REMEMBERING REGGIE JACKSON
"He'd give you the shirt off his
back. Of course, he'd call a press conference to announce it." - Catfish Hunter
"Off the record, he's a piece of shit." –Billy Martin
Out of the blue the man who once seemingly made
headlines all the time came out of the shadows recently to dominate baseball
pages again. The Yankees were matched up against the Cardinals and the former
straw that stirred the drink proclaimed that the trade the Redbirds executed
for Paul Goldschmidt
was “the best deal of the winter, by far. Steal of the century".
It is well worth remembering what Reginald Martinez Jackson
was in his time. He spent only five years as a Yankee in a 21- year Major
League career. But what those five years were like . . .
Reggie Jackson in pinstripes seemed
an appropriate match. In November 1976 he announced that he came to the Yankees
because “George Steinbrenner outhustled everybody else. Certain things have a
lot more meaning than money. It was easy to see I could become a rich man. Some
clubs offered several thousand more; there was even the possibility of seven
figures more.”
The Yankees won the 1976 AL East
pennant in a romp, squeezed through to win the American League title and were
swept by Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” in the World Series.
A
ticked-off George Steinbrenner first signed free agent Don Gullet of Cincinnati
for $2.09 million. Then he signed Reggie Jackson, the most prized free agent of
all, to the highest salary contract in baseball then.
Steinbrenner’s first offer was $2
million, then raised to $2.9 million with an extra sweetener of $60,000 for
Jackson to purchase a Rolls-Royce. Waiting for several hours in the Hyatt at
O'Hare Airport, “the Boss” was determined. He got his man. Details of the
contract were scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin as was the signature
of Reggie Jackson who wrote on the napkin: "I will not let you down.
–Reginald M. Jackson."
Born on May 18, 1946 in Wyncote,
Pennsylvania, Jackson was one of six children, He showed off his athletic
talents from the start. In high school, he was
a four-sport varsity athlete. He starred in football and baseball at
Arizona State. After his sophomore season, he was scooped up by the Kansas City
Athletics with the No. 2 pick of the 1966 draft. Incredibly, the New York Mets
had the Number One pick and passed on Reggie Jackson.
By 1967, he was in the big leagues.
Owner Charley Finley moved Jackson and other talented youngsters and the team
to Oakland. There were five straight AL West titles 1971-1975 that Jackson was
a big part of as well as three World Series and an MVP award. With free agency
for Jackson on the horizon, Finley traded him to Baltimore. After one year with
the Orioles, it was -- enter George Steinbrenner!
The talent was always there for
Reggie Jackson, so was the big mouth. A self-promoter and a deprecator of
others, he bragged: "I didn't come to New York to be a star. I brought my
star with me."
He
came to the Yankees with lots of baggage, the verbal kind. Many on the Yankee
roster and in the media thought he went too far with his running commentary
that included lines like:
"God
do I love to hit that little round sum-bitch out of the park and make 'em say
'Wow! Hitting is better than sex."
“In
the building I live in on Park Avenue there are ten people who could buy the
Yankees, but none of them could hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium."
"The
only difference between me and the other great Yankees is my skin color."
"You
know this team . . . it all flows from me. I've got to keep it going. I'm the
straw that stirs the drink. . ."
"After
Jackie Robinson the most important black in baseball history is Jackson, I really
mean that."
He had the mouth. He also had the goods.
In
Reggie Jackson’s first season as a Yankee, he led the team to its first world
championship in 15 years.
"The writers were never late that
year," recalled Phil Rizzuto, "because something was always going on.
A lot of egos were vying for the headlines."
The
headline of headlines belonged to October 18th, 1977 as Reggie Jackson became
"Mr. October." The Yankees were up three games to two against the Los
Angeles Dodgers and Jackson literally took over game six. He hit a home run on
the first pitch in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings.
The controversial slugger was on fire
in that World Series, batting a blazing.450 with the record five homers.
Jackson also recorded the highest slugging average in a six-game Series
(1.250), most total bases in a six-game Series (25), most runs (tied with 10).
George Steinbrenner’s signing of Jackson paid off big time.
There was joy in the Bronx for most.
“Mr. October” was what Reggie Jackson was called for his post-season
heroics. “Mr. Obnoxious” was what he was called for his over-the-top arrogance.
One can only wonder about the comments made by Jackson
about Steinbrenner after the 1977 World Championship: “I was happy for George
because George wanted it so bad. I said to myself, ‘Now he can really have fun
at the 21 Club. He’ll go around and give rings to his friends and he’ll be able
to talk about this one as long as he lives.”
Reggie maintained if he played in
New York, a candy bar would be named for him. He called the shot. Opening Day
1978 at the Stadium was “Reggie Bar” giveaway day. Catfish Hunter described the
orange wrapped candy this way: "Open it and it tells you how good it
is." The crowd received free samples. Reggie blasted a three-run homer.
Thousands of the orange-wrapped candies were thrown out onto the field. It was
a marketing and public relations disaster, an embarrassment. Chicago pitcher
Wilbur Wood, who gave up the home run, was beside himself. There was annoyance among the press, some
outrage among players.
“It’s not called for,” the generally calm
White Sox manager Bob Lemon was agitated. “Let them throw them when he’s in
right field,” Lemon said. “See how he feels. People starving all over the world
and 30 billion calories are laying there.”
It was called “the Bronx Zoo” and other earthier phrases,
that general environment around the Yankees. There was always something going
wrong, some annoyance magnified big time.
A case in point took place on
Saturday afternoon June 18, 1978 in a game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Reggie was the centerpiece, some would day the catalyst for what happened.
The
game was on national TV. The Yankees were being blown out by the Red Sox. In
the sixth inning, Boston’s Jim Rice lifted a ball into short right field.
Playing deep for the slugger, who had power to all fields, Jackson got to the
ball after it landed. Poor judgment on his part, he later claimed.
An
annoyed, an always annoyed Billy Martin, it seemed with Jackson, sent reserve
outfielder Paul Blair running out to right field. Jackson went berserk – never
had he been taken out of a game in his long career. Later he would tell writers
that Martin’s negative handling of him had racial overtones.
A furious Jackson jogged in
towards the dugout heading straight for his manager who was in the right
corner. Two Yankee immortals, strong men, former catchers Yogi Berra and Elston
Howard had taken up positions ready for Jackson
“You never wanted me on this team in the first
place,” Jackson yelled.
“I
ought to kick your ass,” Martin shot back.
The strong man Howard contained
Jackson. Berra got into it, too. “Once that little guy gets his monkey claws on
you, you ain’t goin’ nowhere,” Ron Guidry said.
All
the histrionics ultimately ended. The Red Sox and their fans left Fenway happy.
The home team won, 10-4, smashing five home runs.
Afterwards
Billy Martin said: "When they don't hustle, I don't accept that. When a
player shows the club up, I show the player up."
For the Yankees and Billy Martin and
Reggie Jackson, it was just another wacky day at the ballpark.
Later that 1978
season a slumping Jackson was used as a designated hitter by Billy Martin.
Reggie was not pleased. He shared his displeasure with anyone who would listen
including owner George Steinbrenner. In one game, Martin gave Jackson the sign
to swing away. He bunted. Martin suspended him for five games.
The hot-tempered trio of
Steinbrenner-Jackson-Martin was big news in all the New York media. Especially
publicized was Martin’s rant: "One's a born liar [Jackson]; the other's
convicted,” a reference to the Boss’s conviction for illegal campaign
contributions. That comment got Martin
fired and it seemed Reggie was back in vogue.
Jackson belted 41 homers to tie for the league
lead and hit .300 in 1980. But in the strike-shortened 1981 season, Jackson
batted just .237 with 15 homers in 94 games.
On
January 22, 1982, irritated and fed up with Steinbrenner putdowns, Reggie
Jackson severed his ties with the Yankees and signed as a free agent with the
California Angels. After five years of tumult in the Big Apple, the
controversial and cocky outfielder was back out west. Steinbrenner later said that letting Jackson
go was "the worst decision of my career."
When
Reggie Jackson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993, he went in as a Yankee
even though lots of bad blood passed between him and management and ownership
and teammates.
The
Yankees retired his uniform number 44 on August 14, 1993. Reggie Jackson is
currently a member of the Yankees' special advisory group.
ABOUT
HARVEY
FROMMER
One of the most
prolific and respected sports journalists and oral historians in the United
States, author of the autobiographies of legends Nolan Ryan, Tony Dorsett, and
Red Holzman, Dr. Harvey Frommer is an expert on the New York Yankees and has
arguably written more books, articles and reviews on the New York Yankees than
anyone. He was honored by the City of New York to serve as historical
consultant for the re-imagined old Yankee Stadium site, Heritage Field. A
professor for more than two decades in the MALS program at Dartmouth College
where he is known as “Dr. Baseball,” Frommer is the founder of www.HarveyFrommerSports.com.
Some of the material
in this article is excerpted from his The Ultimate Yankee Book, available
direct from the author or Amazon.
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