Outfielder, Oakland Athletics
Age: 27 (May 18)
7th season
with Athletics
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prior to 1973:
A native of Pennsylvania from the Philadelphia suburb of Wyncote, Jackson excelled in football, basketball, and track, as well as baseball, at Cheltenham High School. After high school he went to Arizona State University on a football scholarship. Fast, tough, and talented, he was starting in the defensive backfield as a sophomore. Jackson tried out for the baseball team and impressed with his batting power. After playing summer ball in Baltimore to sharpen his skills, he became the starting center fielder as a sophomore. Self-confident and charismatic with a flair for the dramatic, as well as an impressive raw talent, he was chosen by the Athletics, at the time located in Kansas City, second overall in the 1966 amateur draft. While tempted to remain in school, he signed with the A’s for an $85,000 bonus. Starting out professionally with the Lewiston Broncs of the short-season Class A Northwest League, he was quickly moved to Modesto of the Class A California League where, in 56 games, he batted .299 with 21 home runs and 60 RBIs. Promoted to Birmingham of the Class AA Southern League in 1967, Jackson hit .293 with 26 doubles, 17 triples, 17 home runs and 58 RBIs, receiving a late-season trial with Kansas City that amounted to only a .178 average with one home run. Back with the A’s, now in Oakland, in 1968, he hit .250 in his first full season along with 29 home runs, 74 RBIs, and struck out a league-leading 171 times. Jackson broke out in a big way in 1969 as he hit 37 home runs by the All-Star break, putting him on a record pace. He tailed off thereafter and ended up with 47 homers for the year while batting .275 with 118 RBIs and a league-leading 123 runs scored and .608 slugging percentage in addition to again topping the circuit in striking out with 142 whiffs. Jackson held out in the spring of 1970 and got off to a slow start at the plate that had him publicly feuding with owner Charlie Finley throughout the season, who threatened to send him down to the minors. The result was 23 home runs, 66 RBIs, and a .237 average. He played winter ball in Puerto Rico under the guidance of long-time hitting star Frank Robinson to get back on track. The A’s topped the AL West in 1971 and Jackson contributed significantly by hitting .277 with 32 home runs and 80 RBIs. In the All-Star Game he hit a long home run at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium that hit a light stand some 520 feet from home plate. The A’s lost to Baltimore in the ALCS but Jackson hit two home runs in his first taste of postseason action. He had lesser numbers in 1972 while batting .265 with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs. Oakland again topped the division but lost Jackson to a torn hamstring during the ALCS against Detroit, and he was in a cast for the seven-game World Series triumph over Cincinnati. By 1973 he was a three-time All-Star who had received MVP votes in each of the prior two seasons while playing for a championship club.
1973 Season Summary
Appeared in 151 games
RF – 144, PH – 5, DH – 3, CF – 1
[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances – 629
At Bats – 539
Runs – 99 [1]
Hits – 158 [15, tied with Bill North & Don Money]
Doubles – 28 [12, tied with Don Money, Lou Piniella & Steve Braun]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 32 [1]
RBI – 117 [1]
Bases on Balls – 76 [12]
Int. BB – 11 [6]
Strikeouts – 111 [5, tied with George Mitterwald]
Stolen Bases – 22 [10, tied with Pat Kelly & Don Money]
Caught Stealing – 8 [20, tied with Paul Blair, Jorge Orta & Chris Chambliss]
Average - .293 [10]
OBP - .383 [5]
Slugging Pct. - .531 [1]
Total Bases – 286 [4, tied with Bobby Murcer]
GDP – 13
Hit By Pitches – 7 [9, tied with four others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 7 [2, tied with seven others]
League-leading runs
scored were +1 ahead of runners-up George Scott, Rod Carew & Bill North
League-leading home
runs were +2 ahead of runners-up Jeff Burroughs & Frank Robinson
League-leading
RBIs were +10 ahead of runner-up George Scott
League-leading slugging percentage was +.033 ahead of runner-up Sal Bando
Midseason snapshot: 2B – 16, HR - 23, RBI - 81, AVG - .292, SLG - .534, OBP – .365
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Most hits, game – 3 on ten occasions
Longest hitting streak – 10 games
Most HR, game – 2 on five occasions
HR at home – 18
HR on road – 14
Multi-HR games – 5
Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Milwaukee 6/6
Pinch-hitting – 0 for 4 (.000) with 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 315
Put Outs – 302
Assists – 4
Errors – 9
DP – 0
Pct. - .971
Postseason
Batting: 12 G (ALCS vs. Baltimore – 5 G; World Series vs. NY Mets – 7 G)
PA – 52, AB – 50,
R – 3, H – 12, 2B – 3,3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 6, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 13, SB – 0,
CS – 1, AVG - .240, OBP - .269, SLG -.400, TB – 20, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
(Started for AL in RF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Reggie Jackson,
Oak.: 336 pts. – 24 of 24 first place votes, 100% share
Jim Palmer,
Balt.: 172 pts. – 51% share
Amos Otis, KCR:
112 pts. – 33% share
Sal Bando, Oak.:
83 pts. – 25% share
Rod Carew, Min.:
83 pts. – 25% share
John Hiller,
Det.: 83 pts. – 25% share
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A’s went 94-68
to finish first in the AL Western Division by 6 games over the Kansas City
Royals, while leading the league in runs scored (758) and RBIs (714). The
tempestuous and talented A’s moved in and out of first place in the AL West until
moving into the top spot to stay on August 16, clinching their third straight
division title on Sept. 23 although Jackson was sidelined for much of the last
two weeks with a hamstring injury. Won ALCS over the Baltimore Orioles, 3 games
to 2 and World Series over the New York Mets, 4 games to 3, to become the first
team to win the World Series two years in succession since 1962. Jackson’s
two-RBI performance in Game 6 kept the A’s alive in a Series in which owner
Finley instigated a near player mutiny by his attempted “firing” of second
baseman Mike Andrews after his two twelfth inning errors led to a loss in Game
2.
Aftermath of ‘73:
The A’s topped the AL West for the fourth straight season in 1974 amidst turmoil that included Jackson getting in fights with catcher Ray Fosse and outfielder Bill North that resulted in his suffering a shoulder injury that limited his production in the season’s second half. He still batted .289 with 29 home runs and 93 RBIs. The talented but fractious club won the AL pennant and a third consecutive World Series, beating the Dodgers in five games while Jackson hit .286 with a home run. Oakland topped the AL West again in 1975 while Jackson hit 36 home runs and tied for the league lead with Milwaukee’s George Scott. He also batted .253 with a .329 OBP and 104 RBIs. Facing the final year of his contract in 1976, the A’s traded Jackson to the Baltimore Orioles along with LHP Ken Holtzman for three players that included outfielder Don Baylor and RHP Mike Torrez just prior to the season’s start. Jackson held out and missed the first few weeks. He got off to a slow start once he ironed out his contract difficulties and reported to the Orioles. His bat eventually came around and he ended up hitting .277 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs while posting a league-leading .502 slugging percentage. A free agent in the offseason he signed with the New York Yankees for five years and $2.96 million. Jackson was involved in turmoil during the ’77 season, most notably a dugout confrontation with manager Billy Martin after he was removed from a game in Boston in June. Once again finding himself on a winning team with a fractious atmosphere, he batted .286 with 32 home runs and 110 RBIs and tied for eighth in league MVP balloting. The Yankees reached the World Series against the Dodgers. Following a quiet ALCS performance, Jackson earned Series MVP honors by hitting three straight first-pitch home runs in the decisive Game 6 (of a total of 5 homers in the series), thus earning himself the nickname “Mr. October”. The Yankees came from behind in 1978 to end up in a playoff with Boston for the AL East title, which they won. Jackson contributed 27 home runs, 97 RBIs, a .274 average, and a .356 OBP. He hit two more home runs in the ALCS triumph over the Royals to get the club to another World Series against the Dodgers. LA moved out to a two-games-to-none advantage with the most dramatic moment occurring when Jackson was struck out by rookie RHP Bob Welch to cap Game 2. The Yankees battled back and “Mr. October” hit two home runs, one off Welch, in the climactic Game 6 win. The Yanks dropped to fourth in a tragedy-and injury-marred 1979 season. Jackson hit .297 with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs. The club returned to first place in 1980, while Jackson batted .300 with 41 home runs, 111 RBIs, a .398 on-base percentage, and a .597 slugging percentage. The club was swept by Kansas City in the ALCS. Jackson spent one more year with the Yankees in the strike-shortened 1981 season and ended up hitting .237 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs. The Yanks lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. A free agent in the off-season, Jackson signed with the California Angels where he joined a veteran-filled lineup in 1982 and topped the AL with 39 home runs while also batting .275 with 101 RBIs. He finished sixth in league MVP voting and homered in the ALCS loss to Milwaukee. His production sagged in 1983 as he turned 37 and he ended up hitting a paltry .194 with just 14 home runs. Jackson rebounded somewhat in 1984, batting .223 with a .300 OBP along with 25 home runs and 81 RBIs while primarily appearing as Designated Hitter in tandem with Brian Downing. He added another 27 home runs in 1985 while hitting .252 with a .360 OBP. One more division-winning season in 1986 was followed by a return to Oakland to close out his career in 1987. Overall, for his major league career, Jackson batted .262 with 2584 hits that included 463 doubles, 49 triples, and 563 home runs. He scored 1551 runs, compiled 1702 RBIs with a .356 OBP and .490 slugging percentage. He also struck out 2597 times. With Oakland he totaled .262 with 1228 hits, 234 doubles, 27 triples, 269 home runs, 776 RBIs, 756 runs scored, a .355 OBP, .496 slugging percentage, and 1226 batter strikeouts. Appearing in 77 postseason games (32 with Oakland) he hit .278 with 18 home runs and 48 RBIs and was a two-time World Series MVP. A 14-time All-Star (six with the A’s), he finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting seven times, including the one win. Better known for his batting prowess than his fielding, he placed second in outfield assists four times and led AL outfielders in errors in five seasons. The A’s retired his #9 and the Yankees retired the #44 that he wore with them, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. A shrewd investor, Jackson enhanced his wealth in retirement, but he also dabbled in broadcasting and acting and served as a hitting coach for the Athletics.
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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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