Rickey says, "It's all about Rickey!"

He may have been playing cards while his New York Mets team was being eliminated from the playoffs, yet he is referred to as a great teammate.

He frequently doesn't know the name of the players in his own locker room, but he is willing to pass on what he knows to younger players.

He doesn't give his full effort defensively; still, he is the prototypical leadoff hitter.

He is Rickey Henderson, and he is an enigma within a riddle wrapped in a conundrum. Love him (not likely) or hate him (join the crowd), he is a phenomenal baseball player. Unfortunately, he knows it, and that's about all he knows.

For Henderson, his Major League Baseball career has revolved around one thing -- him.

Yes, he has won two World Series Championships (in 1989 with Oakland, and in 1993 with Toronto), but one can surmise that those championship rings mean little to Henderson. A world title signifies a team accomplishment, and Rickey cares little about anything other than his own personal goals.

It was Henderson who, upon breaking Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record, tore the base from its moorings, hoisted it aloft, and declared, "I am the greatest!"

Henderson recently set another all-time record, surpassing Babe Ruth's record for career bases on balls, when he received his 2,057th career free pass.

Now he is closing in on another milestone, Ty Cobb's career runs scored total of 2,245. As of August 27, Rickey sits 16 runs short of this mark.

Additionally, he needs only 23 hits to reach 3,000, a total only two dozen players have ever accumulated. And lest we forget, Henderson has far more leadoff home runs in his career than any other player ever.

His numbers are phenomenal. He is almost certainly the best leadoff hitter the game has ever known.

The players associated with Henderson's totals -- Brock, Ruth, Cobb -- are all Hall of Famers. Rickey will certainly join them in Cooperstown when he is eligible, once he finally decides to retire.

However, until Henderson has placed his final, indelible stamp in the record books by setting the runs record and reaching 3,000 hits, he won't sit down. Those stats are far too meaningful to him. Not in the context of helping the team win -- that's always been secondary to Rickey -- but in the context of making himself look that much better. Rickey has always been about Rickey.

There was not a highly publicized countdown to the walks record; of course, it's not a glamorous statistic, not like 755 home runs, so maybe that's understandable. There has been no tracking Henderson as he approaches 3,000 hits. Scant attention has been paid to Rickey as he closes in on Cobb's run record. Why is this?

Simply put, Henderson has brought this lack of attention on himself. By being such a self promoter, he has driven away those who would highlight and celebrate his fabulous achievements. When someone tells you again and again how great he is, you tend to get tired of hearing it, even if it's true. I believe we're all so sick of having Rickey tell us how amazing he is, we've decided to tune him out when he is most deserving of our attention.

Fans respect and admire Henderson's accomplishments, but they despise and detest his personality. That's truly unfortunate. With the career he's had, Rickey could be one of the most revered players ever. Instead, he is one of the more reviled.

Rickey Henderson is one of the greatest baseball players ever. Too bad nobody cares.