1978 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"'This was my roughest year. I'm glad it's over.' Signed for $3 million as a free agent, Reggie feuded with manager Billy Martin and was criticized for poor fielding, booed in Baltimore and bombarded in Boston with missiles from the stands, yet still he survived, even thrived. Moved into the cleanup spot on August 10, Reggie sparked the team with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in his last 53 games.
The World Series was his crowning achievement. He hit a record five homers in six games, including three on three successive swings in the climactic sixth game.
'I can't believe it. I did something even Babe Ruth never did.' Born in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, Reggie was a three-sport star in high school and went to Arizona State. He's a self-proclaimed superstar, and worthy of that name.
'If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me.' They did."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1978 Edition
"1977 saw Reggie Jackson join the Yankees amid great fanfare. Much was expected of one of the most exciting and colorful players in baseball ... and he certainly did not disappoint.
As the crowd chanted 'Reg-gie, Reg-gie,' he responded with one of the most remarkable performances in World Series history, hitting three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the Yankees' sixth game victory over the Dodgers. Reggie set or tied an abundance of World Series records and, needless to say, was voted the Babe Ruth Award as the Series MVP.
But Reggie also performed during the regular season. He powered 32 home runs and led the Yankees with 110 RBIs. Once he was installed as the cleanup hitter, the Yankees went on a tear, winning 40 of their final 53 games.
During the 1977 season, Jackson became the 38th player in major league history to hit over 300 home runs in a career, and over the last four seasons, only Mike Schmidt has hit more round-trippers. It is safe to say that more of the same can be expected in 1978 from Reginald Martinez Jackson."
-The New York Yankees Official 1978 Yearbook
1977 MOST VALUABLE YANKEE (8th in American League MVP voting)
"Had the MVP voting been taken after the World Series, there's no doubt Reggie would have finished much higher in the balloting. But although he saved his best for last, he more than justified what he was paid to sign with the Yankees in the free agent draft, hitting .286 with 32 homers and 110 RBI. The 32 homers helped him become the 38th man in baseball history to hit over 300 in a career, while the 110 RBI were the most by a Yankee since Mickey Mantle's 111 in 1964."
-The New York Yankees Official 1978 Yearbook
SEPTEMBER, 1977 YANKEE OF THE MONTH
"Who else but Reggie? 'The Man of Autumn' showed the savvy he gained from those three straight World Championship years in Oakland by responding to the September pennant pressure with 10 home runs and 29 RBI, which lifted his season totals to 32 and 110 respectively. He hit .307 for the month and wound up at .286."
-The New York Yankees Official 1978 Yearbook
"Reggie had an outstanding year in his first full season as a Yankee, capping it off with one of the most remarkable performances in World Series history, winning the Series MVP award. His three home runs in the final Series game tied the record previously held by Babe Ruth, who did it in 1926 and 1928, but Reggie's three homers were on consecutive at-bats in one game, setting a record. He also homered in his last at-bat in game five, giving him four consecutive home runs, which were on four consecutive pitches. He hit five home runs in the Series, setting a new record, and also set Series records for most runs (10), most total bases (25) and most homers in consecutive at-bats (4). Reggie now has seven World Series home runs, and only eight players have more.
In the regular season, Reggie's 32 home runs made it the fifth time he has hit over 30 in one season. His total was second on the team to Nettles and fifth in the American League. He also drove in over 100 runs (110) for the fourth time in his career, leading the Yanks and sixth in the league. Reggie led the team with 39 doubles, second in the league only to Hal McRae's 54, and his .550 slugging percentage placed him fourth in the league. He also proved to be the Yanks' most successful base stealer, stealing in 17 out of 20 attempts, and led the club with 20 game-winning RBIs. He grounded into only three double plays in 1977, one short of the Yankee record shared by Mickey Mantle and Mickey Rivers.
Reggie hit his 300th career home run on August 5 off Seattle's Dick Pole, making him the 38th man in baseball history to hit 300 home runs in a career. He was involved in back-to-back Yankee homers three times and hit his fifth career grand slam on September 28. Reggie had a 14-game hitting streak (June 12-18), his longest since a 15-game streak in 1974, and was the American League's Player of the Week of September 12-18.
The Yanks took off after Reggie was inserted into the cleanup spot on a permanent basis on August 10. From that point on until the end of the season, Reggie had 13 homers and 49 RBIs, as the Yanks won 40 of their final 53 games.
Over the last four years, Reggie has hit 124 homers (29,36,27,32) and only Mike Schmidt with 150 over the four years has accounted for more. Reggie has led the league in slugging percentage three times, led the league in homers in 1973 and tied for the league homer lead in 1975. In 1969, he challenged the Maris home run record and wound up with a career high of 47 homers, and in 1975, he became the only player to homer in all 12 American League parks in one season. Only Carl Yastrzemski has more lifetime homers among active American Leaguers.
Reggie achieved his fame and following as a member of the Oakland A's from 1967-1975, and helped the A's to five Western Division titles and three World Championships. The A's player representative, Oakland traded him to Baltimore in 1976. Reggie was an Oriole for only one season, missing a month, but still wound up second to Nettles in the league in homers. The Yanks signed Reggie to a five-year contract following the 1976 season after he had played out his option with Baltimore.
Reggie played on his seventh American League All-Star team last year and is remembered for his tape-measure home run in Detroit in the 1971 game, a shot that bounced off the transformer on the right field roof at Tiger Stadium. He was the top vote-getter in the 1974 balloting among fans.
Holder of 10 ALCS records, including most games and times at bat, Reggie missed the 1972 World Series after a pulled hamstring injury in a play at the plate in the final game of the ALCS against Billy Martin's Tigers.
In 1973 Reggie was MVP in the American League and in the World Series, and also the Sporting News Major League Player of the Year. He finished eighth in the MVP voting last year.
Reggie was one of six children born to Martinez and Clara Jackson just outside of Philadelphia. His father was a tailor. A three-sport star at Cheltenham High School near Philly, where he ran the 100 in 9.7, was a halfback on the football team and pitched three no-hitters, Reggie batted .550 in his senior year and got a scholarship to Arizona State, where he played baseball and football. He was drafted number one by Oakland in 1966 and left after his sophomore year for a reported $95,000 bonus. In 1967, he was Player of the Year in the Southern League and reached the majors by the end of the season.
Reggie works as a commentator for ABC in the off-season."
-1978 New York Yankees Media Guide
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