Reggie vs. Koosman

Reggie Jackson may have been the straw that stirred the drink, but it took a few years after his arrival in New York for the drink to be served.

By 1980, Billy Martin was gone, as was Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers and, tragically, Thurman Munson. The Yankees were finally Reggie’s team and Jerry Koosman may have been responsible.

After an 0-5 day against the White Sox on April 27^th, Jackson’s batting average stood at an anemic .177. But then Reggie got hot, going 8 for his next 18, including going 5-9 with a home run in the first two games of a four games set against the Twins in Bloomington.

On May 4th, in the third game of the series, Reggie lead off the second inning against Jerry Koosman, who quickly got ahead in the count 0-2. Koosman’s next pitch sealed his fate in the game, and potentially Jackson’s fate in the Yankee clubhouse. Koosman delivered his 0-2 offering directly at Reggie’s head, causing him to hit the deck at the last second and come up extremely unhappy.  Not satisfied, Koosman brushed Jackson back again, prompting him to tell Twins catcher Butch Wynegar, “If the next one comes in close, I’m going to get you.”

At 2-2, Koosman couldn’t afford to deck Jackson for a third time and his next pitch caught a bit more of the plate. Jackson turned on it and sent it more than 400 feet to straight away center field for a home run. Reggie had hit lots of home runs in pinstripes. He made history in 1977 by hitting three homers off three different Dodger pitchers en route to leading the Yankees to their first World Series title since 1962. But his cockiness rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and there were high profile run-ins with Martin and Munson that caused many people both in and out of the Yankee clubhouse to dislike him.

When his blast cleared the center field fence at Metropolitan Stadium, the Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the game, but more importantly, it may have been the tipping point in Jackson’s relationship with his teammates. As he rounded the bases and headed back to the dugout, Jackson saw a number of Yankees waiting for him.

“I was thrilled to see my teammates standing there,” he said. “Half of them told me they would have gone out there to defend me.”

A Change in Attitude

This was in stark contrast to his first year in New York when, stung by public criticism from his teammates, Jackson snubbed those looking to congratulate him after hitting a home run. All seemed to be forgiven now and the Yankees were rolling. Spurred by Reggie heroics, New York knocked Koosman out of the game after just three and a third innings en route to a 10-1 win. Tom Underwood exacted some revenge by drilling Wynegar in the back the inning after Reggie was knocked down prompting home plate umpire Vic Voltaggio to warn both benches.

The show of support from his teammates, which came in the form of recognition and retribution was a big moment for Jackson and the Yankees. It also added to his reputation as a guy who could deliver in the big moment.

“I guess I haven’t convinced everybody,” he said. “They keep putting me through the test. I must have done it seven or eight times in my career; get up after getting knocked down and then hit a home run.”

“The good ones, Frank Robinson, Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, they’re better hitters when the get knocked down,” said Yankee Manager Dick Howser. “Reggie’s like that.”