Jackson Belted Out Hits Over Much of Europe

During the past month, T.J. Jackson has visited Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, England and, occasionally, a baseball field in Southern California.

Jackson, a senior who pitches and plays shortstop for Buckley High, is also a member of the highly successful pop music group 3T.

The group, which includes T.J. and his older brothers, Taj and Taryll, had been promoting its first album, “Brotherhood,” and the top-40 single “Anything” during a monthlong European tour that concluded a week ago.

Jackson managed to arrange his schedule so he could fly back to Los Angeles between concerts and television appearances to play in Buckley games.

“I did it twice and we won both,” Jackson said. “So it was definitely worth it.”

On April 14, Jackson flew in from London. The next day, he had a hit in a victory over Yeshiva. Two days later, he pitched and struck out six in a complete-game, 4-3 victory against Providence--the team Buckley is battling for the Liberty League championship.

Jackson boarded a flight to Germany the next day, landed in Munich at 11 a.m. on April 18 and drove two hours to Baden-Baden, where his group played a 7 p.m. television concert.

“My life is pretty crazy right now,” Jackson said. “It’s a lot of planes and hotels and once in a while a baseball field. A lot of people wonder how I do it, but I don’t even know.”

After Germany, Jackson finished the rest of his group’s tour, culminating with a May 1 television performance in London. He arrived back in Los Angeles the night of May 2, and the next morning he hit two three-run home runs and pitched his team to an 11-3 victory over Oakwood.

“It’s wild,” said Jackson, the son of former Jackson 5 member Tito Jackson. “But both are equally as important to me. I’ve been singing and playing baseball for my entire life and I love them both.”

The hectic schedule hasn’t slowed Jackson. He is batting .407 and as a pitcher is 4-1 with a 1.50 earned-run average.