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Becoming Mr. October

The Revealing Story of Reggie Jackson and the World Champion New York Yankees

The Revealing Story of Reggie Jackson and the World Champion New York Yankees

By Reggie Jackson

By Reggie Jackson

By Reggie Jackson and Kevin Baker

By Reggie Jackson and Kevin Baker

By Reggie Jackson and Kevin Baker
Read by Reggie Jackson

By Reggie Jackson and Kevin Baker
Read by Reggie Jackson

Best Seller
Paperback $16.95

Sep 23, 2014 | ISBN 9780307476807

Ebook $13.99

Oct 08, 2013 | ISBN 9780385533126

Audiobook Download $20.00

Oct 08, 2013 | 614 Minutes

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    Becoming Mr. October by Reggie Jackson
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    About Becoming Mr. October

    A soul-baring, brutally candid, and highly colorful memoir of the two years–1977 and 1978–when Reggie Jackson went from being an outcast to a Yankee legend.

    In the spring of 1977 Reggie Jackson should have been on top of the world. The best player on the Oakland A’s dynasty teams, he was the first big-money free agent wooed by George Steinbrenner into coming to the New York Yankees. But, as Reggie writes in this vivid and surprising memoir, until his initial experience with the Yankees, “I didn’t know what alone meant.” Persevering against an alcoholic manager, ostracism from teammates, and negative stereotypes in the New York City press, Jackson fought against the odds to become “Mr. October.” Filled with revealing anecdotes about the notorious “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late 1970s, bluntly honest portrayals of his teammates and competitors, and especially of manager Billy Martin, Becoming Mr. October is a revelatory self-portrait of a baseball icon at the height of his public fame and private anguish.

    About Becoming Mr. October

    A soul-baring, brutally candid, and richly eventful memoir of the two years—1977 and 1978—when Reggie Jackson went from outcast to Yankee legend

    In the spring of 1977 Reggie Jackson should have been on top of the world. The best player of the Oakland A’s dynasty, which won three straight World Series, he was the first big-money free agent, wooed and flattered by George Steinbrenner into coming to the New York Yankees, which hadn’t won a World Series since 1962. But Reggie was about to learn, as he writes in this vivid and surprising memoir, that until his initial experience on the Yankees “I didn’t know what alone meant.”
         His manager, the mercurial, alcoholic, and pugilistic Billy Martin, never wanted him on the team and let Reggie—and the rest of the team—know it. Most of his new teammates, resentful of his contract, were aloof at best and hostile at worst. Brash and outspoken, but unused to the ferocity of New York’s tabloid culture, Reggie hadn’t realized how rumor and offhand remarks can turn into screaming negative headlines—especially for a black athlete with a multimillion-dollar contract. Sickened by Martin’s anti-Semitism, his rages, and his quite public disparagement of his new star, ostracized by his teammates, and despairing of how he was stereotyped in the press, Reggie had long talks with his father about quitting. Things hit bottom when Martin plotted to humiliate him during a nationally televised game against the Red Sox. It seemed as if a glorious career had been derailed.
         But then: Reggie vowed to persevere; his pride, work ethic, and talent would overcome Martin’s nearly sociopathic hatred. Gradually, he would win over the fans, then his teammates, as the Yankees surged to the pennant. And one magical autumn evening, he became “Mr. October” in a World Series performance for the ages. He thought his travails were over—until the next season when the insanity began again.
         Becoming Mr. October is a revelatory self-portrait of a baseball icon at the height of his public fame and private anguish. Filled with revealing anecdotes about the notorious “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late 1970s and bluntly honest portrayals of his teammates and competitors, this is eye-opening baseball history as can be told only by the man who lived it.

    About Becoming Mr. October

    A soul-baring, brutally candid, and richly eventful memoir of the two years—1977 and 1978—when Reggie Jackson went from outcast to Yankee legend

    In the spring of 1977 Reggie Jackson should have been on top of the world. The best player of the Oakland A’s dynasty, which won three straight World Series, he was the first big-money free agent, wooed and flattered by George Steinbrenner into coming to the New York Yankees, which hadn’t won a World Series since 1962. But Reggie was about to learn, as he writes in this vivid and surprising memoir, that until his initial experience on the Yankees “I didn’t know what alone meant.”
         His manager, the mercurial, alcoholic, and pugilistic Billy Martin, never wanted him on the team and let Reggie—and the rest of the team—know it. Most of his new teammates, resentful of his contract, were aloof at best and hostile at worst. Brash and outspoken, but unused to the ferocity of New York’s tabloid culture, Reggie hadn’t realized how rumor and offhand remarks can turn into screaming negative headlines—especially for a black athlete with a multimillion-dollar contract. Sickened by Martin’s anti-Semitism, his rages, and his quite public disparagement of his new star, ostracized by his teammates, and despairing of how he was stereotyped in the press, Reggie had long talks with his father about quitting. Things hit bottom when Martin plotted to humiliate him during a nationally televised game against the Red Sox. It seemed as if a glorious career had been derailed.
         But then: Reggie vowed to persevere; his pride, work ethic, and talent would overcome Martin’s nearly sociopathic hatred. Gradually, he would win over the fans, then his teammates, as the Yankees surged to the pennant. And one magical autumn evening, he became “Mr. October” in a World Series performance for the ages. He thought his travails were over—until the next season when the insanity began again.
         Becoming Mr. October is a revelatory self-portrait of a baseball icon at the height of his public fame and private anguish. Filled with revealing anecdotes about the notorious “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late 1970s and bluntly honest portrayals of his teammates and competitors, this is eye-opening baseball history as can be told only by the man who lived it.

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    About Reggie Jackson

    Reggie Jackson hit 563 home runs and drove in 1,702 runs over the course of his twenty-one-year career; he played three World Series-winning seasons with the Oakland Athletics, and two with the New York Yankees. He is a special adviser… More about Reggie Jackson

    About Reggie Jackson

    Reggie Jackson hit 563 home runs and drove in 1,702 runs over the course of his twenty-one-year career; he played… More about Reggie Jackson

    About Kevin Baker

    KEVIN BAKER is a novelist, historian, and journalist. He has been a professional writer since the age of 13, working… More about Kevin Baker

    About Reggie Jackson

    Reggie Jackson hit 563 home runs and drove in 1,702 runs over the course of his twenty-one-year career; he played… More about Reggie Jackson

    About Kevin Baker

    KEVIN BAKER is a novelist, historian, and journalist. He has been a professional writer since the age of 13, working… More about Kevin Baker

    Product Details

    Category: Biography & Memoir | Sports

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Anchor
    Sep 23, 2014 | 320 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780307476807

    Category: Biography & Memoir | Sports

    Ebook | $13.99
    Published by Anchor
    Oct 08, 2013 | 304 Pages | ISBN 9780385533126

    Category: Biography & Memoir | Sports | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Oct 08, 2013 | 614 Minutes | ISBN 9780804148344
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