THE YANKEES MOUNT OLYMPUS: REGGIE JACKSON

He is one of the most polarizing figures in Yankees history, yet some of the team’s greatest moments occurred as the result of his achievements. 

No, I’m not talking about Alex Rodriguez.

Reggie Jackson

Reginald Martinez Jackson comes in at number nine on our list of Yankee “gods”.  His spot in our Mount Olympus cannot be denied given his immediate impact on the club’s success of the late 1970’s.

Until “Reggie” came along in 1977, we had suffered through 14 consecutive seasons without a championship.  Since 1921 that “drought” has only been bested once (18 years between championships from 1978 to 1996).

Sure, we had reached the World Series in 1976, where we were resoundingly defeated by the Big Red Machine.  Our fortunes were on the upswing, but we still lacked that certain “something” that only Reggie could provide.

It wasn’t easy.

Upon his arrival, Reggie immediately alienated teammates like captain Thurman Munson (number ten on our list of Mount Olympus residents) and his manager Billy Martin with his self-promoting, me first attitude.  Announcing in June of his first season with the Yankees that he was “…the straw that stirs the drink…” and implying that Munson could only “stir it bad” (something he now denies but the reporter who quoted him still stands by the statement) Jackson threw the organization into disorder.

Yankees fans either loved him or hated him.  At the time I was only 13 and a huge Munson fan (my all-time favorite Yankee), so you can imagine which side of the coin I fell on when it came to number 44.

He was brought in by owner George Steinbrenner, who at the time was in his prime as a micro-managing, do-it-or-else boss.  It drove a wedge between he and Billy Martin, the fiery, imaginative “my way or the highway” manager.

There’s a reason it was called “the Bronx Zoo”, and Reggie was at the heart of it.

In spite of the chaos and turmoil Jackson created in the clubhouse, it is undeniable that he was the spark the team had been missing to push it over the top.   One need only look at Reggie’s performances in the World Series of 1977 and 1978 to realize his importance to the Yankees return to glory.

In the ’77 series the Yankees and their fans saw exactly why Reggie was known as “Mr. October”.   In the 4 games to 2 championship win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jackson hit .450 with a 1.250 slugging percentage and was named the series MVP.

It was what he accomplished in the sixth and deciding game of that series which will forever be remembered in baseball lore.  In his last three at-bats, Reggie faced three different pitchers and saw just three pitches.  Each of those he deposited into the seats at Yankees Stadium; the last one travelling deep into the bleachers past the center field wall.

Three pitchers, three pitches, three monumental home runs – it was Reggie at his finest.

Jackson earned his keep on the biggest stages.

The 1978 season was no different than ’77.  The regular season saw its share of turmoil and struggles that resulted in Billy Martin being fired and replaced by Bob Lemon.   Following the change the team made a historic run in August to force a one-game playoff with their hated rivals from Boston.

The game was played at Fenway Park and is best known for Bucky Dent’s seventh inning home run that vaulted the Yankees into the lead after entering the inning down 2 – 0.

What may be less remembered is Reggie Jackson’s eighth inning home run that gave the Bombers a 5 – 2 lead.  The Red Sox would score two runs in the bottom of the frame and the game finished with a 5 – 4 win for the Yankees.

Reggie’s home run was the difference.

Once again the team reached the series in 1978, and once again Reggie flourished.  In that six-game win over the Dodgers, “Mr. October” hit .391 with a .696 slugging percentage.  As he had in 1977, Jackson drove in eight RBI in those six games.

He simply could not be stopped in October.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993 and during his five seasons with the Yankees, he hit 144 home runs and drove in 461.  

In his three World Series as a Yankee, Reggie never hit lower than .333 (1981).

While his need to be the center of attention kept him distanced from teammates, managers and some fans, it was Jackson’s ability to seize the moment during the most important games that endeared him to the Yankees.

It is why he now occupies a spot in the Yankees Mount Olympus.


    
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

 


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