Dave Henderson was immediately the center of attention for any room he entered, especially the clubhouses he populated for 14 years in an under-appreciated major-league career.
For one exalted moment, he was nearly a demigod in Boston, giving them the 1986 pennant with one epic homer and then coming oh so close to delivering an elusive World Series title to the Red Sox with another homer in the top of the 10th of Game 6. The New York Mets rallied in legendary fashion in the bottom of the inning, and the next day. If they hadn’t, Henderson frequently joked, “The Red Sox would be playing on Henderson Way, not Yawkey Way.