Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson is a former Major League Baseball player who played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, California Angels and the Baltimore Orioles. He was born on May 18, 1946 in Abington, Pennsylvania. Jackson attened Arizona State University and was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. He played for the A's from 1967 through 1975. Jackson spent one season with the Orioles and from 1977 through 1981 with the Yankees. Jackson moved on to play with the Angels through 1986 and finished his career with the A's in 1987.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksre01.shtml He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993.http://baseballhall.org/hof/jackson-reggie

Reggie Jackson started his Major League career with the Kansas City Athletics in 1967. He struggled as a rookie and batted only .178 with 46 strikeouts and only one home run in 118 at bats. He lead the league in strikeouts for the next four years but developed into a power hitter. In 1969 he hit 47 home runs and in 1971 he hit 32 home runs. Jackson won the MVP in 1973 with his best season to date. He hit 32 home runs, had 117 runs batted in and 99 runs scored, all of which lead the league. Reggie Jackson lead the league in home runs again in 1975 and made the All-Star team for the sixth time.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksre01.shtml

Jackson was traded on April 2, 1976 to the Baltimore Orioles due to the high salary demands that the Oakland management couldn't meet and the coming of free agency. Jackson hit 27 home runs for the Orioles and lead the league in slugging percentage.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksre01.shtml Reggie Jackson became a free agent following the season and opted to sign with the New York Yankees to a five year contract worth nearly $3 million.

Reggie Jackson wore number nine in Oakland but Graig Nettles had that number for the Yankees. He decided on number 44, which was the number then recently retired Hank Aaron wore. Although there was some strained relationships between Jackson and some of the players and manager Billy Martin, he lead the Yankees to World Series Championships in 1977 and 1978 and became known as Mr October for his clutch performances in the World Series. Jackson lead the league in home runs with 41 in 1980. That was the third time in his career that he lead the American League in home runs. In 1981, the relationship between Jackson and owner George Steinbrenner became poor and it reflected on Jackson's performance. He hit just .237 and had only 15 home runs in 94 games. Reggie Jackson became a free agent following the 1981 season and decided to sign a five year contract with the California Angels .

Reggie Jackson had hit 32 home runs and drove in 110 runs with the Yankees in 1977. He became known as Mr. October for his play in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jackson had hit two home runs in the series through the fifth game. The Yankees were leading the series three games to two and the Yankees were trailing the sixth game 3-2. Jackson hit a two run home run off of Burt Hooten to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. In the fifth inning, Jackson hit the first pitch by Elias Sosa for a two run home run. Then in the eighth inning, he hit the first pitch by Charlie Hough into the center field stands for his third consecutive home run. He became only the second player in league history to accomplish that feat, the other was Babe Ruth in 1926 and 1928. The Yankees went on to win the first of two consecutive World Series.http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/1977.html

In Reggie Jackson's first year with the Angels, he tied for the lead league in home runs with Gorman Thomas of the Milwaukee Brewers with 39.http://reggiejackson.com/my-bio/ He struggled the next season and batted only .194 with just 14 home runs. It was clear at this point in his career that his best years were behind him. In 1984 and 1985 he hit a respectable 25 and 27 home runs and hit his 500th home run in 1984, yet his batting average was near .250 and below. The Angles won the American League West division in 1986, Jackson's final year with the Angels. Jackson was released from the Angles following the season and he signed with the A's, who were interested in him as a designated hitter.http://reggiejackson.com/my-bio/ Reggie Jackson played in 114 games in 1987. He hit 15 home runs and retired following the season at the age of 41. For his career, Jackson hit 563 home runs and was the all time leader in strikeouts with 2,597.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksre01.shtml

A 2007 ESPN miniseries about the New York Yankees 1977 season, The Bronx is Burning, featured Daniel Sunjata as Jackson. After his retirement, Jackson became special assistant to Steinbrenner. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. He threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on opening day of the 2008 season. Jackson also threw out the opening pitch for game two of the 2009 American League Divisional Series between the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins.

• World Series Championships: 5 (1972 - 1974, 1977, 1978)
• All-Star Appearances: 14 (1969, 1971 - 1975, 1977 - 1984)
• Silver Slugger Awards: 2 (1980, 1982)
• AL MVP Award: 1 (1973)
• World Series MVP Awards: 2 (1973, 1977)
• Hall of Fame Induction: 1993

• 1967: Debuts with Kansas City Athletics
• 1968: Oakland Athletics established
• 1973: AL MVP and World Series MVP
• 1976: Traded to the Baltimore Orioles
• 1977: Signs with New York Yankees
• 1977: World Series MVP
• 1982: Signs with California Angels
• 1987: Signs with Oakland Athletics
• 1988: Retires from baseball
• 1993: Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame