After the end of the Red Sox season, Jack took the train West and was met by Zoe and the children in Reno. Soon afterward, the Sporting News selected Jack as player-of-the-year: "Nobody on any club in baseball meant more to his team than Jensen did to the Red Sox this year."

The title "Golden Boy" was brought to life again on November 21, 1958, when the media announced Jack had won the American League Most Valuable Player Award (selected by the Baseball Writers' Association). One particularly flattering sketch was drawn by Bob Coyne, accompanied by the caption "Jackie Jensen. The Golden Boy has a golden crown." The write-ups were indeed glorious-stating that he was the season's top RBI man (122), was third in home runs (35), and ended up with a .286 batting average-even after a September slump blamed by many on the fact that he burned himself out by trying so hard during the months before. He was described as the best right fielder in the league, credited with only six errors in 154 games, and his name appeared on twenty-three of the twenty-four cast ballots. Jackie had finally joined his teammates, past and present, at the pinnacle of baseball fame-for Mantle had received MVP the previous two seasons, Yogi Berra the two before those, and Ted Williams in 1949.

Jack was contacted at his home in Lake Tahoe and said simply, "You have no idea how happy this makes me," and he admitted he had thought the award would go to the Yanks' Bob Turley, who was the winningest pitcher in the league.

Jack basked in the spotlight a little longer. He attended banquets in his honor and received the Washington Touchdown Club's baseball player trophy. He also was named the year's outstanding professional athlete by the Athens Athletic Club (in attendance was Lefty O'Doul, who, when Jack was a youth, had given him his autograph). Furthermore, he was named "Athlete of the Year for the Sierra Nevada Region" by the Sierra Nevada Sportswriters and Broadcasters, and received a sixteen-foot motorboat as a gift from two hundred friends who honored him at a dinner. Jackie reflected on his baseball career to date, saying, "When a fellow becomes a pro baseball player, it [the MVP award] seems so far out of reach, yet he hopes he can obtain it."

Where was Jack to go from there? He himself said the MVP award meant he was at the top of his profession, and he had always striven to be the best at whatever he did. He recognized that one goal ahead of him was simply a happy family, yet realized that he couldn't continue playing all around the country while giving Zoe and the children the attention he felt they deserved. Jack was in a compromising situation-he couldn't devote himself fully to the family and to baseball, so he began more seriously wondering how long to stay in professional baseball.

As if to have the decision made for him if he demanded a huge pay hike, Jack uncharacteristically became tougher when it came time to discuss the next season's salary. He had three reasons to seek a large raise for the 1959 season: He had negotiated successfully the year before; he had been named the league MVP (which other players said was worth at least a $10,000 raise in itself); and he thought that if he had to quit baseball, he could make a living close to home and achieve the goal of being with the family more. Jackie did realize that the more money he could earn before his inevitable retirement, the better off his future would be, so he asked for $40,000 to return to the Red Sox. This he thought was not unreasonable; after all, ex-teammate Mantle was asking twice that amount. "I'm not going to bicker or bargain," Jackie said. "I feel my services are worth so much and I am not going to change my thoughts. If I don't get [the price I quote], I'll have more time to spend with my family."

Encouraged by friend Dom DiMaggio, who said, "Don't let them get you cheap," Jack sent back two separate contracts of $32,500 and $35,000. Representing Boston, Bucky Harris said the publicity involving Ted Williams receiving $125,000 was what was prompting Jackie to ask for so much; but here was a player many others dared to say was better than Williams, yet he was asking for only one third the salary. Finally Jackie signed on his own terms (actually with a slight compromise; he settled for $39,500-equivalent to over a quarter million dollars today) after a five-minute conference with Harris in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Jack's desire to leave baseball soon was taken more seriously when the April issue of the Saturday Evening Post hit the newsstands. In an article entitled "My Ambition Is to Quit," by Al Hirshberg, Jack referred indirectly to his recent contract: "The more money I get, the sooner I can quit." To explain this puzzling statement, Jack went on to say that he hated the day-to-day existence, shifting from games at night to those during the day, and of course flying. In the article Jack was pictured kissing Zoe good-bye on the steps as he held a suitcase. Jon was standing close to his father, his hand outstretched to the chest above him, and Jan was behind her brother, casting a disdainful look. The caption was a touching one: "'I spend less than half my time with the people I love most,' laments Jensen."

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