The Yankees Twenty-Five Most Memorable Home Runs

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#22 “Mr. October” Is Born In New York

Reggie Jackson was born to play baseball in New York City, and George Steinbrenner knew it. Growing ever more irritated by a building drought in World Series titles, Steinbrenner took it upon himself to sign Jackson as a free agent.

He may or may not have known what he was getting, but Reggie quickly took center stage on the team, at one point proclaiming himself to be, “The straw that stirs the drink.”

I represent both the underdog and the overdog in our society. (Reggie Jackson)

Much like Broadway Joe Namath before him, though, Jackson delivered. And never so much as on the night of October 18, 1977,  when he blasted (and I mean blasted) three home runs on three successive pitches from a stunned Dodger’s staff.

Yankees manager, Billy Martin, who himself had just been welcomed back to the fold for another season in 1978 by Steinbrenner, reacted by telling the New York Daily News

"This victory, said Billy Martin, “made everything worthwhile,” all the problems, all the turmoil, all the doubts about his future.
“The players,” Martin said, “deserve all the credit.” And Reggie?
“I’m really happy for him,” Martin said. “He was sensational.”"

No doubt, Reggie put the mustard on the hot dogs. And his infamous standoff in the dugout with Martin is the stuff made of legend. But at the same time, he was the best $3 million George Steinbrenner ever spent.

And for one night, he stirred the drink that spilled right over into the laps of the Dodgers.