Reggie Jackson

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Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and the California Angels.

In 1993, Jackson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Mr." Jackson was nicknamed "Mr."

He has batted with the Athletics and the Yankees in the postseason.

He has helped Oakland win five straight American League pennants, three consecutive American League pennants, and three straight World Series titles from 1972 to 1974.

From 1977 to 1981, Jackson and New York defeated four American League East divisional pennants, three American League pennants, and two consecutive World Series titles.

He played for two AL West divisional pennants in 1982 and 1986.

In the clinching game six of the 1977 World Series, Jackson scored 323 runs at Yankee Stadium for the third time in his career. (AL) All-Star for 14 seasons.

In 1973, he received two Silver Slugger Awards, the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, two World Series MVP Awards, and the Babe Ruth Award in 1977.

In 1993 and 2004, the Yankees and Athletics retired his team uniform number.

Jackson also served as a Yankee special advisor. During his 21-year career, Jackson led his teams to first place ten times.

Early years

Jackson was born in Cheltenham Township, just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Martinez Jackson, a half-Puertonian, was a tailor and a former second baseman with the Newark Eagles of Negro league baseball. He was the youngest of his mother Clara's four children. He also had two half-siblings from his father's first marriage. His parents divorced when he was four years old; his mother took four of his children with him; and his father took Jackson and one of his siblings from his first marriage, although one sibling later returned to Wyncote. Martinez Jackson, a single father, and they were one of the few black families in Wyncote.

Jackson graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1964, where he excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. In 1962, he suffered his knee in an early season game in his junior year. He was told by the doctors that he would never play football again, but Jackson returned for the season's final game. Jackson fractured five cervical vertebrae in that game, requiring him to stay six weeks in the hospital and another month in a neck cast. Doctors told Jackson that he would never walk again, let alone play football, but Jackson defied the odds once more. He batted.550 and threw several no-hitters on the baseball team. Jackson's father was arrested for bootlegging and was sentenced to six months in prison in the middle of his senior year.

Personal life

Jennie Campos, a Mexican-American, was a freshman at Arizona State University. On a date, Jackson visited Campos, and found many similarities, including the ability to speak Spanish and being raised in a single parent household (Campos' father was killed in the Korean War). Jackson was black and Campos was white when he broke up the couple. The coach called Campos' uncle, a wealthy contributor to the academy, and told the couple that being together was a bad idea. However, his marriage lasted, and she later became his wife. In 1973, the couple married. Kimberly, his only child, was born in the late 1980s.

Jackson played as a field reporter and color commentator for ABC Sports during the off-season, though he was still active in baseball. Jackson did an analysis in the ABC booth with Keith Jackson and Howard Cosell on the night his future team won the American League pennant on a homer by Chris Chambliss just over a month before signing with the Yankees in the fall of 1976. Jackson was given the honour of preside over the World Series Trophy exhibitions during the 1980s (1983, 1985, and 1987, respectively). In addition, Jackson provided color commentary for the 1984 National League Championship Series (alongside Don Drysdale and Earl Weaver). Jackson returned to his color commentary role with ABC's 1988 American League Championship Series (alongside Gary Bender and Joe Morgan).

Jackson appeared in the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, portraying an Angels outfielder who was hypnotically programmed to murder the Queen of the United Kingdom. He has appeared in Richie Rich, BASEketball, Summer of Sam, and The Benchwarmers. Jackson appeared in an episode of the television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes in 1979 as himself in a episode of The Love Boat. In 1982, Archie Bunker's Place episode "Reggie-3 Archie-0", a 1990 MacGyver episode "Squeeze Play," and Malcolm in the Middle episode "Polly in the Middle," from 2004. Jackson was also considered for the role of Geordi La Forge in the film Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role that eventually went to LeVar Burton. Reggie Jackson hosted World of Sports for Nickelodeon, which continued in reruns until 1985.

He co-authored a book in 2010 with fellow Hall of Famer Bob Gibson. The book, which refers to the distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate, discusses their careers and approach to the game.

Jackson's 1988 Sega Master System baseball video game Reggie Jackson Baseball, which was solely available in the United States, was exclusive to the United States. It was also available outside of the United States as American Baseball.

Jackson was the de facto spokesperson for the Upper Deck Company in the early 1990s, appearing in numerous advertisements, appearances, and participation in the company's Heroes of Baseball exhibition games. The company's "Find the Reggie" campaign was also included in the 1990 Upper Deck Baseball High Series packs, which included 2500 autograph cards. The inclusion of an autograph card in what was expected to be a common trend in the trading card hobby.

Jackson has battled three fires to personal property, including a fire in Oakland on June 20, 1976 that shattered his 1973 MVP award, World Series trophies, and All-Star rings. During the 1991 Oakland firestorm, the same home was rebuilt, destroying more baseball memorabilia in comparison to other valuable collections. A warehouse containing several of Jackson's collectible cars was destroyed in a fire in 1988, with several of the cars, valued at $3.2 million, destroyed.

Jackson's car was struck from behind and flipped over numerous times in Tampa in 2005. Jackson recovered with minor injuries, but later said, "it was God tapping me on the shoulder." It makes you think about your purpose and His proposal for you."

For spiritual direction, Jackson called on former San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary and ordained minister Mike Singletary. Jackson praises Singletary for "assisting me in getting rid of the shell I put up."

Jackson was the victim of an attempted shooting in the early mornings of June 1, 1980. Jackson travelled his bike in a "posh" neighborhood of "swinging bars and night bars on Manhattan's Upper East Side just a few hours after winning the game-winning 11th home run at a home game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He asked the driver of a vehicle that was blocking the way to move and a passenger in that car, who yelling profanities and racist slurs at Jackson, who then began yelling profanities and racial insults at the car before throwing a broken bottle at Jackson's house.

One of the men in the other car, 25-year-old Manhattan resident Angel Viera, allegedly returned with a.38 caliber revolver and fired three bullets at Jackson, all missing. Viera was charged with attempted murder and unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon. The story of the incident was CNN's third story to be broadcast on CNN, which also had its inaugural broadcast later that day.

Jackson was accosted in the early morning of August 12, 1980, as Jackson began his 400th home run against the White Sox just over a night. He had left his favored nightspot, Jim McMullen's Bar, on the Upper East Side, and parked his Rolls-Royce outside. At Jackson's appearance, a young man leveled a large-bore pistol, most likely a.45 caliber automatic. Jackson told investigators that the gun was the biggest he's ever seen, and that Jackson expected him to be shot. Jackson opened the door to the man when the guy lowered the pistol to reach inside Jackson's vehicle to start the ignition key, causing him to sprawl. The man then ran away and dropped the keys inside the vehicle, eluding pursuers.

Jackson was assaulted on March 22, 1985 by the Cleveland Indians in a 5–1 exhibition victory over them at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Witnesses said a man who had booed Jackson throughout the game followed Jackson out to the stadium parking lot to continue to do so. As Jackson finished signing autographs for fans, he attempted to board a car belonging to teammate Brian Downing, but the man refused to enter and refused to fight Jackson. According to Jackson, the guy started beating on the door and windshield of the car, yelling at Jackson in Spanish for an autograph and then offering cocaine. Jackson and other supporters nearby restrained the man until he calmed, at which time the guy demanded an autograph.

As Jackson left his bungalow at the Gene Autry Hotel in Palm Springs (now Parker Palm Springs) before a Giants game, he noticed two men drinking alcohol on the hotel lawns and sidewalks. Since the men identified Jackson and asked for directions to the Palm Spring strip business district, he advised them not to leave before they got into trouble and before he was ordered to call the cops. They began mocking his baseball abilities and resorting to profanity and racial insults against him. Jackson called 911 after the men were released, but the men returned to the hotel, asked Jackson to the front lobby, and when he arrived, he assaulted Jackson. When Jackson grabbed one of the guys, one of them pulled a tire iron over his head. As Jackson began to move toward the second man, he ran away but was stopped by a parked car, allowing Jackson to capture him and capture the tire iron and hand it over to a nearby Angels executive who had witnessed the incident. One of the man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, and the other was charged with mischief of the peace.

In an inverse situation, Jackson was signing autographs for fans following the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which was held at Yankee Stadium that year. Several teenagers strode into the parking lot and started yelling profanities at Jackson, according to a Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's remark. The teenagers were ignored until one made a "particularly offensive remark" about Jackson's mother. Jackson followed the teen, one of whom died while running. Jackson's foot was seen on the teen's wrist, which Jackson denied. Against the advice of criminal court judge Bernard Klieger, the teen's counsel requested that a criminal lawsuit for bullying be filed against Jackson, which Klieger did "reluctantly" sign the complaint.

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Collegiate athletic career

Jackson was drafted by Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, all of whom were eager to crack the colour barrier just for Jackson. (Oklahoma had black football players before 1964, including Prentice Gautt, a football player who appeared in the NFL in 1957.) Jackson turned down Alabama and Georgia because he was afraid of the South at the time, and the Oklahoma State refused to allow him to date white girls. Jackson was scouted by Hans Lobert of the San Francisco Giants, who was eager to sign him. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins also made bids, and the Philadelphia Phillies gave him a tryout but decided against him due to his "hitting abilities."

Jackson wanted his son to attend college, where he wanted him to play both football and baseball. He accepted a football scholarship from Arizona State University in Tempe, and his high school football coach Frank Kush knew ASU's head football coach Frank Kush, and the two discussed the possibility of him competing in both sports. After a testing trip, Kush decided that Jackson had the aptitude and desire to serve to join the team.

He approached ASU baseball coach Bobby Winkles one day after football practice and asked if he could help the team. Winkles said he'd give Jackson a look; and he'd hit a home run on the second pitch he saw in five at-bats; while still wearing his football gear; He was allowed to practice with the team, but he was unable to join the team because the NCAA had ruled against the use of freshman players. Following his freshman year, Jackson decided against becoming a defensive back. Winkles sent him to a Baltimore Orioles-affiliated amateur team to hone his skills. He set multiple team records for the squad, and the Oriolis gave him a $50,000 signing bonus if he joined the club. Jackson turned down the invitation, claiming that he did not want to forfeit his college scholarship.

Jackson recalled Rick Monday (the first player to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft and a future teammate with the A's) at center field in his sophomore year in 1966. He set the team's record for most home runs in a single season, starred the team in a variety of other sports, and was the first team All-American. Several scouts were watching him play, including Tom Greenwade of the New York Yankees (who discovered Mickey Mantle) and Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates, while still examining him. He showed his promise by playing just a triple away from hitting for the cycle, making a sliding catch, and having an assist at home plate. Jackson was the first college athlete to run out of Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

The Kansas City Athletics selected Jackson in the 1966 Major League Baseball draft on June 7. He was the second overall pick behind 17-year-old catcher Steve Chilcott, who was drafted by the New York Mets by the New York Mets. Winkles told Jackson that the Mets did not pick him because he had a white girlfriend. Winkles later denied the news, insisting that he did not know why Jackson was not drafted by the Mets was not chosen. Joe McDonald later reported that the Mets selected Steve Chilcott out of necessity, but that the Mets' true motives would never be revealed.

Jackson, 20, signed with the A's for his first training camp with the Lewis-Clark Broncs of the short season Single-A Northwest League in Lewiston, Idaho, coached by Grady Wilson. In the season opener at Bethel Park in Eugene, Oregon, he made his professional debut as a center fielder, but he was injured in five at-bats. Jackson singled in the first inning and homered in the ninth innings in the next game. He made a double and a triple in the home opener at Bengal Field in Lewiston on June 30, a record in Lewiston. In his last game as a Bronc, Jackson was struck in the head by a pitch in the first innings, but stayed in the game and drove in runs with two sacrifice flies. He left the game in the ninth inning due to a headache, and stayed overnight for observation.

In 1966, Jackson played for two Class A squads with the Broncs for just 12 games, and then 56 games with Modesto in the California League, where he scored 21 home runs. He played for Birmingham, Alabama, with the Birmingham A's in the Double-A Southern League, becoming one of only a few blacks on the team in 1967. John McNamara, the team's manager at the time, for assisting him through the difficult season.

MLB career

Jackson made his debut in the major leagues with the A's in 1967 in Kansas City, a shutout sweep of the Cleveland Indians by scores of 2–0 and 6–0 at Municipal Stadium. (Jackson scored his first strike in the nightcap, a lead-off triple in the fifth inning off long reliever Orlando Pea).

Prior to the 1968 season, the Athletics went west to Oakland. Jackson set the home runs record in 1969, beating Roger Maris briefly, 61 years old and Babe Ruth when he tied the previous record of 60 in 1927. Later in Jackson, he said that the sportswriters were "dating a woman named 'Ruth Maris.'"

In May 1970, Slumping at the plate, Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley threatened to send Jackson to the minors. During the 1970 season, Jackson had hit 23 home runs while batting.237. The Athletics sent him to Puerto Rico, where he competed for the Santurce team and knocked in 47 runs to lead the league in both directions. In the 1971 All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Jackson had a memorable home run. Batting for the American League against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, the ball he hit soared above the right-field stands, striking the transformer of a light standard on the right field roof. He hit a home run over that roof while with the Angels in 1984.

The Athletics captured the West division of the American League in 1971, their first since 1931 appearance in Philadelphia. The Baltimore Orioles swept them in three games in the American League Championship Series. The A's won the division again in 1972; their reunion with the Tigers continued to be a success, and Jackson scored the tying run in the clincher on a steal of home. He tore a hamstring and was unable to participate in the World Series, but in the process, he tore it out. Despite defeating the Cincinnati Reds in seven games, the A's also won in seven games. It was the first championship won by a San Francisco Bay Area team in any major league sport.

Jackson had a mustache during spring training in 1972. Though his coworkers wanted him to cut it off, Jackson refused. Finley loved the mustache so much that he charged each player $300 to grow one, and held a "Mustache Day" with the last MLB player to wear a mustache, Frenchy Bordagaray, as the master of ceremonies.

Jackson helped the Athletics win the pennant in 1973 and was named Most Valuable Player of the American League for the season. In seven straight games in the World Series, the A's defeated the New York Mets. This time, Jackson was unable to play, but his efforts earned him the Series' MVP award. The A's led in the third inning of the seventh game, which resulted in a 5–2 score, as Bert Campaneris and Jackson each hit two-run home runs off Jon Matlack—the only two home runs Oakland hit the entire Series. In 1974, the A's captured the World Series for the first time, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.

Jackson was also no stranger to controversy or conflict in Oakland after hitting 254 home runs in nine years with the Athletics. "When Al Helfer was broadcasting the Oakland A's games, he was not too enthusiastic about Reggie Jackson's speed or his hustle." Rick Monday, a teammate on third place in Jackson's third run, also on a long home run. 'Jackson should score on that one right away,' Helfer said. "Nobody seems to be neutral on Reggie Jackson," Crouser wrote. You're either a fan or a detractor. When teammate Darold Knowles asked if Jackson was a hotdog (i.e., a show-off), he replied, "There isn't enough mustard in the country to coat Reggie Jackson."

Jackson received a $135,000 salary for the season in February 1974, nearly doubling his previous year's $70,000. Billy North and Jackson, a outfielder from Detroit's Tiger Stadium, engaged in a clubhouse brawl on June 5. Jackson injured his shoulder and Ray Fosse, the combatants' catcher, sustained a cracked disk in his neck, putting him on the disabled list for three months. The A's won their third straight World Series in October.

Jackson owed $168,000 upfront, but arbitration refused to him this time, and he settled for $140,000. The A's won their fifth straight division title, but the Boston Red Sox swept them in the ALCS for the fifth time in a row.

Jackson, who earned $140,000 in 1975 and was one of nine Oakland players not to sign 1976 deals, has vowed to purchase a three-year $600,000 pact. With the anticipation of a free agency emerging after the season and the hopes of higher pay for which Athletics owner Finley was unable to pay, he was sent by the Baltimore Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell on April 2, 1976. Jackson had not signed a contract nor expected to miss the season, so he was fired by the Orioles four weeks earlier and made his first plate appearance on May 2. In 1976, Baltimore and Oakland finished second in their respective divisions, with the Yankees and Royals advancing to the ALCS, the first without the A's since 1970. He stole 28 bases in Baltimore during Jackson's lone season, a career-best. Reggie Jackson was arrogant, Jim Palmer later wrote. The word arrogant isn't descriptive enough." However, he believed the Orioles made a "brick-brained" decision by not signing him to a contract, allowing him to become a free agent.

In 1976, the Yankees won the pennant, but the Reds swept the World Series. Jackson signed the five-year deal, totaling $2.96 million ($14,100,000 in current dollar terms). The number 9 he had worn in Oakland and Baltimore was already used by Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles, but the Yankees had requested number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, but pitching coach Art Fowler had to handle it before the season began. Hank Aaron, the holder of the most home runs at the time, had just resigned, and Jackson asked for and received number 44 in honor of Aaron. During spring training, Jackson wore number 20 for one game as a tribute to the then-deceased Frank Robinson, who was then promoted to number 44.

In 1977, Jackson's first season with the Yankees was a difficult one. Although team owner George Steinbrenner and several others, including catcher and team captain Thurman Munson and outfielder Lou Piniella, were excited about his arrival, team field manager Billy Martin was not. Martin was a manager with the Tigers in 1972, when Jackson's A's beat them in the playoffs. "I hate him," Jackson said of Martin, "but I'd certainly love him if I played for him."

Due to a tense discussion with SPORT magazine writer Robert Ward, the friendship between Jackson and his new coworkers was strained. At the Yankees' camp in Fort Lauderdale, Jackson and Ward were enjoying cocktails at a nearby bar during spring training. Jackson's version of the tale is that the Yankees had won the pennant the year before but that they had lost the World Series to the Reds, but that they forgot one thing more to win it all. Jackson, Ward, is thought to be "the straw that stirs the drink." However, when the story appeared in the SPORT issue in June 1977, Ward quoted Jackson as saying, "This team, it all flows from me." The straw that ignites the drink is me. I might include myself and Munson, but he can only stir it bad."

Jackson has denied ever saying anything critical about Munson in the interview, but he has said that his remarks were taken out of context. However, Dave Anderson of The New York Times wrote that he had alcohol with Jackson in July 1977 and that Jackson later told him, "I'm still the straw that stirs the drink." Not Munson, not everybody else on this team. Nevertheless, as Munson was adored by his teammates, Martin, Steinbrenner, and Yankee fans, their friendships with Jackson became strained.

Jim Rice, a prolific hitter but notoriously slow runner, hit a ball into shallow right field while Jackson failed to field in a nationally broadcast game at Fenway Park in Boston on June 18, defeating the Boston Red Sox 10–4 loss in a nationally broadcast game. Jackson was unable to reach the ball, which fell far in front of him, allowing Rice to reach second base. Martin was furious enough to dismiss Jackson without even waiting for the end of the game, causing Paul Blair to substitute him. As Jackson appeared at the dugout, Martin yelled that Jackson had appeared to him. Martin's heavy drinking impaired his decision, according to them, and Jackson said that his decision had influenced his decision. Despite Jackson being 18 years old, about two inches taller, and about 40 pounds heavier, Martin lunged at him and was forced to be retrained by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. Fans of the Red Sox could see this in the dugout and began chanting in the midst of the game, and NBC television cameras caught the whole nation in a riot.

By the next day, Yankees polite the situation, but Jackson and Martin's friendship was forever strained. However, George Steinbrenner made a critical intervention by giving Martin the option of either having Jackson bat in the fourth or "cleanup" position for the remainder of the season or losing his position. Martin made the change and Jackson's hitting improved (he had 13 home runs and 49 RBIs in his first 50 games), and the team went on a winning streak. Jackson ended a game with the Red Sox and Orioles on September 14, giving the Yankees a 2–0 win in a tight three-way battle for the American League Eastern Division crown with the Red Sox and Orioles. The Yankees won the division by two and a half games over the Red Sox and Orioles, and they came from behind in the ninth inning of the American League Championship Series to defeat the Kansas City Royals for the pennant.

Munson was interviewed during the World Series against the Dodgers and it was suggested that Jackson, because of his prior post-season appearances, might be the right interview subject. "Go ask Mister October," he said, giving Jackson a name that would stick. (He had been referred to as "Jax" and "Buck" in Oakland.) In Games Four and Five of the Series, Jackson hit home runs.

Jackson's crowning achievement came with his three-home runs in a World Series-clinching Game Six, with each starting on the first pitch off three Dodgers pitchers. (His first plate appearance resulted in a four-pitch walk in the second inning). Burt Hooton, the first, was a line drive shot into lower right field seats at Yankee Stadium, and it was a line drive shot. The second was a much quicker line that brought Elas Sosa off the train to about the same area. "Reg-Gi" is chanting among the fans, with the fans chanting his name.

Reg-GIE!

Reg-GIE!

Charlie Hough, a knuckleball pitcher, was a third starter for the third time in this home run, making the distance between this home run particularly impressive." It was a thrilling ride into the black-painted batter's eye seats in center, 475 feet (145 meters) away. Jackson later stated that Gene Michael and Birdie Tebbetts' scouting reports played a major role in his success. According to their reports, the Dodgers would attempt to pitch Jackson inside, and Jackson was able to pitch him inside.

Since Jackson had hit a home run off Dodger pitcher Don Sutton in his last game at bat in Game Five, he had three home runs against as many Dodgers pitchers in a row. Jackson became the first individual to win the World Series MVP award for two teams. He has played in 27 World Series games, including a record five in 1977 (the last three on first pitches), 24 RBI, and a.357batting average. Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, and Pablo Sandoval are the only other players to reach three home runs in a single World Series game. Babe Ruth won the game twice in 1926 and 1928 (both in Game Four). Jackson also set a new personal record of 22 in the latter Series, beating Ruth's record of 22 in the former Series; Willie Stargell tied it in the 1979 World Series. Chase Utley (2009, Philadelphia) and George Springer (2017, Houston) have since tied Jackson for the most home runs in a single World Series.

Fans had been getting a bit of quarrellery in anticipation of Game 6, and some had even thrown firecrackers out of Jackson's field in right field. Jackson was alarmed enough to walk off the field in order to get a helmet off the Yankee bench to shield himself. Fans were able to scale the wall and draping their legs across the side in anticipation of the time when they were supposed to rush onto the field shortly after this point. Jackson started racing at top speed off the field, actually bodychecking past some of the fans crowding the playing field in the style of a football linebacker as the occasion came.

The "Reggie," the Yankees' home opener of the 1978 season, was featured against the Chicago White Sox on April 13. Bar. "If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me," Jackson said while playing in Baltimore in 1976. The Standard Brands company responded with a circular "bar" of peanuts dipped in caramel and coated in chocolate, a confection that was originally named the "Wayne Bun" when it was made in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The "Reggie!"

As they stepped into Yankee Stadium, fans were given bars. Jackson had a home run and as he returned to right field the next inning, fans began throwing the Reggie bars on the field in honor. Jackson told the world that this confused him, implying that perhaps the fans did not like the candy. The Yankees dominated the game, 4–2.

However, the Yankees could not sustain their success because manager Billy Martin lost control. After suspending Jackson for refusing a sign during a July 17 game, Martin made a statement about his two main rivals, referring to statements Jackson made and team owner George Steinbrenner's 1972 violation of campaign-finance rules: "They're made for each other." One is a born liegner, while the other is guilty." It was in moments like this that the Yankees were dubbed "The Bronx Zoo" in the game.

Martin resigned the next day (some sources have said he was fired), and Bob Lemon, a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cleveland Indians who had been fired as the White Sox's manager, was fired. Al Rosen, a Cleveland native, had been hired as his team president (replacing Gabe Paul, another Cleveland celebrity). Steinbrenner was excited to have the opportunity to work with another hero from his youth with the Yankees; Lemon was one of Steinbrenner's assistants during the 1976 season, winning the pennant-winning championship.

The Yankees finished the season in a tie for first place after being 14 games behind the first-place Red Sox on July 18. At Fenway Park, the two teams competed in a one-game playoff for the division title, with the Yankees winning 5–4. Although the home run by light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent in the seventh inning was the most notable, the Yankees were still in need of an eighth-inning home run by Jackson, who gave them the Yankees the fifth run they ended up needing. Jackson threwled "Mad Hungarian" from the Royals' home run the next day, with the American League Championship Series involving the Royals. The Yankees captured the pennant in four games, their third in a row.

Jackson was once more in the middle of the World Series, this time against the Dodgers. Los Angeles won the first two games at Dodger Stadium, winning the second when rookie reliever Bob Welch struck Jackson out with two men on base with two outs in the ninth inning. The series then migrated to New York, where third baseman Graig Nettles won Game Three on a series of fine defensive plays, and Jackson appeared in the middle of a tumultuous play on the basepaths. Jackson was struck in the hip by a ball thrown by Dodger shortstop Bill Russell as Jackson was being forced at second base in the sixth inning. The ball went into foul territory and allowed Thurman Munson to score the Yankees' second run of the inning rather than finishing a double play that would have ended the game. Despite the Dodgers' calls for interference on Jackson's part, the umpires allowed the game to continue. In the eighth inning, the Yankees tied the game and then won in the tenth.

Both teams are headed to Los Angeles after a dramatic win in Game Five. Jackson earned his revenge against Welch by exploding a two-run home run in the seventh inning, bringing the Yankees' series-clinching 7–2 victory.

Following a Yankee loss to the Baltimore Oriolettes, Jackson began to mock Cliff Johnson about his inability to hit Goose Gossage on April 19, 1979. When Johnson was was washing, Gossage insisted to Jackson that he struck out Johnson all the time when he faced him. A feud erupted between Johnson and the pitcher after Jackson relayed this information to Johnson on his return to the locker room. Gossage tore ligaments in his right thumb and missed three months of the season. It was "a moralizing blow to the team," Tommy John, a teammate. In June, Jackson joined Gossage on the disabled list for a month, with a torn calf muscle. He batted.297 with 29 home runs and 89 RBI in 131 games.

Jackson batted.300 for the first time in his career, and his 41 home runs tied with Milwaukee Brewers Ben Oglivie for the American League lead. However, the Kansas City Royals swept the Yankees in the ALCS. He was named hitter on the inaugural Silver Slugger Award the year before.

Jackson suffered with George Steinbrenner's last year as he came to a close to his Yankee contract in 1981. Jackson consulted Jackson about the signing of then-free agent Dave Winfield, and Jackson wanted Steinbrenner to start a new one for him as well. Steinbrenner never intended to, some say not intending to), and Jackson continued to play as a free agent during the season. Jackson began slowly with the bat, and Steinbrenner invoked a clause in Jackson's deal requiring him to perform a complete physical examination. In the media, Jackson was outraged and blasted Steinbrenner. Jackson's hitting improved when the season came back, partially to remind Steinbrenner that he wasn't finished as a player. In Game Five of the strike-forced 1981 American League Division Series with the Brewers, he made it to the upper deck, and the Yankees went on to win the pennant for the second time. In Game Two of the 1981 ALCS, Jackson injured himself running the bases, missing the Yankees' first two games of the World Series.

Jackson had medically cleared to play Game Three, but boss Bob Lemon refused to start him or even play him, reportedly following Steinbrenner's instructions. The Yankees lost the game, and Jackson dominated the remainder of the series, hitting a home run in Game Four. However, the Dodgers won the last three games and the World Series.

Once the 1981 season ended, Jackson became a free agent again. Gene Autry, the owner of the California Angels, had heard of Jackson's desire to return to California to play and had signed him to a five-year deal.

In Jackson's first game back at Yankee Stadium with the Angels, he burst out of a bad season to create a home run for former teammate Ron Guidry on April 27, 1982. With Yankee fans who were furious at Steinbrenner for letting Jackson get away, the game got underway, with "Reg-Gi" kicking off. The fans cheered "Steinbrenner sucks" at the start of the performance, which brought the crowds to a halt. Steinbrenner had already admitted that letting him go was the best decision he had made as a Yankee owner by the time of Jackson's induction into the Hall of Fame.

The Angels won the American League West in 1981 and will do so again in 1986, but the American League Championship Series was also lost both times. On the 17th anniversary of the day he made his first home run, he met his 500th at Anaheim Stadium off Bud Black of the Royals, on September 17, 1984.

He signed a one-year deal to return to the A's in 1987, sporting the number 44, which he now identifies more closely than the number 9 he wore in Oakland. At the age of 41, he said he would retire after the season. He collected a broken-bat single up the middle in his last at-bat at Comiskey Park in Chicago on October 4, but the White Sox lost 5–2. Jackson was the last major leagues player to have signed for the Kansas City Athletics.

In 11 of them, Jackson made the postseason, winning six pennants and five World Series. In addition, he had only two losing seasons in his career, demonstrating his penchant for improving teams. His career included winning both the regular and World Series MVP awards in 1973, 563 career home runs (sixth all-time at the time), and second on the all-time list for most Golden sombreros with 2,597 (at least four strikeouts in a game) with 23,790 – his highest percentage since being named with 14 All-Star teams, with 43 remaining strikeouts in a game) with 23, but he was second behind Ryan Howard for the first time on the all-output: Jackson was the first major leaguer to reach 100 home runs for three franchises, with three different clubs, including the Athletics, Yankees, and Angels. He is the only player in the 500 home run club to have had two straight 30 home run seasons in a row.

When it came to the media, Jackson was the center of attention for the Yankees. Tommy John was convinced that this would be most beneficial to the team. "He was a two-way buffer between the team and Steinbrenner, as well as between us and the newspaper." That allowed other guys to conduct their company in relative anonymity."

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