Reggie Jackson (1993)


Date of Birth: 5/18/1946
Birthplace: Wyncote, Pennsylvania
College: Arizona State University

Reggie Jackson, who played well for nine full seasons with the Oakland A's, also had successful five year stints with the New York Yankees and with the California Angels and one good year, in the middle of his career, with the Baltimore Orioles. Jackson was nicknamed "Mister October" because of all the off-season games in which he played. He had the good fortune to play with five World Series winners - three times with the Oakland A's (1972-1974) and twice with the New York Yankees (1977, 1978).

Jackson, the son of a professional baseball player (Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues), was a top athlete in high school, playing baseball, football, and basketball. He was also on the track and field team. He earned a football scholarship to Arizona State University but he switched to baseball in his sophomore year. He was drafted in June, 1966 by the Kansas City Athletics.

Kansas City/Oakland Athletics

In 1967, Jackson made his first appearance with the Athletics. He played in only 35 games with them that year, spending the rest of the season in the minor leagues. The next year, he had his first full season in the major leagues and he batted .250 with 138 hits, 29 home runs, and 74 RBIs in 154 games.

Jackson led the AL in OPS in 1969, and he had career highs in home runs, RBIs, walks, and OPS. He batted .275 with 151 hits, 36 doubles, 47 home runs, 118 RBIs, 142 strikeouts to 114 walks, and an OPS of 1.018.

Jackson's batting average dropped to .237 in 1970. He finished the season with 101 hits, 21 doubles, 23 home runs, 26 stolen bases, and 66 RBIs in 149 games. He played better in 1971, batting .277 with 157 hits, 29 doubles, 32 home runs, and 80 RBIs in 150 games. His average dropped again in 1972 to .265. That year, he had 132 hits, 25 doubles, 25 home runs, and 75 RBIs in 135 games.

Jackson won the AL MVP award and the Sporting News Player of the Year award in 1973, and he led the league in home runs, RBIs, and OPS. He batted .293 with 158 hits, 28 doubles, 32 home runs, 117 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 151 games. His OPS was .914. In the 1973 postseason, Jackson won the World Series MVP award. He played in 12 games and he had 12 hits, 3 doubles, one home run, and 6 RBIs in 50 at-bats.

Jackson had another good season in 1974. In 148 games, he had 146 hits, 25 doubles, 29 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 93 RBIs, and a .289 batting average. The following season he led the AL in home runs and he had career highs in games played and doubles. He finished the 1975 season with 150 hits, 39 doubles, 36 home runs, 104 RBIs, and a .253 batting average in 157 games.

Baltimore Orioles

Jackson was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on April 2, 1976. He played with them for just one season. In 1976, he batted .277 with 138 hits, 27 doubles, 28 stolen bases, and 91 RBIs in 134 games.

New York Yankees

Jackson became a free agent on November 1, 1976. He signed with the New York Yankees on November 29th.

Jackson had a career high 39 doubles in 1977. He also had 150 hits, 32 home runs, 110 RBIs, and a .286 batting average in 146 games in his first season with the Yankees. He had an outstanding postseason and he won his second World Series MVP award and the Babe Ruth award. He played in 11 games and he had 11 hits, 5 home runs, 9 RBIs, and a .306 batting average in 36 at-bats.

Jackson had probably his worst season in 1978, when he batted just .174. He had 140 hits, 27 home runs, and 97 RBIs in 139 games. The following season, was significantly better. He finished the 1979 season with 138 hits, 24 doubles, 29 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a .297 batting average in 131 games.

Jackson won his first Silver Slugger award in 1980. That season he led the AL in home runs with 41 and he batted a career high .300 with 154 hits, 22 doubles, and 111 RBIs in 143 games. THe next year, he played in just 94 games and he batted .237 with 79 hits and 54 RBIs.

California Angels

Jackson became a free agent again on November 13, 1981, and he signed a five-year contract with the California Angels. He played well in his first year with the Angels, leading the AL in home runs with 39 home runs. He batted .275 with 146 hits and 101 RBIs. He won his second Silver Slugger award in 1982.

Jackson's batting average dropped way down in 1983. He finished that season with a .194 batting average in 116 games. He played only slightly better in 1984, when his average went up to .223. He finished that season with 117 hits, 25 home runs, and 81 RBIs in 143 games.

In 1985, Jackson batted .252 with 116 hits, 27 doubles, 27 home runs, and 85 RBIs in 143 games. The next year, he had 101 hits, 58 RBIs, and a .241 batting average in 132 games.

Return to Oakland Athletics

Jackson became a free agent once more on November 12, 1986. A month later, on December 24th, he signed with the Athletics.

In 1987, his final year in the major leagues, Jackson played in 115 games and he batted .220. He had 74 hits and 43 RBIs.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL MVP in 1973
  • Sporting News Player of the Year in 1973
  • World Series MVP (2 times)
  • Babe Ruth award in 1977
  • Silver Slugger award (2 times)
  • Led AL in home runs (4 times)
  • Led AL in OPS (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Jackson in 21 seasons (1967-1987) in the major leagues include:

  • 6 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 158 in 1973
  • 16 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 47 in 1969
  • 6 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with highs of 118 in 1969 and 117 in 1973
  • 4 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 28 in 1976

Career batting statistics for Jackson include:

  • 2,820 games played
  • 2,584 hits
  • 463 doubles
  • 563 home runs
  • 1,702 RBIs
  • 228 stolen bases
  • .262 batting average
  • .356 on-base percentage
  • .846 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Jackson as a right fielder include:

  • 1,942 games played
  • 3,625 putouts
  • 126 errors
  • .968 fielding percentage

Career postseason statistics for Jackson include:

  • 77 games played
  • 281 at-bats
  • 78 hits
  • 14 doubles
  • 18 home runs
  • 5 stolen bases
  • 48 RBIs
  • 70 strikeouts to 33 walks
  • .278 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Reggie Jackson
ESPN - Reggie Jackson
Baseball Reference - Reggie Jackson

Back to Top