Some context: Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed "The Man of Steal", he is widely regarded as baseball's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner. He holds the major league records for career stolen bases, runs, unintentional walks and leadoff home runs. At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the ten-time American League (AL)
Following a mid-season trade to Oakland in 1989, Henderson reasserted himself as one of the game's greatest players, with a memorable half-season in which his 52 steals and 72 runs scored led the A's into the postseason; his 126 walks for the year were the most for any AL hitter since 1970. With a record eight steals in five games, he was named MVP of the American League Championship Series; he hit .400 while scoring eight runs and delivering two home runs, five runs batted in (RBI), seven walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Leading the A's to a four-game sweep over the San Francisco Giants and the franchise's first World Series title since 1974, Henderson hit .474 with an .895 slugging average (including two triples and a homer), while stealing three more bases. On August 22, 1989, he became Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout victim, but Henderson took an odd delight in the occurrence, saying, "If you haven't been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you're nobody."  A year later, Henderson finished second in the league in batting average with a mark of .325, losing out to the Kansas City Royals' George Brett on the final day of the season. Henderson had a remarkably consistent season, with his batting average falling below .320 for only one game, the third of the year. Reaching safely by a hit or a walk in 125 of his 136 games, he led the league in runs (119), stolen bases (65), on-base percentage (.439) and OPS (1.016) was 2nd in slugging % (.577), 4th in walks (97) and extra base hits (66), 6th in home runs (28) and total bases (282) and had 61 RBI and Henderson won the AL's MVP award and helped Oakland to another pennant. He again performed well in the World Series (.333 batting, .667 slugging, a home run and three steals in four games), but the A's were swept by the underdog Cincinnati Reds.  On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke one of baseball's most noted records when he stole the 939th base of his career, one more than Lou Brock's total compiled from 1962 to 1979, mainly with the St. Louis Cardinals.  In 1993, Henderson was having another outstanding season when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline. In 90 games with Oakland, he was batting .327 (2nd in AL) with 17 home runs and 47 RBIs. He also had scored 77 runs, stolen 31 bases, drew 85 walks, had a .469 on-base percentage and was slugging .553.
How were his averages?
A: A year later, Henderson finished second in the league in batting average with a mark of .325,
Some context: Faber was born on a farm near Cascade, Iowa, on September 6, 1888. He was of Luxembourgish ancestry. While Faber was a child, his father managed a tavern and later ran the Hotel Faber in Cascade. His father became one of the wealthiest citizens in Cascade.
Faber enjoyed the greatest success of his career in the early 1920s. The live-ball era was beginning, but he was among the pitchers who made the most successful transition. The spitball was phased out after the 1920 season, with Faber one of the 17 pitchers permitted to use it for the remainder of their careers. He took advantage of Comiskey Park's spacious dimensions, surrendering only 91 home runs--barely one homer per month--from 1920 to 1931. He was one of only six pitchers to win 100 or more games in both the "dead ball" (through 1920) and live ball eras. Faber finished the 1920 season with 23 wins and led the league in games started.  During the summer of 1921, Faber and several other players had to leave a road trip in Washington after receiving subpoenas for the Black Sox trial in Chicago. Faber made the trip but was not asked to testify and he returned to the White Sox without missing a start. In 1921 and 1922, he posted win totals of 25 and 21, respectively, leading the league in ERA (1921-1922), innings (1922) and complete games (1921-1922). He was also among the league leaders in strikeouts each year, while pitching at least 25 complete games and over 300 innings.  In the wake of the Black Sox scandal, winning on a consistent basis became increasingly difficult. After being one of the top teams in the league with a powerful offense in the late 1910s, the White Sox had only two winning seasons in his last 13 years, never finishing above fifth place. In the 1921 season, he earned a 25-15 win-loss record for the post-scandal team that limped to a 62-92 finish; from 1921 to 1929 his record was 126-103. In 1927, Ty Cobb had a 21-game hitting streak which was broken when he faced Faber. Despite the widespread hitting of the era, he did not post an ERA over 3.88 until he was 41. Perhaps his last great performance was a one-hitter at age 40 in 1929.
How did he reach his success?
A:
He was one of only six pitchers to win 100 or more games in both the "dead ball" (through 1920) and live ball eras.