LOS ANGELES − Reggie Jackson, the one and only Mr. October, has a tough call.
He has a personal invitation to attend Game 1 of the World Series on Friday (8:08 p.m. ET, Fox) at Dodger Stadium from Los Angeles owner Pete O’Malley.
He also has an invitation to be at the first World Series game between the Dodgers and the Yankees in 43 years from New York owner Hal Steinbrenner.
What’s a legendary Hall of Fame slugger to do?
“I don’t know, I really don’t,’ Jackson tells USA TODAY Sports. “If I sit with Peter O’Malley, I’ll get to see Sandy Koufax. I’d love to sit with him. But I’m a Yankee, not a Dodger.’
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The compromise just may be sitting with O’Malley for Game 1 and Steinbrenner in Game 3 when the World Series shifts to Yankee Stadium on Monday in the Bronx.
No matter where Jackson sits, even after a breakup with the Yankees front office and becoming a special adviser with the Houston Astros, there is no hiding his allegiance.
“I like the Dodgers,’ Jackson said, “I really do. I always wanted to play for the Dodgers. My guy was Duke Snider, Duke from Flatbush. They had that great infield with Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey. They had those great outfielders with Reggie Smith and Dusty Baker. And, man, they always had that great pitching. They had a great, great team.
“But I’m a Yankee, bro. I wear pinstripes in the Hall of Fame. I’ve got NY on my hat. Who the heck do you think I’m going to root for?
“I’ve got to pull for the Yankees.’
Jackson still can’t believe that the last Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchup was back when he played in 1981. In his era, a Yankees-Dodgers World Series was almost an annual ritual.
“I always loved playing the Dodgers,’ Jackson said. “They were big-time Hollywood. They had the sunshine. Everybody had a blonde wife. They were cool. They had their shades on.
“We were just those nasty guys from New York, mean and tough. We had those pinstripes, and wearing those pinstripes, that was always a target. I remember when Mariano Rivera said to me one day, ‘Reggie, I didn’t know those pinstripes were so hated.’
“That’s why this is such a great World Series. You got LA and Hollywood. You got New York and the financial center of the world. Two of the most iconic franchises in all of sports.
“They’re part of the American fabric.’
This will be the 12th time these two franchises have played one another in the World Series, five more than any other matchup. The first time Jackson faced the Dodgers in the World Series in 1977, he produced one of the most spectacular moments in baseball history. Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers. He hit .450 in the series with five homers, eight RBI and a 1.792 OPS.
Mr. October was instantly born.
“That was pretty special,’ Jackson said. “It’s funny, people still talk about that third home run, but the second one (off Elias Sosa) was hardest of the three I hit. If I got the second one up, it would have hit off the scoreboard.’
They played one another again in 1978 after the Yankees overcame a 14-game deficit to the Boston Red Sox to reach the postseason. The Yankees lost the first two games of the Series and stormed back to win the next four. Jackson hit .391 with two homers, and a 1.196 OPS.
“That was such a magical year for us, coming back the way we did,’ Jackson said, “and to top it off with a championship.’
They played one last time in 1981 in the strike season. This time, the Dodgers turned the tables. They lost the first two games with Jackson sidelined because of a leg injury sustained in the ALCS, and then won the next four games, capturing their first World Series title since 1965.
“We got beat that series,’ Jackson said. “I won’t say we lost it. We just got beat by a better team.
“You know, I didn’t really want to play them in the first place. We already played them and beat them twice. You’re not going to be beat them three times. When we saw them, we knew they were tired of getting beat.’
It turned out to be Jackson’s final year with the Yankees, and the last time the Yankees and Dodgers met in the Fall Classic. The Yankees didn’t even make the playoffs again until 1995.
“That was a special time,’ Jackson said. “It’s hard to believe it was the last time.’
The ’81 Series will always be remembered for all of its the star power. There were future Hall of Famers everywhere you turned, eight in all, and soon a ninth when Baker is inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager.
There was Jackson, Goose Gossage, Dave Winfield and manager Bob Lemon from the Yankees.
There was starter Don Sutton and manager Tommy Lasorda from the Dodgers.
There was umpire Doug Harvey behind the plate.
There was Vin Scully behind the microphone.
Believe it or not, this World Series may have even more star power, with six former MVPs, the most in history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
You’ve got eight future Hall of Fame candidates in Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole and, of course, injured three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has led the Dodgers to four World Series in eight years, will be a shoo-in into Cooperstown if he wins another World Series title.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who has won four World Series, six pennants and 14 division titles, should be a Hall of Fame lock. Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, who has led the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays to 13 playoff berths, five pennants and a World Series title, is on the threshold. Yankees play-by-play man John Sterling is a strong candidate to join Scully into the broadcaster’s wing of the Hall of Fame, too.
That’s 11 strong potential Hall of Fame candidates without even stretching the imagination.
“This World Series is going to bring back so many memories,’ Jackson said. “I don’t think you can have two better brands involved. When you think of great organizations, you think of the Yankees, Dodgers, Celtics, Lakers, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cowboys.
“The Yankees and Dodgers are great for baseball. They’ve been run right. Look at what George Steinbrenner has meant to the Yankees. He was a class act, never pinched pennies, and treated his players well. You didn’t hear about ugly holdouts. It was first-class all of the way.
“Look at what the O’Malley family did for the Dodgers. I always tell Peter O’Malley, it’s because of you and your dad that Jackie Robinson got into baseball. They didn’t have to sign him. They could have hidden behind the curtain. They were there, front and center.’
Now, here they are, going toe-to-toe once again, with the Dodgers trying to win their first World Series in a full season since 1988, and the Yankees vying for their first since 2009.
Jackson declines to make a prediction, but is just curious as everyone else if a modern-day Mr. October emerges.
Aaron Judge, who hit 58 homers this season but is hitting just .203 in his postseason career, could be the X-factor in the series, Jackson says.
“Judge has got so much skill,’ Jackson said. “Look out. If he gets hot, you’re going to get beat.’
Ohtani, who like Judge has never played in a World Series, could certainly carry the Dodgers all of the way. And, whatever you do, don’t forget about Betts.
“If you let Ohtani run wild, you’re going to forget about Betts,’ Jackson said. “If this series goes seven games, you know Betts is going to get 13 hits, hit a couple of homers, and drive in six or seven runs.
“He’s in the argument of being the best player in the game.’
And, of course, there’s Soto, who will soon be one of the wealthiest players in baseball after the World Series, hitting the free-agent market with a price tag soaring past $500 million.
“He’ll get a lot of money,’ Jackson said. “I don’t know if he’ll get Ohtani money (10 years, $700 million). That was a shock to see what Ohtani got. Soto’s a hell of a player, but he’s not Ohtani. He’s not hitting 50 homers and he doesn’t pitch, but he’ll get a bundle.
“I wish I were him.’
Jackson, who is hosting “The Reggie Jackson Softball Classic,’ on Sunday, billed as perhaps the final game at the Oakland Coliseum (“It’s heartbreaking to see all of Oakland’s sports teams gone’), says ultimately that the team making the fewest fundamental mistakes will be the ones hoisting the World Series trophy.
“You’re going to see a lot of great plays,’ Jackson said, “but a few bonehead plays, too. You give either one of these teams an extra out, you’re going to get beat. It’s a shame if you lose a game by doing something stupid, and not playing the game the way it should be played.’
And, sometimes, as Jackson has witnessed, pressure can do some awfully funny things to people, getting in the way of performance.
“Pressure goes with the territory,’ Jackson said. “It’s like being Ohtani. It’s like being Judge. It’s like being Betts. You better hit. It’s the same with a guy like [Yankees ace] Gerrit Cole. ‘Hey bro, they’re dropping $40 million a year on you, when are going to pitch a shutout?’ Once you’re a No. 1 starter, giving up four runs is too many. …
“The team that wins is going to be the one that controls the other team’s offense. The Dodgers can drop a 10-spot on you in a heartbreak. The Yankees can hit a lot of home runs. Who’s going to out-pitch who?
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m like everyone else, I can’t wait to find out.’
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