Ninety Feet, No Bat

Reggie Jackson built a name on the biggest swing available. The play that defined his first championship season did not involve a bat at all.

Tiger Stadium, October 12, 1972. Winner takes the pennant. Detroit led 1-0 in the second when Jackson drew a walk off Woodie Fryman, stole second, then tagged up and slid headfirst into third on a Sal Bando fly ball that Al Kaline gloved in right. Dick Williams called for a delayed double steal. Reggie broke for home.

Bill Freehan was waiting, and Freehan had made a career out of owning that piece of dirt. Jackson went in spikes first, his left leg buckled against Freehan's shin guard, and Nestor Chylak spread his arms wide. Billy Martin came out to argue and the replays said Chylak had it right. Jackson was flat on his back holding the back of his leg. Tied game, torn hamstring, season over.

Here is the part that stings. George Hendrick, the man who took his roster spot in center, scored the go-ahead run two innings later on a Gene Tenace single. Tenace went on to hit four home runs in the World Series and take MVP honors while the A's beat the Reds in seven. Oakland got its first title in October of 1972 and the loudest man in that clubhouse watched it on a bad leg.

The nickname came five years later, after three swings in one night at Yankee Stadium. But the version of him that showed up in Detroit is the one worth remembering. No bat in his hands, nothing to sell, 90 feet of open ground and a catcher built like a door. He went anyway.