In 1982, Henderson broke Lou Brock's modern major league single season record by stealing 130 bases, a total which has not been approached since. He stole 84 bases by the All-Star break; no player has stolen as many as 84 bases in an entire season since 1988, when Henderson himself stole 93. Henderson's 130 steals outpaced nine of the American League's 14 teams that season. He also led the AL in walks (116), was fourth in runs (119) and third in on-base percentage (.398).
Inspired by Dodgers leadoff hitter Rudy Law, Henderson adopted an exaggerated crouch as his batting stance, which reduced his strike zone without sacrificing much power.[28] Sportswriter Jim Murray described Henderson's strike zone as being "smaller than Hitler's heart". In 1982, he described his approach to Sports Illustrated:
I found that if I squatted down real low at the plate ... I could see the ball better. I also knew it threw the pitcher off. I found that I could put my weight on my back foot and still turn my hips on the swing. I'm down so low I don't have much of a strike zone. Sometimes, walking so much even gets me mad. Last year Ed Ott of the Angels got so frustrated because the umpire was calling balls that would've been strikes on anybody else that he stood up and shouted at me, "Stand up and hit like a man." I guess I do that to people.
Henderson also made MLB history in 1983 with his third 100 runs/100 stolen bases/100 walks season (no modern player has done it once), when he led the AL in stolen bases (108), walks (103) while finishing fourth in runs scored (105). He was also second in on-base percentage (.414), tied for ninth in triples (7) and fifth in times on base, reaching 257 times.