Reggie and the Mahlers
| 14
|
by user Harold Friend LouGehrig
March 20, 1978: Reggie, Mahler, and Mahler.
Atlanta Braves left hander Mickey Mahler and New York Yankees' outfielder Reggie Jackson were not pleased tonight. In the Yankees' half of the fourth inning of an exhibition game that the Yankees won, 8-3, Reggie attempted a bunt. No, you read that correctly. Reggie tried to bunt. Of course, as Reggie knows and Billy Martin discovered, Reggie cannot bunt. The ball went foul and Mickey Mahler's next pitch came close to Jackson, who was not pleased at its location. On the next pitch, Reggie hit a ground ball to the right of first baseman Dale Murphy. When Murphy tossed the ball to Mahler covering first, Reggie, as he hit the bag, appeared to swerve toward Mahler in order to make contact, not off the pitcher, but WITH the pitcher. There was an exchange of words, both benches emptied, but that was it --until Reggie came up in the sixth inning---against Mickey Mahler's brother Rick.
Right hander Rick Mahler's first pitch went behind Jackson. The next delivery hit Reggie in the thigh. Rick Mahler immediately claimed that the pitch slipped, but upon reflection, when he was asked if he would have reacted similarly if a teammate other than his brother had been involved in the incident at first base, the right hander didn't hesitate. "Of course. I don't think what he did was right. I guess he thought one pitch was pretty close to him and guess he thought that Mickey was trying to throw at him. I guess that stuff just happens." Mickey Mahler admitted he pitched Jackson tight but it wasn't intentional. After the game, a bandaged Jackson explained that he bunted because he has been working on his bunting skills, something that is sure to warm Billy Martin's heart.
COMMENTS: In the 1950s, the American League was referred to as the "brother-in law league" because players didn't go for the jugular when running the bases. When a batter hit an infield ground ball with a runner on first and less than two outs, most runners would not slid hard into second in an attempt to break up the double play. In the National League, that was not the case. The term "brother-in law" was used in a derogatory sense, because Sunday softball players didn't want to hurt their brothers-in law. In 1978, neither league was a "brother-in law league." The competition was real and some team loyalty still existed. Players slid hard into second base and pitchers threw inside without the fear of batters running to the mound to attack them with their bats. It was widely known that Reggie Jackson rarely bunted because few bunts go over the fence, but Reggie's bunt in an exhibition game provides insight into the intensity and caring that existed when Reggie, the Mahler's, and Billy Martin played the game.
In a June, 1977 game against the Red Sox in which Martin thought that Jackson had second guessed his ordering Bucky Dent to bunt, an ugly feud that existed between the two worsened. Second guessing one's manager is not looked upon with great favor by most managers, even if the second guesser is Reggie Jackson. The Yankees were trailing the Red Sox by three runs in the sixth inning. Although it was "only June," managers and players in 1977, unlike today, knew that a loss in June (or April) could be as bad as a loss in September. Martin was not too happy and neither was Jackson.
Jim Rice led off the Red Sox half of the inning with a fly ball to short right field. Jackson didn't charge the short fly but instead moved in slowly, allowing the ball to fall in for a hit. Jackson then jogged towards the ball, picked it up and tossed it towards the pitcher's mound as Rice hustled into second with a double. That was it for Martin. The fiery manager sent Paul Blair out to right field to replace Jackson in the middle of the inning of a nationally televised game. Reggie was infuriated. When he returned to the dugout, an incredulous Jackson screamed at Martin, wanting to know what he had done. "You didn't hustle," shouted back the Yankees' manager. Jackson was beyond outrage. "You have to be crazy to embarrass me in front of 50 million people," Jackson yelled. "You're not a man. Don't you ever show me up again, you [bleep]." Martin charged at Jackson but Yogi Berra and Elston Howard pinned Martin's hands behind him, preventing the altercation from becoming any more physical. Not exactly a Joe Torre approach, but that was the intensity that existed in 1977, a few short years before the era of political correctness, so that the incidents in the Yankees-Braves EXHIBITION game were not unusual or even unexpected, but the Martin-Jackson "relationship" continued to simmer.
Billy Martin embarrassed Reggie Jackson on national television. Unlike today, managers and players were not forced to go to a podium and give interviews to the media. Baseball writers competed with each other in their attempts to get a story after the game. It was not unusual, after a tough loss, or in some instances, after any loss, for a manager or players to refuse to speak. There were no clauses in contracts that required players or managers to give interviews to the media. Those who lost could sit at their lockers or in the players' room to try to settle down or to bemoan their loss privately. Many older fans marvel at the interviews Joe Torre gave after the 2004 Yankees lost the second playoff round to the Red Sox. Those fans weren't sure if Torre were the classiest individual that had ever managed a baseball team or if he didn't care enough to refuse to grant interviews after such a dreadful defeat.
References:
Chass, Murray. "Fire, Blackout Fail to Stop Yanks From Beating Braves; Jackson's Reaction." The New York Times. 21 March 1978, p.45.
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/features/flashbacks/06_18_1977.stm
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/J/Jackson_Reggie.stm
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Martin_Billy.stm
