Free agent Reggie Jackson shows up in 1977 on the New York Yankees, a team with no shortage of superstars or flamboyant hotshots. Is he humbled? Deferential? Silent but determined? Hardly -- our Reggie shows up and tells the newspapers that âthose other guys are fine but I'm the straw that stirs the drink.â If you're going to be that cocky, you had better have the goods to back it up. He did and the Yankees won their first World Series championship since the early '60s.
Everybody talks about the new kid in town. They talk behind his back when heâs not around. Iâd like to slip in but thatâs not my style. Let me see how youâre feeling about me in a little while. The cities got their blackouts and their Son of Sam. There are superstars and then thereâs what I am. One of a kind -- they made the tabloids just for me. Look out now âcause thereâs something that I want you to see.
Iâm the straw that stirs the drink. Iâm the straw, you donât even have to think about it. Because theyâre waiting outside the clubhouse door. Mr. Octoberâs got it coming and a little more.
The captainâs a hero but he canât do what I can. The skipperâs drunk and beating on the marshmallow man. My swingâs so sweet they could name candy after me. Stick around until October and then weâll see. Iâm a card carrying member of Mensa. Iâve got MVP trophies on my credenza. Go ask the Daily News, theyâll tell you what I can do. Mr. Octoberâs got a little something for you.