Rickey Henderson’s quest for respect and the dawn of MLB’s big money era

In an extract from his new book on the Hall of Famer, Howard Bryant explores how fans and athletes reacted as serious money entered baseballBaseball players weren’t regular guys, but in 1974 they earned only slightly more than three times what the average American family paying to watch them play brought home. That year, the same year Rickey Henderson turned 16, the median household income in the United States was $11,000. The average major league salary was $35,000. Hank Aaron was in the