Reggie Jackson won the MVP this year, and led the Oakland Athletics to their second consecutive World Series championship. Jackson was a unanimous selection, which surprises me a little since his numbers weren't overwhelming, and Rod Carew had a big year as well.

        Reginald Martinez Jackson joined the New York Yankees in 1977, when he was 31 years old. Much has been written and said about his five years with the Yankees, and they are the defining years of his career. It was in New York that Reggie proclaimed himself as "the straw that stirs the drink", that he battled with owner George Steinbrenner and manager Billy Martin, that he slammed five homers in a World Series, and was nicknamed "Mr. October". A Graig Nettles quote sums up Jackson's turbulent stay in the Big Apple: "The best thing about being a Yankee is getting to watch Reggie Jackson play every day. The worst thing about being a Yankee? Getting to watch Reggie Jackson play every day."
        It is sometimes hard to remember how great a player he had been for many years with Oakland, or that he even spent one season with the Baltimore Orioles. Reggie spent his prime in an era in which no one in the American League was hitting home runs; he also spent them in a park that was great for pitchers and bad for hitters. But he was the American League's greatest power hitter for a decade; he also knew how to get on base, run the basepaths, and score runs. Reggie's career batting average was only .262, but he was a greater player then many .300 hitters. Reggie belted 563 homers in his career, one of the highest totals ever. He also chipped in with 463 doubles, 228 stolen bases, and a record 2597 career strikeouts,
        Jackson was the best hitter in the American League this year; I think he was the best outfielder in the league. Pitcher Jim Palmer was runner-up in the vote, followed by Amos Otis. The selection of Otis was also a good choice; he was almost as good as the other top hitters in the league, and played very good defense as well.
        More from Nettles, on the subject of Reggie: "No wonder he's all screwed up; he has a white man's first name, a Spanish man's middle name, and a black man's last name."
The top vote-getters after Jackson and Otis were Carew and Sal Bando. Bando was Jackson's teammate during Oakland's glory years, and did many of the same things as a hitter. His batting averages were not impressive, but he hit for power and drew walks, and was a very valuable hitter. Bando played 16 years in the majors, and crunched 242 homers in his career.
         I would move Carew ahead of Otis, and he might have been better than Jackson as well. I'll stick with Reggie as MVP, though; he was the best hitter in the league, and his team won it all.