Publications often run "Where are they now?" stories, particularly about athletes, in an effort to give readers a harmless dose of nostalgia.
If that was the intent of a recent Sports Illustrated piece on Reggie Jackson, which was published as part of the magazine's "Where are they now?" issue, then it ended up missing the mark.
Instead, it did something else quite remarkable: It United Twins fans and Yankees folks in mutual disdain for Mr. October.
Twins fans howled last week when Jackson was quoted as saying, "I didn't see Kirby Puckett as a Hall of Famer," and adding that Bert Blyleven doesn't belong either because he "wasn't even the dominant pitcher of his era." (Jackson, by the way, was a .214 career hitter in 140 at-bats vs. Blyleven, which is pretty dominant).
With the Yankees, things are even more serious. Regarding Alex Rodriguez, Jackson said, "As much as I like him, what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records." Others have said virtually the same thing about A-Rod -- but Jackson happens to be a special adviser to the Yankees. And as ESPN.com reports, he has been told to stay away from team activities: "There is enough anger at the Hall of Famer from within the organization that the team has decided that he should keep his distance until otherwise determined," the report says.
Of course, Jackson also included Gary Carter, Don Sutton, Phil Niekro and Jim Rice among those who he wasn't sure belonged in the Hall of Fame. And some quick Internet research shows he ruffled a lot of feathers with his slighting of those four players, as well.
Where are they now? Seems like Jackson might be doing a lot of apologizing at the moment.
MICHAEL RAND
