Jackson’s Visit Is a Bit of Heaven for Him, Team

Second baseman Trent Durrington was too intimidated to ask Reggie Jackson to autograph a baseball, so he had Mo Vaughn make the request of the Hall of Famer, who visited the Angel clubhouse Monday morning.

“Good,” Jackson said, when told of Durrington’s apprehension. “That means I still have some Reggie left in me.”

Yes, there is plenty of Reggie left in Mr. October, who was in his element Monday, talking baseball with Vaughn, holding court with Jim Edmonds and Garret Anderson, spinning tales and sharing a few laughs, some at the expense of his old and sometimes current boss, blustery New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.

“It’s a real easy flow chart,” Jackson said, chuckling as he explained his part-time duties as the Yankee special advisor to baseball operations. “You have the boss up here, and everyone else down here. You can be a vice president or a grounds crew guy, we’re all the same, we all have equal say. . . . I have the big title with no power.”

Jackson, who will be honored at Edison Field on opening night, April 3, as a member of the Angels’ all-time team, is involved in business ventures--selling computers, insurance and airplanes. One reason for his visit was to see if Vaughn might be interested in a private jet. Vaughn wasn’t.

But Jackson is still most comfortable in the clubhouse or on the field.

“Baseball is in my blood, and I’m smart enough to know I have to be around the game,” he said.

Jackson was involved in two prospective ownership groups that were unsuccessful in attempts to buy the Angels and Oakland Athletics. “Talking to these players today was special.”

For the players too.

“I wish I could see all the players from the past,” said Vaughn, who grew up in Norwalk, Conn., idolizing Jackson when he led the Yankees to World Series championships in 1977 and ’78. “Bobby Grich, Doug DeCinces . . . all these guys should come back. We need them here in big league camp.”

The Yankees have a tradition of bringing former players to spring training--Rich Gossage, Graig Nettles, Don Mattingly and Jackson, among others, have served as instructors--and Vaughn would like to see the Angels incorporate their alumni into the program.

“When guys like that say something, you shut up and listen because they’re not going to tell you something they didn’t do,” Vaughn said.

Jackson and Vaughn met early in Vaughn’s career and the meeting left an indelible impression on Vaughn.

“He sat me down and told me the rules, and we’ve been close ever since,” Vaughn said. “People always talk about ability, but you’re supposed to play the game a certain way. You definitely need talent, but it’s more about your makeup.”

Jackson spoke with the oft-injured Edmonds about the importance of playing 150 games and making 600 plate appearances a season, telling him that if he plays regularly, “the numbers will come.”

Mindful of recent rumors that Edmonds might be traded to the Yankees and Edmonds’ pending free agency, Jackson told the Angel center fielder he would love playing in New York.

“The Yankees are world champions, and that ain’t a bad place to play,” Jackson said. “And as long as George owns them, they’re going to be competitive.”

No matter what Jackson says about him.