There may not be a more famous two-sport athlete than former MLB and NFL star Bo Jackson. But some are saying his infamous ejection story is little more than a tall tale.
It's all based on Jackson's story of how he was once ejected from a baseball game, on purpose, so he could head to the hospital for the birth of his daughter. He retold it this week to Bally Sports.
"I need to do something to get out of the game," he told Bally Sports Kansas City during the broadcast of the Royals' game against the Anaheim Angels. "I took strike three right down the pipe, and he called me out. I turned around, gave him a few choice words and he said you're outta here. I said thank you! Went to the locker room and went straight to my Corvette."
When Bo Jackson's third child was born, he intentionally got thrown from the game to go spend time with his wife: "I took strike three right down the pipe, and he called me out. I turned around, gave him a few choice words and he said you're outta here. I said thank you!" #Royals pic.twitter.com/8mh2q6qA4d
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) March 21, 2024
It's a great story. But according to former Sports Illustrated writer and noted author Jeff Pearlman it can't be true.
Pearlman explained as much in a series of tweets. He even sent on the box score from the day of the game in which Jackson claimed to have been ejected. He said the game was against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Turns out, the Royals actually played the Boston Red Sox on that day, Pearlman revealed. And Jackson wasn't even in the lineup — after suffering a shoulder injury against the New York Yankees three days earlier.
You'll notice they didn't play Milwaukee, and that Bo wasn't in the lineup. And maybe you're thinking, "See! He got thrown out." Well, nope. Three days earlier, Jackson hurt his shoulder while trying to snare a Deion Sanders line drive at Yankee Stadium [3] pic.twitter.com/xBlr7rIjW0
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) March 21, 2024
Aside from all that, Jackson wasn't ejected in a single game that season, as Pearlman noted.
Now, not to be lost in all this is the fact that Jackson remains one of the greatest all-around athletes of all time. In fairness, maybe his memory is just a little foggy. And hey, as far as anyone knows, he actually was there for the birth of his daughter — and that's the important part.
But how he arrived at that moment, well, it seems as if he could be a little confused.
