When Mr. October talks, people listen.
Reggie Jackson, the former New York Yankees right fielder, is an executive assistant for the Houston Astros. He was in the Bronx over the weekend for the first-place showdown at Yankee Stadium.
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The Hall of Famer joined Houston in 2021 after an extended run as a special assistant with the Yankees. And Jackson, who won a pair of World Series titles with New York, is all-in on the Astros. Consider the following encounter, as told by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman:
Reggie Jackson shared an elevator the other day with Yankees fans, one of whom was telling his buddies how much he despised Jose Altuve.
“I hate that little sawed off SOB,” the gentleman proudly told his chums.
And that’s where Mr. October, now an Astros executive, entered the convo.
“He’s my favorite player,” Jackson told the fellow, before adding one comment. “You should be quiet.”
The fellow had one question for Reggie.
“You’re Reggie Jackson, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am.”
And so, the guy took Reggie’s advice and shut up.
That Jackson gushed about Altuve comes as no surprise, since he raved about the 2017 American League MVP in October to the New York Post:
“I’ve had two situations where I was able to get paid and watch my favorite player,” Jackson told The Post. “Derek (Jeter). And now the same thing, the guy that I like to watch in a game mostly now in a game is (Jose) Altuve. And I get paid.”
Altuve led off Sunday’s game with solo home run to left. It was his 15th home run of the season and his seventh leadoff homer this year. It was his 28th career leadoff home run, third-most in Astros history behind Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (53) and former teammate George Springer (39). Springer, who now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays, also has seven lead-off homers this season.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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