Posted on 05/27/2019 11:00:28 AM PDT by EdnaMode
Bill Buckner, the longtime major leaguer whose error in the 1986 World Series for years lived in Red Sox infamy, died Monday.
"After battling the disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family," his family said in a statement. "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
He was 69.
Buckner played 22 seasons in the majors, was an All-Star once and won a batting title in 1980. But it was a ball that went through his legs at Shea Stadium on a cool Oct. 25 night in 1986 that made for one of baseball's most shocking moments.
Boston, looking for its first World Series title since 1918, carried a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 against the Mets. New York tied it with two runs, then brought Mookie Wilson to the plate.
Wilson worked a 3-2 count off reliever Bob Stanley, and then, with a runner on second base, bounced a slow roller up the first-base line on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. Buckner ranged to his left, went down to snag the ball behind the bag and watched it roll through his legs and into right field. Ray Knight scored to give the Mets a 6-5 can-you-believe-it win. They took Game 7, too, a gut punch to a Red Sox team a strike away from a long-awaited title just 48 hours earlier.
His Red Sox teammates said Buckner wasn't to blame, noting Boston wouldn't even have been in the World Series without his efforts that season.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
I love it.....
” We mourn Bill Buckner, RIP, famous for allowing a ball to slip past his feet, causing the Redsox ‘86 loss...
...Don’t let the chance to enter heaven slip thru your feet..
Seen on protestant church sigs everywhere!(except Massachusetts).
“As you may recall, Torres served up the homer to Bucky F’n Dent.”
And then (oddly enough) a few months later in May 1979, Stan Jonathan stayed on too long and caused the Boston Bruins to be called for too many men on the ice in the crucial last few minutes of the third period of game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup semi finals. That allowed the Canadiens to tie the game with the famous Guy Lafleur goal and then beat the Bruins in overtime with Yvon Lambert scoring. Don Cherry’s days as the Bruins’ coach were effectively over at that time and the Bruins did not make the Cup Finals until 1988 against the Edmonton Oilers.
That’s bad! Always felt sorry for that guy...not RedSox fans!
It should be noted that upon his return to Fenway a few years ago he received a standing ovation. Boston fans are a tough bunch, but we appreciate talent. We even accepted Shaq one year.
If can Michael J Fox can soldier on, Robin could have too.
Not to mention a crazy serial groper and plagiarist who thinks he’s fit to be president.
In the post error years Buckner retired as a player but stayed in baseball as a coach. He joined the Blue Jays farm system and when they won the World Series in 1992 he got a ring. It was a small feel good story I remember during the early 1990s. RIP
I watched that game. What a bonehead play it was, but sometimes these things happen.
Don’t overlook Leon Lett.
He tried to kill himself. He jumped in front of a bus but it went through his legs.
One of the boys of summer. I hope that where he is now he is running through lush grass, and that the infield has no stones, and he hits for the cycle.
I didn’t see any mention of it in the article, but wasn’t he playing on an injured lower leg that affected his movements and only in the game because they needed his batting?
Like you, I too always felt bad for Bill Buckner.
Here's hoping they do well on the west coast this week. The Dodgers are tough.
Yes. Buckner was dealing with lower leg issues which likely affected that play.
That is what I was thinking. Leon Lett.
Or the Saints safety a year and a half ago in the playoffs vs. Minnesota.
Yes, he was injured, here it is:
1986:
In September 1986, Buckner hit .340 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs, while missing just three games in spite of chronic ankle soreness.
Something like that basically reflected what was (according to many) systematically wrong with the Oilers by that time. After two Cups and Gretzky and other Oilers rewriting the record book for scoring feats and related things, they had gotten a bit too arrogant and full of themselves by then and likely lacked that good bit of grit and discipline that characterized the Islanders teams of the early 1980s or the late 1940s Toronto Maple Leafs or the unstoppable Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970s.
The spring of 1986 in some ways paralleled the spring of 1982 when an even younger Gretzky and Messier led Oilers team went into the first round heavily favoured to reach the Finals (likely against the New York Islanders) against the lowly Los Angeles Kings. The Kings surprisingly beat the Oilers in the “Miracle on Manchester” game greatly due to Edmonton almost abandoning any type of discipline and defence. That turned out to be a humbling experience as they came back in 1983 to face the Islanders in the Finals (and eventually beat them the next year in 1984).
A really likeable guy. His wife says his Savior was Jesus Christ. That means at the 2nd coming, he will be resurrected in perfect health, and immortal. It’s just the beginning for him. Look forward to meeting him.
Thanks, and see my comment just above.
He was too cocky for my tastes.
He had a severely injured Achille’s tendon. He was obviously hobbled and in pain the whole series. He was red hot in September but went cold in the Series.
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