Reggie Jackson in an interview photo from Reggie’s facebook page
Reginaldo Martínez Jackson speaks on anti-Semitism
‘That’s Amaury News and Commentary
Amaury Pi-González
The Hall of Famer who began his 21-year Hall of Fame career with the KC A’s and later with the Oakland A’s recently spoke from his home in Pennsylvania to “Outkick,” a social media site where Sports and Culture Collide. Reggie urged public officials to condemn anti-Semitism and likened it to “Racism I experienced in the 1960s”
I was surprised to hear Reggie speaking about this. When he played with the Oakland A’s in the mid and late 70s, I would wait around the batting cage and ask him if I could have a few minutes with him. He would tell me, ” Sure, wait, and I’ll let you know. So I would wait until he was finished with batting practice, and then he would signal for me to come over. Reggie could be a tough interview (he stiffed me a few times), but with me he was all good, maybe because in the 70s there were no Baseball Spanish broadcasters/reporters like today. After I told him the interview was in Spanish, he would say, “Ok but please speak slowly”. Reggie’s father was African-American; his name was Martinez Clarence-Jackson. He played in the Negro Leagues, and he did not speak Spanish. Reggie learned Spanish from his maternal grandmother, who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Every time I spoke with Reggie and put a microphone in front of him, he answered in Spanish, but very, very slowly, pausing between words, understandably. I know reporters who said he never gave them an interview; he was shy at times, but when I got him speaking in Spanish, he spoke with more confidence every time, almost like the Spanish of Dodgers manager Tommy LaSorda, and Tommy was fun; I could not get him to stop. Going back to Reggie, I understood why he didn’t want to give interviews; he was one of the greatest players of his generation and, yes, controversial, and the media demand for him was huge, especially when he became a Yankee and played in New York; what else is new?
I would say this about Reginaldo. I commend him for speaking about Anti-Semitism. Muy bueno, Reggie!
Note: Although he spent a significant portion of his career with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and won multiple World Series titles, Jackson specifically requested and chose to enter the Hall of Fame as a Yankee.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
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