the deadline in 1993, and he won his second ring after collecting five hits and scoring six runs in the Fall Classic.