Yankees icon on leaving: ‘Nobody had any interest in what I had to say’
Reggie Jackson, a Hall of Famer, stated he only cheer against the New York Yankees when they play the Houston Astros. For good reason: Jackson has served as a special advisor to Astros owner Jim Crane since May 2021.
Jackson will always cherish his memories of the Yankees. Jackson had some of his best moments as a player and earned the nickname “Mr. October” there. It is also where he left in February 2021 as an advisor, a position he had held since 1993, since he believed he was not regarded or listened to by individuals like Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
He discussed his resignation with The New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on “The Show” podcast, which was published on Tuesday.
RESTORING GLORY
“Nobody had any interest in what I had to say about free agents or about players or about the organization,” he claimed. According to Jackson, the decision had been in the works for a “couple of years” as his position declined. Ideally, he wanted to be a voice in choices about the team’s big league talent pipeline. Five years from now, who will replace Gleyber Torres at second base?
“In my interactions and conversations with Brian, we couldn’t get on the same level, couldn’t get on the same wavelength,” Jackson said. “I never really had input with what the roster would look like or what our minor league system would look like — players that we’d look forward to fill gaps, if you will. It’s not like I needed to have final decisions on anything but certainly I wanted to have input.”
In five seasons with the Yankees, Jackson won two of his five World Series and was named MVP for the second time in 1997, hitting home runs in four straight at-bats. During the regular season, he batted.281, with 144 home runs, and 461 RBI for the Yankees. Now, Jackson says he assists Crane more on the big league side with the Astros, an owner he admires for his ability to balance a drive to win with the way he handles people and values diversity.
Still, even after his departure from the Yankees, Jackson said he has a “family relationship with the Steinbrenners” and he could “go back there tomorrow” if he really wanted.
