Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson rose to prominence with the Oakland Athletics, who will finally retire his No. 9 on Saturday -- 11 years after the New York Yankees gave him the honor by retiring his No. 44.
"It's probably overdue, but the A's didn't have anything to do with that," Jackson said this week. "That's me. There were some bad feelings with one of the executives. We didn't see eye to eye. I let it go.
"Here we are getting things on the right track. The A's have always treated me as good as you can treat a guy," he said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The 58-year-old Jackson played his first nine seasons with the A's and also finished his career in Oakland in 1987.
His Hall of Fame plaque, however, features an "NY" on his cap and he now works for the Yankees as a special adviser.
Jackson admitted he's anxious for this weekend's fanfare to be finished, though he is looking forward to thanking the fans.
PHOTO: AP
"I don't get out there in public too much," he said. "I'm very weird about it almost. When you're a player and get on the field, you're in your own fraternity, on safe ground. When you get on the field you're almost protected, in your element.
"I'm almost looking forward to it being over so I don't do anything wrong, don't do anything the wrong way. So I can run from it and hide. When I had my number retired in New York, you're embarrassed a little bit, whether you should be or shouldn't be."
Jackson made 14 All-Star games in his career, including six with the A's. He earned AL MVP and World Series MVP honors in 1973, hitting .293 with 32 homers and 117 RBIs that season.
PHOTO: REUTERS
He won three World Series titles with the A's and two with the Yankees, hitting 269 home runs with the A's and 144 with the Yankees. Jackson, who also spent one season with Baltimore and five with the California Angels, finished his career with 563 homers -- eighth on the all-time list.
Jackson becomes the third A's player to have his number retired, joining Rollie Fingers and Catfish Hunter. Several of Jackson's former teammates will be on hand for the ceremony before the A's play the Kansas City Royals.
Jackson fondly recalls his playing days with the A's, who won three straight World Series from 1972-1974 before owner Charlie Finley and the start of free agency broke up the team.
"It was a family group that started young and stuck together and played together," Jackson said. "Yes, I do think about the great teams. If we could have stuck together and there wasn't free agency, we could have won seven out of 10 years."
Many of his memorable moments came when he played in New York, including the personality conflicts with owner George Steinbrenner, a near-fight in the dugout with manager Billy Martin and his three-homer performance in the clinching Game 6 of the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he forever became "Mr. October."
Jackson likes working with the Yankees -- one of many endeavors he balances these days.
"I enjoy it very much. You stay close to the game," he said. "I have a need to be around the game because it was such a part of my life."
American League
Manny Ramirez's solo homer broke an eighth-inning tie and Pokey Reese drove in three runs Friday night to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 11-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
"I was thinking, `I want to hit one out because my [family] is here,'" he said.
Simon Pond hit his first major league homer for Toronto, a solo shot that tied it at 5 in the seventh. But Boston sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth, scoring six runs.
Mike Timlin (3-1) threw two perfect innings in relief of Bronson Arroyo.
Micheal Nakamura (0-3) inherited a 5-5 tie when he came in to start the eighth inning and Ramirez greeted him with his 10th homer of the season.
"You're trying to match guys up as best as you can," Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca said. "Manny can do that to anybody. I don't care who it is. The one thing you hope when he comes up there is that you keep him in the ballpark."
Jason Varitek reached base four times and scored twice, and Kevin Millar drove in a pair of runs for Boston.
Vernon Wells and Josh Phelps also homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost eight of their last 10 road games.
Devil Rays 5, Indians 3
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Jose Cruz Jr. went 4-for-4 with a home run and three doubles as Tampa Bay beat Cleveland to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
Relievers Trever Miller (1-1), Lance Carter and Danys Baez combined for six scoreless innings for the Devil Rays, who needed 40 games to record back-to-back victories. They're the 11th team to go this deep into the season without two straight wins.
The 1907 Washington Senators and 1926 St. Louis Browns also needed 40 games. The all-time mark is 60 games, set by 1895 Louisville Colonels.
C.C. Sabathia (2-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings in his first loss to the Devil Rays after winning his first five starts against them.
Cruz, who drove in two runs and scored three times, doubled in his first three at-bats before hitting a solo homer in the eighth to make it 5-3.
White Sox 8, Twins 2
In Minneapolis, Mark Buehrle pitched seven solid innings, and Timo Perez and Jose Valentin each hit two-run homers as Chicago trounced Minnesota.
Buehrle (4-1) gave up two runs on seven hits and tied his season high with eight strikeouts. He improved to 12-4 against the Twins, the most victories he has against any opponent.
The left-hander had plenty of help from Chicago's lineup, which had 12 hits despite missing cleanup hitter Frank Thomas because of an upset stomach. Leadoff hitter Juan Uribe went 3-for-4, and Chicago's first four hitters combined to go 9-for-19.
Carlos Silva (5-2) lost his second consecutive start -- both to the White Sox -- after winning his first five decisions. He gave up six runs, four earned, and allowed 10 hits in four innings.
Rangers 9, Yankees 7
In Arlington, Texas, Alex Rodriguez homered for New York in his return to Texas, but the Rangers got two two-run home runs from Laynce Nix and the victory.
Mark Teixeira doubled twice and scored three runs and rookie Frankie Francisco struck out Rodriguez, helping Texas rally from a three-run deficit.
In his first game against Texas since being traded in February, Rodriguez got off to a dramatic start by hitting a two-run homer in his first at-bat. Rodriguez celebrated briefly while rounding third, cocking his right fist and softly pumping his arm.
The Yankees stretched their lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning, before the rangers rallied against Kevin Brown (5-1), who allowed five runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Rodriguez finished 2-for-5.
Joaquin Benoit (2-1) pitched five innings for the win. Francisco struck out four in two scoreless innings, then Francisco Cordero struck out the final two batters for his 14th save in as many chances. Cordero allowed two inherited runners score.
Athletics 7, Royals 0
In Oakland, California, Mark Mulder carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and pitched his third straight complete game, and Bobby Crosby homered twice to lead Oakland past Kansas City.
Mulder pitched a three-hitter for his eighth career shutout, his first since blanking the Chicago White Sox on May 6 last year.
Mike Sweeney lined a single to left leading off the seventh for Kansas City's first hit.
Mulder struck out six and walked none, improving to 8-0 in nine starts against Kansas City and winning his third straight start.
The A's beat the Royals for the eighth straight time, their longest streak against Kansas City.
Crosby and Marco Scutaro homered in back-to-back at-bats in the third.
Angels 5, Orioles 3
In Anaheim, California, Jose Guillen drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a single off Darwin Cubillan during a four-run eighth inning, and threw out a runner at the plate from left field as Anaheim beat Baltimore.
Scot Shields (4-0) allowed one hit over 1 1-3 innings, and Troy Percival got three outs for his 11th save. Anaheim is a major league-best 27-15.
Mike DeJean (0-4) relieved Eric DuBose after seven innings and gave up three straight hits on five pitches.
Tigers 5, Mariners 0
In Seattle, Nate Robertson (3-3) allowed six hits in seven innings, Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer and Eric Munson added a solo shot as Detroit blanked Seattle.
Al Levine allowed a hit in the eighth, and Ugueth Urbina pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the ninth to complete Detroit's second shutout this season.
Ichiro Suzuki's three singles gave him 2,001 hits in nine seasons in Japan's Pacific League and four in the major leagues.
Gil Meche (1-4) struck out a career-high 11 as Seattle was shut out for the fifth time.
National League
Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds hit consecutive home runs and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 on Friday.
St. Louis won its third straight and moved a season-high four games above .500.
Moises Alou hit a late homer for the third straight day, connecting for a three-run shot in the Cubs' seventh. But he struck out to the game.
"It's not a beach ball, I only got one hit today," Alou said. "I'm just trying to be aggressive and try to hit the ball hard. I got some good wood. They happen to happen in clutch situations."
Jason Isringhausen pitched a perfect ninth to seal the victory.
"We know how it is with the Cubs," said Isringhausen. "We always want to beat the Cubs, they always want to beat us. It's just fun to get a win."
Michael Barrett, moved up to the No. 2 spot in Chicago's lineup, homered in his first two at-bats and Todd Walker hit a solo shot.
Chris Carpenter (5-1) got the win. Rookie Sergio Mitre (2-3) took the loss.
Phillies 5, Padres 4
In Philadelphia, Chase Utley had three RBIs, including a go-ahead single in the eighth inning that capped a comeback from a three-run deficit in Philadelphia victory over San Diego.
Utley, who had three hits, homered for the second straight game, and David Bell also homered for the Phillies.
Ryan Madson (3-1) pitched a hitless eighth inning, and Tim Worrell finished for his fourth save in six chances.
Brian Giles homered for the second straight night and had three RBIs for San Diego.
Bobby Abreu's triple off Akinori Otsuka (3-2) tied the game 4-4 in the eighth and Utley eventually singled in another run to give Philadelphia the lead.
Padres starter Adam Eaton allowed two runs and four hits in six-plus innings.
Phillies starter Kevin Millwood tied a season-high with seven strikeouts but gave up four runs in six innings.
Reds 7, Astros 4
In Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr.'s slump-breaking double keyed a five-run rally in the seventh inning as Cincinnati beat Houston.
Griffey's double just inside first base snapped a 4-all tie and a personal 0-for-13 skid, sending the Reds to their sixth victory in seven games. Cincinnati has surged into a second-place tie with Chicago in the National League Central, a game behind the Astros.
Jeff Bagwell had a sacrifice fly and a sixth-inning solo homer that helped Houston pull ahead 4-2. The Astros' bullpen couldn't hold the lead or keep Andy Pettitte's winning streak intact.
The left-hander had won all four starts since returning from a sprained pitching elbow.
A tough first inning -- 36 pitches and a throwing error by third baseman Mike Lamb that led to two runs -- meant an early exit for Pettitte, who gave up only four hits in five innings.
Giants 6, Expos 5
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Barry Bonds drew a leadoff walk to spark a six-run seventh inning that carried San Francisco over Montreal.
Bonds played despite a sore back that had kept him out of the last two games. He said he wanted the fans in San Juan -- where the Expos play 22 of their home games -- to get a chance to see him in action.
Most of his best stuff came before the game, though, when he hammered balls over the fence in batting practice, then took time to sign autographs just a few minutes before the first pitch.
He went 1-for-3 with an infield single.
Livan Hernandez (3-3) allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings for the Expos, who lost their third straight.
Wayne Franklin (1-0) retired one batter for the win.
Braves 2, Dodgers 0
In Atlanta, Chipper Jones homered in the seventh inning to break up a scoreless duel between Russ Ortiz and Odalis Perez as Atlanta blanked Los Angeles.
The Dodgers have lost eight in a row -- their longest slide since June 1992, when the team dropped 10 straight.
Despite the losing streak, Los Angeles remained first in the NL West by percentage points over San Diego.
Perez (2-3) had given up only two hits and not allowed a runner past second when Jones lofted his fifth homer into the left-field seats.
Ortiz (4-4) was in more trouble than Perez most of the night. The Atlanta starter walked five and had to escape a pair of bases-loaded, one-out jams.
Ortiz went seven innings, giving up four hits and striking out seven.
John Smoltz worked around two hits in the ninth for his seventh save.
Mets 9, Rockies 7
In New York, Mike Piazza homered and Danny Garcia had two of the New York Mets' nine doubles against Colorado.
Matt Ginter (1-0) got his first win as a starter, and Jason Phillips added two doubles for the Mets.
The Mets knocked around rookie Jason Young (0-1) as if they were playing in the thin Colorado air, getting six runs in the first three innings on eight hits, including a home run and five doubles.
Ginter allowed five runs and seven hits with a career-high five strikeouts in five innings.
Mark Sweeney hit a two-run home run for the Rockies and Todd Greene and Jeromy Burnitz had two-run singles.
Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 5
In Miami, Mike Redmond drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Florida's winning run over Arizona.
Juan Pierre led off the 10th with a single, and stole second one out later. Reliever Brian Bruney (2-1) intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera and then walked Abraham Nunez to load the bases.
Armando Benitez (1-0) walked three in a scoreless 10th for the victory.
Richie Sexson's RBI single in eighth tied the game 5-5, but the Diamondbacks wasted a one-out, bases-loaded opportunity when shortstop Alex Gonzalez forced out Alex Cintron at the plate on Danny Bautista's grounder and Shea Hillenbrand lined out to third baseman Mike Lowell.
Arizona starter Casey Daigle allowed five runs, seven hits and four walks in 3 1-3 innings, while Florida's Darren Oliver gave up four runs and five hits in four innings.
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