Outfielder, Oakland
Athletics
Age: 22 (May 18)
2nd season
with Athletics
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prior to 1968:
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 a $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, 58 RBIs, a .372 on-base percentage, and a .562 slugging percentage, receiving
a late-season trial with Kansas City that amounted to only a .178 average with
one home run. Jackson was starting in right field with the A’s, now in Oakland,
in 1968.
1968 Season Summary
Appeared in 154
games
RF – 148, CF –
10, PH – 4, PR – 2, LF – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 614 [20, tied with Joe Foy]
At Bats – 553
[17]
Runs – 82 [7]
Hits – 138
Doubles – 13
Triples – 6
[14, tied with four others]
Home Runs – 29 [4]
RBI – 74 [8,
tied with Carl Yastrzemski]
Bases on Balls
– 50
Int. BB – 5
Strikeouts – 171
[1]
Stolen Bases – 14
[15, tied with Rick Monday]
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .250
OBP - .316
Slugging Pct. -
.452 [8]
Total Bases – 250
[7]
GDP – 3
Hit By Pitches
– 5 [13, tied with eight others]
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – 2
League-leading batting
strikeouts were +28 ahead of runner-up Rick Monday
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 13, RBI - 34, AVG - .262, SLG – .430, OBP – .343
---
Most hits, game
– 3 (in 3 AB) at NY Yankees 4/16, (in 5 AB) at Boston 5/3, (in 3 AB) at
Baltimore 6/7, (in 5 AB) at California 9/1
Longest hitting
streak – 11 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) at Detroit 9/14
HR at home – 9
HR on road – 20
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. Minnesota 7/27
Pinch-hitting/running
– 1 for 2 (.500) with 2 R, 1 RBI & 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 295
Put Outs – 269
Assists – 14
Errors – 12
DP – 5
Pct. - .959
Awards & Honors:
17th
in AL MVP voting, tied with Brooks Robinson, Balt. (8 points, 3% share)
---
The relocated Athletics went 82-80 to finish sixth in the AL, 21 games behind the pennant-winning Detroit Tigers, while leading the league in hits (1300), stolen bases (147), and batting (.240). The resurgent A’s.climbed as high as third place in June prior to a seven-game losing streak that moved them back into the middle of the pack. Still, they finished with their best record since 1952, when they were still in Philadelphia, which was not enough to save manager Bob Kennedy’s job. Attendance at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was a disappointing 837,466, presaging many years of mediocre returns at the gate.
Aftermath of 1968:
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, a .237 average, and a .359 OBP. 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. After seeing significant action in center field in 1972, Jackson was almost exclusively a right fielder in 1973 and had an outstanding year as Oakland again won the division. He led the AL in home runs (32), RBIs (117), runs scored (99), and slugging (.531) while batting .293 with a .383 OBP. He was selected as league MVP for his efforts and was also MVP of the seven-game World Series win against the New York Mets by hitting .310 and his 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. 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 1977 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 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.
---
Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
No comments:
Post a Comment