On Wednesday, ESPN highlighted the catch and run-up-the-wall play Bo Jackson made 28 years ago. With that in mind, we take a look at five ridiculous things Bo did as a baseball player.
For Bo, that was simply in his routine array of athletic “feats.” He probably thought nothing of it and certainly never considered that 28 years after the fact that ESPN would share the video clip marking an anniversary of something that happened after the actual play.
It’s sort of like striking out and breaking a bat over your knee after striking out or breaking a bat over your helmet after a groundout to the pitcher. They aren’t great plays, but as only Bo had a way of doing, they still brought out as many “oohs” and “ahhs” from those watching.
So in the spirit of honoring Bo for something the Auburn Heisman Trophy winner did on the baseball field, we’re taking a look at five of the most incredible things he did in the major leagues.
Sit back, enjoy the show.
1. Three home runs vs. Yankees
Bo gave Yankee Stadium a treat on July 17, 1990
First, he belted one over the center field fence as Deion Sanders gave chase.
“There isn’t any place that Bo would rather hit one than over Deion Sanders’ head,” comments one of the analysts after home run No. 1.
Then No. 2 was a blast to the right-field seats and the analyst makes note of the opposite-field HR: “I’ve never seen a right-handed hitter go that deep into the seats.”
On the third one — it came in the fifth inning — he caught a down-and-away pitch from Andy Hawkins (of course he tried to go down and away) and Bo just reached out and muscled it into the right field seats.
The comments after that one:
“What can you say. … We may be watching history tonight. … When this guy gets it going, it’s something to watch.”
But there was a downside to the performance. Bo injured his shoulder, didn’t bat again and, in fact, didn’t play again until Aug. 26. In his return game, he went 3 for 4 with a home run.
Of course.
2. ‘He can’t do it. Yes he can!’
By now, you’ve seen this one. Harold Reynolds is running from first on the pitch and the ball is laced into the left field corner. Reynolds thinks he’s going to score. With ease (he later admitted being stunned he was being signaled to slide). We’ll let the TV commentators take over from here:
“It’s going to be up to Bo Jackson to stop Reynolds from scoring. He can’t do it. Yes he can! I don’t believe it! He made an absolutely perfect throw. It looked like there was no way he was going to get him. …”
“He didn’t even try to hit a cutoff man. He must have thrown this ball over his cutoff man’s head by 20 feet. He just turned and launched.”
Because everyone in the stadium — including the umpires — didn’t expect there to be a play at the plate, Seattle argued the call. The announcers pointed out the fact that all the umpires were out of position, then concluded:
“I think they had him though, don’t you?”
“I think they had him, too.”
Auburn fans call that Bo being Bo.
3. Bo in the Big Show
Bo never shied from the big stage. In fact, he thrived on it.
It was pretty big when he was the leadoff hitter for the American League in the 1989 All-Star Game. To add to the fun, the great Vin Scully was calling the game and had President Ronald Reagan in the booth with him early in the game.
“That Bo down there, that’s a pretty interesting hobby he has for his vacation when baseball ends and he winds up playing football. …”
They’re interrupted by Jackson taking Rick Reusche’s second pitch deep into the center field seats.
“He’s remarkable and look at that one and Bo Jackson says hello,” exclaimed Scully.
But my favorite moment of the highlight is Scully telling President Reagan to “watch this again, sir” as the replay is being shown.
At 26 years old, the 1989 season was Bo’s best. He hit .256 with 32 home runs, 105 RBIs and 26 stolen bases in 135 games.
4. Bo over the top
On July 10, 1988, Bo was 0 for 4 at the plate with a pair of strikeouts.
But you wouldn’t know it from the way he reacted he brought back a would-be home run off the bat of New York Yankees designated hitter Jack Clark.
Clark, who hit 340 career home runs, surely thought he had another one on this day.
“Bo Jackson back … leaps … and he makes the catch. Bo Jackson timing that high drive by Jack Clark perfectly, robs him of a home run.”
All Auburn fans know Bo can leap.
His reaction to making the final out of the inning was fantastic. Pure joy. Fist pump, sprinting back to the dugout. The announcer said his reaction was “like scoring the fourth touchdown of the game.”
Neither accomplishment would be a surprise.
5. Inside the park (and more)
On May 31, 1990, Bo lined a pitch from Oakland starter Bob Welch into the right-field corner. Jose Canseco (not surprisingly) misplayed the ball and Bo was off to the races.
That he would score never was in doubt. You know Bo is fast.
But the coolest part about the whole play is what Bo did after sliding through home plate and lying on his back just for a moment. He did that thing that no normal person could ever do, when he leaps onto his feet from a flat-on-the-ground position. Go ahead, we’ll give you a minute to see for yourself how difficult that is.
The biggest surprise of the play is that Bo didn’t run past the other Royals baserunner who scored on the play.
And Bo didn’t do things like that for show, he just did them.
The 1990 season turned out to be his last big one as a major leaguer. He hit 28 home runs and drove in 78 runs. He also batted a respectable .272 with 15 stolen bases. He added eight outfield assists, for good measure.