Bill Buckner Got Over It

Watch the whole Mookie Wilson at-bat -- it's a fantastic at-bat by Wilson. He fouls off about five pitches; dodges the wild pitch that scored Mitchell*; and looks cool and collected throughout. Of course, he still didn't make good contact on the Buckner ball, but credit to him *Mitchell, who'd been on the Mets bench for the game, had already returned to the clubhouse and started undressing before the rally took hold. Suddenly called to pinch run, he entered the game with pants on but no undergarments.

It was crazy to blame hime for anything with regard to the error. I saw him on the Larry David Show which was all about the error. In the end he caught a baby thrown by its mother from a burning building. Buckner was a pro and a very good one and this case very funny. The only ones who blamed him were fans who were too dumb to recognize that.

Billy Bucks was class, and there are few Dodgers, ex- or otherwise, I'd say that about...

HOF stats, great player, honorable man, load of integrity. RIP, BB.

The sports world does not revolve around NYC and Boston. That play, game and series meant nothing more to me than any other World Series.

The '86 World Series was honestly the first time I paid any real attention to baseball, having just moved to Boston for grad school. I remember saying under my breath to the pitcher (Stanley): "Just throw a strike, for god's sake... just one, please?" ...and he wouldn't do it. When the bad thing happened to Buckner, my reaction was that if there'd been some decent pitching, the Sox wouldn't have been in a situation where one weird bounce or badly-timed blink would have determined the outcome of the game. But I thought "I'm the one who's new to baseball and everybody's blaming Buckner," so I kept my mouth shut. I'm heartened to read so many comments agreeing with me, almost 33 years later.

Thank you for sharing a much fuller portrait of Bill Buckner, both as a player and as a human being, than we Bostonians are accustomed to reading.

Calvin Schiraldi was so drenched in sweat from nerves that he looked as though he had taken a shower before putting on his uniform. Bob Stanley's wild pitch is the wildest pitch ever thrown in the playoffs. Both of those guys are still great guys. I could never do what they do. Red Sox Nation lost a championship, but gained a lesson in humility and grace. All the great ones have it: Orr, Russell, Sampras, King, etc. I love listening to Billie Jean King talk about pretty much anything. Godspeed to Bill Buckner, a great player and better man.

Living in Boston at the time and watching the game live on TV as it unfolded, I agree that Buckner received a disproportionate amount of the blame for the Game 6 loss. Indeed, the greatest culprit for the series loss was arguably the failure of any right-handed Sox pitcher (including Roger Clemens) to be remotely as effective against the Mets as lefty Bruce Hurst. Still, my recollection is that Buckner balked at being substituted for a defensive replacement in Game 6, because he wanted to be on the field when the Sox (going into the last half of the 10th with a two run lead) won and wrapped up the World Series. So while McNamara the manager is ultimately responsible for who he chose to play, Buckner was not entirely blameless.

The thing to remember about the Buckner error in 1986 is this: even before it happened, the Red Sox had already blown a 2-run lead with 2 outs and no runners on base in the bottom of the 10th inning. That's a type of lead that would ordinarily be impossible to lose - and once the Red Sox did lose that lead (the first run coming on Ray Knight's 2-strike single to score Gary Carter, the tying run coming on Bob Stanley's 2-strike wild pitch (many consider it to be Rich Gedman's passed ball insteaad) to score Kevin Mitchell), there was basically no way they were coming back to win that game. Buckner deserved a whole lot less of the blame than he got for the Red Sox losing Game 6; his teammates (Stanley, Gedman and in particular Calvin Schiraldi, who allowed 3 straight singles with 2 outs and no runners on base) blew it way, way more than he did. (This is even before factoring in that John McNamara should have replaced Buckner at first base with Dave Stapleton in the bottom of the 10th inning, and that Buckner himself had told McNamara that he would be OK with such a move.)

Buckner was one tough out and a clutch hitter. He was unfairly burdened with the Sox collapse in Game 6. You win as a team and lose as a team. They never would have gotten that far in 1986 without his contributions. More importantly, he sounds like a class act all around. God bless his family.

Fred Merkle was only 19 when he made the one mistake that would label him for the rest of his long productive, but not great, sixteen year career. Buckner too was saddled for the remainder of his long, very productive, close to Hall of Fame career. I don’t know how Merkle dealt with his “fame”, but despite baseball fans knowing Buckner’s name for essentially one reason, Buckner dealt with it as well as anyone could. Baseball is an unforgiving environment.

John McNamara always gets away untouched but Buckner never should have been in the game at that point. It wouldn't have killed McNamara to take part of the blame but he never did. The contrast between him and Billy Bucks couldn't be clearer. RIP, and I hope he can run again like he did in the 70's. A very good player and even better man.

Ultimately, I believe Bill Buckner's story is one of integrity - of his in the face of difficulty, but also of the fans of Boston, who recognized their own error in how they treated him.

When he played 1st for the Cubs in the early 80's, there was a fan known as the "woh-woh" man. From the right field bleachers (admission $3) he'd scream "woh-woh Buckner, woh-woh Buckner" over and over, until Bill waved. And Bill would wave.

In one split-second moment, Buckner changed the first paragraph of his obituary -- as this obituary proves.

If you never dropped one or had one go through your legs, you never played the game. R.I.P., Bill Buckner.

A certain sports network brings out the clip of Billy Buck's error each and every autumn. Lord help us if the Sox are in the fall classic, the sad event is almost on a loop. Should his name come up on a BB talk show, they'll trot out the tape once again and while it's showing, talk about how sad it is that this lowlight is the most highlighted thing of his career. Last night on that network out of respect for Buckner and his family, they played it one more time. They spoke about how unfair it was, that this thing dogged him from the day it happened until he literally, couldn't remember anything, anymore.

Bill Buckner will now be playing on the best baseball team of all in Heaven. He simply was a great player and a man of grace.

I was surprised to see Buckner compiled 2,715 hits and a lifetime .289 batting average over the course of his 22-year career. Those numbers are as good or better than many Hall of Fame inductees, though admittedly Buckner's chances of induction are slim. Compare Gary Carter's numbers: 2,092 career hits, .262 lifetime batting average over 19 years. Buckner simply didn't play for winning clubs, and the one time he did, he made the error of all time. He deserves more respect.

Ty's retrieval of that 3-strikeout stat is not only an impressive credit to Buckner, it also illuminates in so many ways how MLB has gone off the rails. Next up will be remembrances of those stalwart hitters who never struck out four times in any game. Baseball has reached a pinnacle of praising with faint damnation! For the record, in 1941, Joe DiMaggio struck out 13 times for the entire season; today, that's a week's work of toil for a major leaguer to be forgotten later.

My father, who raised me a baseball fan, died of dementia last year at the age of 70. My heart goes out to Bill Buckner's family in the wake of this loss. Buckner should be in the Hall of Fame -- not only for his extraordinary hitting prowess but as an example of grace and unselfishness in a sports world that far too often lacks it.

It's tragic that one error is what is most associated with the great Bill Buckner. Cubs fans absolutely adored him. To this day he is one of the favorites of anyone who was a fan of the years he was there. He played every pitch, every inning 110% despite having an injured leg. A class act all the way.

One of the great baseball truisms is that physical errors happen. It's the mental errors that matter. Baseball is the Quantum sport. It's true that over 90% of fielding plays don't result in errors but some do. When the ball is in motion the outcome is uncertain.

A jaw dropping meltdown courtesy of the Red Sox bullpen is what lost Game 6 and not Bill Buckner. If only the Sox would have had a dominant, lights out closer who would have never given up 3 straight singles, let alone a wild pitch. Someone like the Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley who the Sox dealt to the Cubs to acquire Bill Buckner.

I met Bill at my church once. He was a fine player and a very nice man. I'm sorry he died from dementia at such an early stage.

He was a great player and even a greater human being.

Who among us doesn’t recognize the Bill Buckner in ourselves who -- for lack of attention to something important that is directly in front of us -- lets some important thing in our lives slip away? The queen of my high school class back in the fifties was a girl named Joanna who I was feverishly in love with, but never dared trying to date, let alone speak to. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine runs into her at a Whole Foods, and tells me later that she asked about me. How’s that for letting the ball go through my legs? RIP Bill, you deserved a lot better than you got.

One of the greatest episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm ever! I watched in horror in 1986 as the ball went through his legs. He was forgiven in Boston after 2004. Condolences to the Buckner family.

Let’s move on from the error and remember the classy guy Bill Buckner was on how to handle adversity!

All class. He should be in the Hall Of Fame.

Everybody thinks if Buckner had made the play the Red Sox would have won the series, but, as the article points out, the error scored the winning run, not the tying run, and if he had made the play the game would have gone to the 11th inning and the Mets probably would have won. I myself, being a Mets fan, was delighted with the dramatic turnaround. And I liked Buckner's bit on "Curb".

Bill Buckner lived his professional life in the arena and exhibited uncommon grace and dignity after his playing days were over. Far from a punchline, Buckner is nothing short of an inspiration and a role model for people in all walks of lives. "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt)

I am an Angels fan and usually wish the Red Sox all manner of hurt. But we are linked with memories of Bill Buckner and Donnie Moore. I've wished for a statue in front of each stadium of the local martyr, with a plaque that reads "It's only a game."

What a magical moment with my friends at a science meeting in Calgary. All Red Sox fans but we all knew the hand of God was in play. RIP, Bill.

Red Sox pitchers Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley were the ones who blew that game, not Buckner. The Red Sox had a 2-run lead, with 2 outs and 2 strikes on the Mets, and they rallied for 2 runs (including 3 singles and a wild pitch) to tie before Buckner was involved. Buckner's error played into the whole "Curse of the Bambino" narrative, which was bogus, and everyone loves a highlight to remember, not the fact that 2 Red Sox pitchers couldn't get one out before the Mets scored 3 runs. RIP to a great baseball player.

I grew up six blocks from Yankee Stadium in the 1950-60s and was a diehard Yankee fan when I enrolled in college in the greater Boston area in 1974. I was at my five year law school reunion in a downtown Boston hotel the night of the sixth game of the 1986 WS and of course, everyone gathered around the TV in the main hall to watch the last couple of innings of game 6. I rooted for the Sox for the first time in my life because I was never a Mets fan and felt disgust for the way Steinbrenner had destroyed the proud Yankees' franchise in the aftermath of the 1981 WS, reducing the team to a laughingstock. Needless to say, there was stunned silence as the game ended... Bill Buckner was the classiest of class acts, a consummate hitter (rarely striking out...as opposed to what goes on in MLB today) and a true "mensch"...yet as I write this from the Mass. town I have lived in for 29 years, it should be sadly mentioned that Buckner also lived here while on the Sox and was essentially "driven" out of town in the aftermath of that WS loss. The greater Boston area is in the midst of an incredible professional sports run of championships, yet there are still too many small-minded, obtuse people for which professional sports have an outsize and destructive place in their lives. RIP Bill....and perhaps people will recognize that there is more to life than championships.

It was unfair to blame Buckner for that loss as painful as it was. The first mistake was John McNamara pulling Roger Clemens after the 8th. Clemens owned the Mets that night and there was no need to remove him. Calvin Schiraldi was lights out for most of the Season but the pressure of the moment obviously got to him and the game was tied when they brought in Bob Stanley, another great player who was maligned by Boston fans and the media mercilessly. McNamara's decision to leave Buckner in also led to his demise. The best thing to happen to all of these men was for the Red Sox to win the World Series. Just like it was fortuitous for Steve Bartman for the Cubs to win the World Series, a millstone was lifted from their shoulders. The fact is, that the Red Sox would not have been in a position to win the World series in 1986 without Buckner, Stanley and Schiraldi on their roster and many bad plays were made before the ball roll by Buckner. Perhaps the lesson in this is that making anyone a scapegoat in a team sport is essentially unfair because team sports require a team effort and there is no I in team. I was in law school when the Red Sox lost that infamous game and it hurt, but two things made me feel better about it, the first is that the Red Sox won a World Series and the second is that a friend of mine form law school was a Met's fan and was ecstatic when they won. He died a few years back at the young age of 42 and I take joy in knowing that he was so happy then.

Had Bill not made that infamous error, he would not have been eulogized as he has been and will be. Sometimes when a great person screws up, over time, his excellence, class and courage is recognized by a critical public and transcends the one blunder that stamped his legacy.

The error that Bill Buckner made was devastating, but I never blamed the ‘86 Series loss on him. He had a great year for the Sox and was a big reason they were in the Series. I was angry at McNamara for not replacing him in the tenth with defense-minded Dave Stapleton, and at the relievers Stanley and Schiraldi who couldn’t finish the game when they were ahead. This is not to take anything away from the Mets; they got the job done. But eighteen years before the Sox would exorcise the ghost of Ruth, it was yet another excruciating blow to the psyches of Sox fans who lost Series’ game sevens in ‘67 and ‘75, the one-game playoff in ‘78, and several pennant races in late September. I’m sad that Billy Buck has passed away. I always admired him.

RIP Bill

Lesson of this story: Never trust fans. They’ll turn on you quick as a Doberman turns on his master. R.I.P. Billy Buck. You deserved so much better.

About 450 SO's in almost 9,500 AB's. Harper had 169 last year alone but got $300mil out of it ..and Boone tells us its just an out like any out. They're pulling our leg and they know it. Put the ball in play and anything can happen (and who would know that better than Mr Buckner). Or how about the art of just getting a runner from second to third by hitting to the right side. Buckner ball. It's what to love about the Replacement Yanks .. ball in play, manufacture runs. Last year's Yanks .. Stanton's and everyone else's countless playoff game strikeouts. Just an out? Sure Boone, sure.

I'm reminded of that "agony of defeat" guy wiping out on the ski slopes - for decades.

Class act. R.I.P., Mr. Buckner.

As a devoted Mets fan, I was at that 6th game of the 86' World Series and at the time I did not for one moment feel any sympathy for Bill Buckner. After I heard he experienced some terrible insults thrown in his face, I felt awful for him and began to appreciate all the feats he accomplished as a player. Bill Buckner was a not only a great player, but a classy stand up guy. You have to respect a man like Bill Buckner.

Larry David's redemption of Bill Buckner was one of THE greatest moments of joy on a TV show.

A great baseball player. A great human being, son, brother, husband, and father. Sports can be awfully cruel. Bill Buckner.....well played, my man.

As a Mets fan, I knew of course about the error--but what I didn't know were all the details about an otherwise extremely impressive baseball career, or about what a good and decent man he was. I'm glad I learned more about him. I'm sorry his passing was the reason why. Rest in Peace, Bill Buckner.

Never struck out three times in a game! I had to re-read this piece because that fact was distracting me for my entire first read. Amazing! I'm not one who looks to give Red Sox fans a pass but this is getting a little much. Sports is entertainment and fandom, by its very nature, is irrational. Sure there were other people responsible for the failure in Game 6 and there was also Game 7. Maybe the wild pitch was more critical, but Buckner's error happened to be the lasting image to accompany the team's failure. Maybe because the play seemed so routine. Maybe because it was game ending and followed by immediate celebrations. Fans hold onto this stuff. Maybe they should be more reasoned and rational and sensitive but those traits aren't really part of fandom. It's a shame that there happened to be a decent human being on the other end of their frustration but I'm not going to blame the fans here.

When Buckner returned in 1990 there were banners up in Fenway saying "we forgive you." As Buckner himself said many times, he didn't need to be forgiven. Red Sox fans did. Two of them actually provoked physical fights with Buckner. Now name me another fanbase where that would happen. Liverpool FC maybe, coincidentally also owned by John Henry.

What a class act, what a Hall of Fame-worthy career. (Also the man most responsible during the late '70s and early '80s, I'm pretty sure, for keeping long-suffering Cubs fans in the fold.) It's such a shame that he was made a scapegoat and vilified in such a ridiculous way (as Steve Bartman was in similar fashion years later) for what really should have been a minor and forgettable footnote in the life of a great baseball player. But he handled it with such grace and class. RIP, Billy Buck.

Always bothered me that they "forgave" him after they won in '04, '07. I would like to think they would have done something like this had they never won a World Championship, but it always left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Nonetheless, a class act and terrific ballplayer.

Being remembered for that error is a bum wrap, always was. The media and Boston treated him like dirt, and he handled it with class. I remember him for his NL batting title in '80 with the Cubs, I was 13 at the time. He died too young.

Please, Bob Stanley was the culprit. As the relief pitcher, he had 7 pitches to win game 6 and could not close. The wild pitch to Mookie Wilson! Buckner is great and fun lore; the Steamer is the goat, honestly, of game 6. And the Sox had a 3 run lead in game 7.....Just wasn't meant to be.

Bob Stanley was the cause of the Red Sox losing. He choked and was unable to get the ball over the plate.

I’ll always remember “Billy Buck” as the Cub’s rock and roll first baseman. A rock solid dynamite hitter and often the best player on some anemic Cub’s teams. I guess he also played elsewhere. God bless, Billy Buck.

I remember turning the game off thinking the Mets were done and turning it back on 30 seconds later because I couldn't stand the suspense. One of the craziest endings to a game and while Buckner definitely shoulders much of the blame with that error, you could also say Stanley's wild pitch and Mookie's tenacious turn at bat also played significant roles in the outcome.

This is why we love baseball: it is a series of moments in which handling a hard ball at velocity challenges your character, preparation and talent -- with 50,000 witnesses. I think the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" story is a fantastic way to end this piece. Of course he did it for his daughter. Of course. This was a man who carried it with him, like all the best men I have known in my life do. To hear he died of Lewy Body Dementia is almost too hard to bear. What a horrible disease. But I am sure he handled it with all the gracefulness and strength he could muster. God bless his family.

Hmm, remembrance paints an inaccurate picture of the way he was hounded and vilified by some Red Sox fans -- even makes it sound like he was warmly embraced and forgiven by the faithful in immediate aftermath of error, which is miles from the truth. Buckner's story should never be told without mentioning that it was also emblematic of the over zealousness and immaturity of sports fans unable to create a healthy partition between the outcome of a sporting event and their personal lives.

Great player, especially great hitter, and great role model. It was a disgrace the way fans and sportswriters treated him in the years following the error. I couldn't call myself a red sox fan after seeing that. Bill Buckner always took the high road. God bless him.