Reggie Jackson is still hitting them out of the park.
Not since the former Yankee slugger clouted three home runs in a World Series game against the Dodgers in 1977 has Jackson done more with a pitch in the strike zone.
This time, it was Alex Rodriguez, of all people, serving up the fast ball.
The occasion was a nationally televised major league game last week honoring Willie Mays and the Birmingham, Alabama, ball field where the baseball legend began his professional career in the Negro Leagues.
Mays, one of the few players to hit more home runs than Jackson, had just died a couple of days before at the age of 93, which only added to the poignancy of a very emotional day.
Rodriguez, another former Yankees slugger, asked Jackson during the Fox Sports broadcast how he felt about returning to Birmingham’s historic Rickwood Field, where he played in the minor leagues.
What followed was more than three minutes of brutal, painful honesty, and a clip to rival any of Jackson’s home run highlight reels.
Jackson, who played in Birmingham, spoke of the racism he endured with the Athletics’ Double-A team in 1967 before he was called up to the big leagues later that year.
“Coming back here is not easy,” Jackson said. “The racism when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled. Fortunately, I had a manager and I had players on the team that helped me get through it. But I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”
Jackson didn’t leave out any details.
“I walked into restaurants, and they would point at me and say, ‘The n—-r can’t eat here,’” Jackson said. “I would go to a hotel, and they would say, ‘The n—-r can’t stay here.’”
Jackson said they went to team owner Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome home dinner.
“They pointed me out with the N-word: ‘He can’t come in here,’” Jackson recalled. “Finley marched the whole team out. He said, ‘We’re going to go to the diner and eat hamburgers. We’ll go where we’re wanted.’”
In his 21 big league seasons, Jackson was hit by a pitch 96 times. None of them stung more than what he endured during the 114 games he played for the Birmingham A’s.
“Fortunately, I had a manager in Johnny McNamara that, if I couldn’t eat in the place, nobody would eat,” Jackson said.
