A biography for Reggie Jacksonhasn’t been written yet.
“There's a certain time that when somebody asks you a question, you answer them. I don't think I said anything with venom. If you can express yourself without anger and make it as palatable as you can, that's what you do.”
“You know, this game's not very much fun when you're only hitting .247.”
“When I was with the Yankees in 1978, we were playing Baltimore at Yankee Stadium, and the score was 3 - 3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. I led off against Tippy Martinez - a little left-hander who always gave me trouble - and the count went to three-and-oh.”
“There is no question that in the '50s and '60s, black players got thrown at more. That's not a negative comment. It may come out that way, but that's the way it was. Hitting another player was part of the game; hitting a player in the head is not.”
“Ken Holtzman could pitch a game in ninety minutes. Wouldn't throw a breaking ball. And he had a great breaking ball.”
“Nature is extremely important to me. Which may be just about the only trouble I'll have in New York. I'll miss the trees!”
“The mini-series 'The Bronx is Burning' thoroughly embarrassed me the way the story was told.”
“Do you have any idea what Ali meant to black people? He was the leader of a nation, the leader of Black America. As a young black, at times I was ashamed of my color; I was ashamed of my hair. And Ali made me proud.”
“I am not merely a baseball player. I am a black man who has done what he wants, gotten what he wanted, and will continue to get it.”
“The pitcher has the ball, and nothing happens until he lets go of it. So as the batter, I felt I had to fight for any bit of control I could get. I expected the umpire, the catcher, and the pitcher to wait on me. I wanted to get ready on my time.”
“I represent both the underdog and the overdog in our society.”
“Ali helped raise black people in this country out of mental slavery. The entire experience of being black changed for millions of people because of Ali.”
“I work for ABC television; I have my own syndicated TV series. I've been on the cover of 'Time Magazine' and on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' five times.”
“Fans don't boo nobodies.”
“In the building I live in on Park Avenue there are ten people who could buy the Yankees, but none of them could hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium.”
“I never had an understanding of Billy Martin. I did not accept the way he managed me. I did not accept the way he managed Ken Holtzman. I thought there was anti-Semitism there.”
“When people push back on you and don't think you can do it, and you struggle a little bit and wonder if they're right, it drives you to be successful and to be a great player.”
“The only difference between me and those other great Yankees is my skin color.”
“Everybody's got a Reggie story.”
“Hitting is better than sex.”