Reggie Jackson Apologizes ...

Reggie Jackson apologizes for “inappropriate and unfair” comments about Alex Rodriguez, Hall of Famers

Aaron Gleeman

Jul 12, 2012, 4:33 PM EDT

26 Comments

Reggie Jackson made headlines recently for saying in a Sports Illustrated interview that Alex Rodriguez‘s numbers should be questioned because of performance-enhancing drugs and Kirby Puckett, Gary Carter, Jim Rice, Bert Blyleven, Don Sutton, and Phil Niekro shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.

That predictably caused a mini-uproar and he reportedly apologized personally to several of those offended parties, but today he issued an official statement–through the Yankees–apologizing in public to the whole group:

In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players. This was inappropriate and unfair to those players, some of which are very close friends of mine. I think there are ways to speak from the heart without hurting people, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t take greater care in expressing my views.

I have been proactively reaching out to make personal apologies to those within the Hall of Fame community that I offended, and to the Yankees organization for any disruption that I caused in the clubhouse. I continue to have a strong relationship with the club, and look forward to continuing in my role with the team. As always, I remain dedicated to the great game of baseball.

There’s been some hair-splitting about whether the Yankees telling Jackson to stay away from the team on their recent road trip qualified as a “ban” or just a request to let things cool off, but either way it’s pretty easy to connect the dots and assume that Jackson’s apology comes as a stipulation for his getting back into the team’s good graces.

It’s also worth noting that his apology doesn’t actually involve taking back anything he said about Rodriguez or the various Hall of Famers–two of whom are deceased–but rather focuses on the mistake being naming names and going public with his thoughts. Since the statement came through the Yankees presumably they’re satisfied with the wording and overall tone, and Jackson will resume his duties as “special advisor.”