All my friends know I love baseball. I loved playing baseball and like most guys that kid will always be in there, somewhere:) I learned a lot of lessons about life through baseball. I played other sports too but baseball won my heart.
I was a teenager when Bill Buckner was playing first base for the Boston Red Sox in 1986. I remember watching the world series when the infamous play that defined Bill Buckner’s career happened. It was game 6, and it was the 10th inning. Boston was up 3-2 for the series. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or simply hadn’t arrived on the planet recent enough to know the history, then you know what happened when Bill missed the ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson that caused the winning run for the Mets in game 6. It changed his life. It also made a difference in my life.
Bill Buckner was 36 years old that year. He started his career with the Dodgers, then the Cubs, then he was traded to the Red Sox. Buckner played 22 years total. He was NL Allstar in 1981, won the NL batting title in 1980. His lifetime batting average is 289. His on base slugging percentage is 309, and his lifetime slugging percentage is 405. He had 2,715 total hits, and batted over 300 four seasons straight for the Cubs and that is just part of his impressive stats. The man was one of the best hitters and RBI leaders the game has ever known.
What you may not know is half his career he played with bad ankle injuries. Before his injuries Bill was quite a threat as a base runner. In the first 6 seasons two of those seasons he stole 28 & 31 bases respectfully. After each game and before each game after the injuries he would ice down his ankles and play through the pain. When he was 18 years old after being drafted to play AAA ball, Bill played an entire season with a broken jaw….wired shut. He was brought up to the big leagues at age 19.
That fateful night in 1986, for some reason Bill was kept on the field as the 10th inning started. Normally, he would have been substituted that late in the game, but not that night. Buckner was playing over toward second base to protect against the hole and the ball was hit over the first base bag and Mookie Wilson was already three quarters down the line as Buckner tried to make a play on the ball and it slipped between his glove and his leg. Even if Buckner had fielded the ball, there’s a 90 percent chance Mookie would have beat it out. Nevertheless, Buckner was marked for the rest of his career and life.
Life is full of ups and downs and great irony. The Boston Red Sox wouldn’t have made it the series that year without Bill Buckner. They wouldn’t have won the first three games without Bill Buckner. The fact is, that game didn’t lose the series for the Sox either. That didn’t stop the media and the fans from crucifying Buckner. It became the “go to” in “worst chokes ever” and the butt of many jokes. He even received death threats from deranged fans. You want to talk about thick skin, well, Bill seemed to have it because he played four more years in the majors and even came back to finish his career with Boston in 1990.
Baseball is a funny game. You’re a team but you stand at your position and at the plate all by yourself. The thing is, everyone makes errors, strikes out, and goes 0-4 in any given game or games. We also have streaks where we are flawless on the field, and just can’t miss at the plate. It’s an up and down game that is defined by consistency, clutch play, and calm nerves. There are days that the game last hours, and other days it breezes by. It’s also defined by our attitude toward our teammates. What do you tell you’re friend when they’ve had a bad game, made a bad error, or they’re in a slump? Do you celebrate the achievements with them or become jealous, or simply don’t care?
Bill Buckner suffered needless persecution from the media and fans that continued to remind him of his one, fateful night. It followed him into retirement and become so bad he finally moved to Arizona to find peace. Being the champion that he was, he found a way to forgive them, and even came back to do funny tv ads and promotions that allowed him to be the butt of the joke for the sake of the common good.
Bill Buckner passed a way over this past memorial day on May 27, 2019. He died of Lewy Body Dementia. Bill finally came back to Fenway in 2008 and was greeted by a standing ovation. Long overdue.
That night in 1986 Bill Buckner became one of my heroes. He handled that event with so much grace and class that I was amazed. He came back in game seven and once again lead off with a single in the 8th inning to try to help rally his team to win. He never quit playing. He always gave it his all and left it all on the field.
I hope he knew somehow that he was a hero to many of us who love this game and also love this game of life. Well played Mr. Buckner….well played!
Love you all…love you Big!