Reggie Jackson

Quotes From Jackson
"As long as you have a bat in your hands you can rewrite the stories. You've got the last say. ... It's about the things you can control. As long as you have a bat in your hands, it doesn't really matter." — Jackson's advice to Gary Sheffield, 2006

Played For
Kansas City Athletics (1967)
Oakland Athletics (1968-1975)
Baltimore Orioles (1976)
New York Yankees (1977-1981)
California Angels (1982-1986)
Oakland Athletics (1987)

All-Time Rankings
Reggie Jackson ranks #9 among the Top 50 all-time at RF. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1969
He was just 23, but he had an awesome season, clubbing 47 homers. At the All-Star break it looked like he may challenge Maris' record, but he slowed in the second-half as AL pitchers stayed away from him. He drove in 118, his career high. Jackson was still a five tool player, stealing 13 bases and using his rocket arm in right. He walked a career-best 114 times (he rarely came within 30 walks of that total).

Factoids
Three homers on three pitches and three swings in three straight-at-bats in Game Six of the 1977 World Series.

Reggie Jackson led the American League in home runs with three different teams: the Oakland A's, New York Yankees, and California Angels.

While playing in New York, Reggie had a candy bar named after him, which prompted these comical responses: "The Reggie Bar is the only candy bar that unwraps itself and tells you how good it is," and "It's the only candy bar that tastes like a hot dog."

Most Walk-Off Home Runs, Career
Jimmie Foxx........12
Mickey Mantle......12
Stan Musial........12
Frank Robinson.....12
Babe Ruth..........12
Tony Perez.........11
Dick Allen.........10
Harold Baines......10
Reggie Jackson.....10
Mike Schmidt.......10

Where He Played
Reggie was a right fielder, when he didn't DH. He played more than 2,000 games in the outfield, with about 90% of them in right. He was a DH in 630 games, or about four seasons worth of games.

Born
Reginald Martinez Jackson was born on May 18, 1946, in Wyncote, PA.

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Left

Primary Position:  OF

Primary Team:  OAK

College:  Arizona State

Major League Debut
June 9, 1967

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1967
Reggie Jackson
Graig Nettles
Rod Carew
Johnny Bench
Tom Seaver
Jerry Koosman
Amos Otis
Sparky Lyle
Aurelio Rodriguez

Nicknames
Mr. October

Uniform Numbers
#31 (1967), #9 (1968-1976), #44 (1977-1987)

Similar Players
None

Related Players
Bob Welch, who struck him out in an epic confrontation in the 1978 World Series... Thurman Munson and Jackson competed for leadership on the 1970s Yankees. Munson never forgave Jackson for his "straw that stirs the drink" comment... Jose Canseco tried to learn everything he could from the elder Jackson when the two were teammates at the end of Reggie's career, but failed to learn how to charm the press.

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1993 BBWAA 396 93.6%

Post-Season Appearances
1971 American League Championship Series
1972 American League Championship Series
1973 World Series
1973 American League Championship Series
1974 American League Championship Series
1974 World Series
1975 American League Championship Series
1977 World Series
1977 American League Championship Series
1978 World Series
1978 American League Championship Series
1980 American League Championship Series
1981 American League Championship Series
1981 American League Division Playoffs
1981 World Series
1982 American League Championship Series
1986 American League Championship Series

Post-Season Notes
Reggie and Babe Ruth are the only two players to ever hit three home runs in a World Series game.

Awards and Honors
1973 AL MVP
1973 ML WS MVP
1977 ML WS MVP

Milestones

• September 27, 1970: 100th HR...


• May 6, 1974: 200th HR...


• August 5, 1977: 300th HR...


• August 11, 1980: 400th HR... Off Britt Burns


• September 17, 1984: 500th HR... Off southpaw Bud Black.

Batting Feats

• June 14, 1969: 10 RBI...


• July 2, 1969: 3 HR...


• October 18, 1977: 3 HR in WS Game...


• September 18, 1986: 3 HR...

Transactions
Selected by Kansas City Athletics in the 1st round (2nd pick overall) of the free-agent draft (June 29, 1966); Traded by Oakland Athletics with Ken Holtzman and Bill VanBommell to Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell (April 2, 1976); Granted free agency (November 1, 1976); Signed by New York Yankees (November 29, 1976); Granted free agency (November 13, 1981); Signed by California Angels (January 22, 1982); Granted free agency (November 12, 1986); Signed by Oakland Athletics (December 24, 1986); Granted free agency (December 15, 1987).

Jackson played one season for Earl Weaver in Baltimore before jumping to the Yankees as a free agent. The O's won five division titles during the decade of the 1970s, but failed when Reggie was there in 1976. Reggie missed about three weeks with injury but basically posted the sort of numbers he had in Oakland. He was Weaver's sort of player (power and patience), but Jackson never took to the "Oriole Way."

All-Star Selections
1969 AL
1971 AL
1972 AL
1973 AL
1974 AL
1975 AL
1977 AL
1978 AL
1979 AL
1980 AL
1981 AL
1982 AL
1983 AL
1984 AL

Replaced
Mike Hershberger, the right fielder for the 1967 Kansas City A's. Hershberger hung around with the A's through 1969 as a fifth outfielder.

Replaced By
The A's signed Don Baylor to be their DH in 1988, replacing Reggie in that role.

Best Strength as a Player
Ability to rise to the occasion.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Catching the ball.

Learn More about Reggie Jackson
Search Amazon.com for Books about Reggie Jackson ⇒
Search for Reggie Jackson at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒