#bill buckner

[oldshowbiz]

raise or trade

[snarp]

Was there a documentary about Bill Buckner and the 1986 World Series where a rabbi talked about the theological/sociological history of the scapegoat? Or did I dream this

[arrestdujour]

Jamus Leon Franks

Age: 29

Arrest Date: Sun 9/12

Time: 11:55 PM

Status: In

Charge Count: 2

Agency Severity Charge Statute Type

Boise City Police Department F Controlled Substance-Possession of I37-2732(c)(1)F Criminal Charge

Boise City Police Department M Drug Paraphernalia-Use or Possess With Intent to Use I37-2734A(1) Criminal Charge

[peteneems]

[thebloodoftheanimal]

Bill Buckner, 1949-2019.

[porterdavis]

Bill Buckner, All-Star Shadowed by World Series Error, Dies at 69

A veteran of the Cubs and Dodgers, he was at first base for the Red Sox when Mookie Wilson of the Mets hit a grounder to him. Disaster came next.

A routine grounder down the first-base line changed this man’s life forever. Not for the better...

[chaunceyandchumleysdad]

Bill Buckner 1949-2019

It is very sad to hear about the passing of Bill Buckner. He was one of my all-time favorite Cubs players. In the early 80’s, while playing in a softball league in Chicago, I wore number 22 on my jersey in honor of Buckner. He played for the Cubs for 8 years of his 22-year Major League career (1977-1984), appearing in 974 games, about 40% of his career total. He started his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an outfielder. He was traded to the Cubs in 1977 and was shifted to first base due to chronic ankle problems. His hitting style was not atypical of a first baseman as he was not a power hitter. He was a contact hitter with a consistently high batting average. With the Cubs, he won the National League batting title in 1980 with a .324 average. He didn’t walk a lot, but he was an excellent doubles hitter, leading the NL in doubles in two of his seasons with the Cubs. He was also a good situational hitter which gave him the ability to drive in runs. He had more than 100 RBI’s in three seasons.  Early in the 1984 season, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for future Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley.

Unfortunately, he is most remembered for a ground ball that got under his glove and went through his legs, leading to a loss in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I hesitated to bring that up in this post, but I decided to mention it for purposes of trying to set the record straight. The Red Sox had taken a 5-3 lead in the top of 10th inning. Yes, they needed just three outs in the bottom of the 10th to win the World Series. However, here are a few points to consider:

·         Bad pitching: Buckner would have never been put in that situation if the Red Sox bullpen had not imploded. Calvin Shiraldi came in to close the game as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the 10th. After getting the first two outs, he fell apart. He gave up three consecutive singles, allowing a run to score. He was replaced by Bob Stanley. Stanley throws a wild pitch, allowing another run to score. Now the game is tied 5-5, and the batter, Mookie Wilson, hits a grounder that goes between Buckner’s legs for an error and the winning run scores. Three hits and a wild pitch does not put the onus of the loss solely on Buckner.

·         Bad managing: Why was Buckner in the game at this point? John McNamara’s team scores two runs in the top of the tenth to take the lead. It’s time for defensive replacements! Buckner’s ankles were so bad at that point, he could barely walk let alone field. If you watch the replay of the error, it is clear he had trouble getting his body squared up to make the play because he could hardly move his feet. His ankles were so bad, he couldn’t wear baseball spikes. He played with shoes that, if I remember correctly, were more like high-top wrestling shoes. At that point in the game, McNamara had only used nine position players. There is no way Buckner should have been playing first base in that situation when McNamara could have inserted a replacement.

·         The Red Sox had another shot: Over the years, I have sometimes heard people erroneously refer to that loss as Game 7 of the Word Series. It was, in fact, Game 6. The team loss deprived the Red Sox of winning the WS that night, but they still had another shot at it in Game 7. They did not get the job done in Game 7, losing to the Mets 8-5.

·         The Curse of The Bambino: The Red Sox had one of the longest WS droughts in history at that time (1986). They had not won a WS since 1918. Many blamed the drought on the Curse of The Bambino; the infamous “trade” at the end of the 1919 season where Red Sox owner Harry Frazee shipped Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in exchange for cash, allegedly to finance a Broadway musical. Whether or not one believes in the curse, that fact is the drought continued and that served to magnify the Game 6 loss and unjustly, Buckner’s error. (The curse was finally broken in 2004 after 86 years.)

Unfortunately, Buckner’s life was rather miserable after that. Nobody would ever let him forget that error. The media and the fans continued to perpetuate it. For several years, Buckner wanted nothing to do with Boston, but ownership eventually reached out to him and he returned to Fenway after he retired to make peace with the fans.

While his career was not quite Hall of Fame caliber, he was still an outstanding ballplayer who played hard every day. Rest in peace Bill Buckner.

[this-day-in-baseball]

October 25, 1986

One strike from defeat, the Mets tie the game on a wild pitch and then, thanks to Bill Buckner's error, win Game 6, tying the Series at three games each. This event was selected as one of baseball's 30 most memorable moments.