YANKEE GOES HOME : Henderson’s New York Teammates Aren’t Happy to See Him Leave

For years, the residents of the New York Yankees’ clubhouse were mostly unaffected by personnel moves. When news of the Yankees’ trade of Rickey Henderson hit, however, few players could dismiss it. Even fewer embraced it.

Henderson was traded back to his hometown Oakland Athletics Wednesday for outfielder Luis Polonia and pitchers Greg Cadaret and Eric Plunk.

The Yankee players saw Henderson as a force, and believed their team and its chances have been diminished by his departure.

“How do you replace a player like Rickey?” Don Slaught asked.

Added Dave Righetti: “I wasn’t thrilled, hearing about it.”

And Jesse Barfield said: “I’ve learned not to be surprised by what goes on in this game, but I guess you can say this one surprised me.” And hurt him too. “I’m disappointed, personally.”

Mel Hall, who liked to identify himself as Henderson’s best friend on the team, expressed disbelief. “Amazing,” he said after learning of the trade.

The veterans were surprised that the club dealt a player of such magnitude for unproven bodies.

“We haven’t done that here, except with Jack (Clark),” Righetti said. “I’m trying to figure out what direction we’re going in.

“We’re going to miss a guy like that, no question. We’ve been having trouble scoring runs. This is the last thing I expected to see.

“Before he got here, we were a good team. When he got here in ‘85, we became a damn good team right away. He had that try-to-get-me-out arrogance. Our whole lineup was like that last year. I hope he doesn’t come back and beat us. But you know he will someday.”

Don Mattingly realizes the Yankees stood to lose Henderson to free agency and get nothing in return if they didn’t sign him.

“It’s a tough situation for everybody,” he said. “I don’t think they wanted to let him go.”

Said Ken Phelps; “I haven’t been here long enough to have an opinion.”

But in the ever-changing world of Yankee personnel, Phelps, obtained 11 months ago, has more seniority than all but nine players on the roster.