RIP Bill Buckner

[Toga]

Age 69 from dementia.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Bill Buckner dies at 69 after battling dementia

Bill Buckner, a star hitter who became known for making one of the most infamous plays in major league history, died at age 69 after battling Lewy body dementia, his family said in a statement.

www.espn.com

 

[donniesyracuse]

I love that he had a sense of humor and did that Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.

 

[Fat tire 13]

RIP - although he will always be remembered for 1986, let's not forget he had a long, productive career. And even almost made it to 3000 hits!

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I hate that one of the stories i just read said he was a "pariah" to Red Sox fans. I've been a Sox fan since 1977 or so, and watched 'that play' from the Lawrinson 20 lounge, and never had anything other than positivity and support for him. 'That play' was devastating, but anyone who hated him for that is a "low IQ individual." Scum.

 

[Briancuse]

It's unfortunate he is remembered for game 6. He was a really good player rip bill.

 

[Alsacs]

I hate that one of the stories i just read said he was a "pariah" to Red Sox fans. I've been a Sox fan since 1977 or so, and watched 'that play' from the Lawrinson 20 lounge, and never had anything other than positivity and support for him. 'That play' was devastating, but anyone who hated him for that is a "low IQ individual." Scum.

The narrative is lazy but sadly journalism is no longer good.
Buckner wasn’t hated by Red Sox fans.
First it was a tie game and it was game 6 and even if he gets the ball Wilson beats Stanley to the bag most likely.
Schardli and McNamara were bigger problems and Buckner was their scapegoat.
Buckner got a 4 minute standing ovation in 1990 at Fenway and he lived in Andover, MA till 1993.
However Shank Shaughnessy had a book to sell and Buckner was the perfect image to sell that stupid book.
God I hate Shaughnessy he makes Boston look dumber.

 

[Hoo's That]

One thing that's overlooked about that play in 1986, Mookie Wilson was going to beat out the hit even if Buckner fields the ball. There was no way that Buckner would have beat Mookie to first if he had fielded the ball cleanly and Bob Stanley was not moving fast enough to cover first in time. The tying run would have scored anyway.

 

[bpo57]

In the 1970s and 1980s only one guy had more hits than Buckner - Pete Rose.

Since 1961 there has only been one player who had a lower career strike out rate than Buckner - Tony Gwynn.

During his entire career Bill Buckner never had more than two strike outs in a game.

I read a recap of his career yesterday by ESPN. 95% of the article discussed the 1986 WS play. Hideous journalism. The guy was so much more than that play and that play was about the 5th most meaningful thing
that happened that inning.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Honestly, I’ve never heard the perspective that mookie would have been safe at first anyway. But, I may have intentionally not tuned into a lot of discussion about that game.

I was surprised to learn Buckner had 2700+ hits.

 

[Alsacs]

Honestly, I’ve never heard the perspective that mookie would have been safe at first anyway. But, I may have intentionally not tuned into a lot of discussion about that game.

I was surprised to learn Buckner had 2700+ hits.

People forget that in Hank Aaron’s 715th HR the guy for the Dodgers climbing the wall trying to catch was Bill Buckner.
It’s lazy journalism that they point to game 6 of 86 as the first thing about his career.
John McNamara was the guy who was left off the hook.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

People forget that in Hank Aaron’s 715th HR the guy for the Dodgers climbing the wall trying to catch was Bill Buckner.
It’s lazy journalism that they point to game 6 of 86 as the first thing about his career.
John McNamara was the guy who was left off the hook.

I’m not going to say it’s “lazy.” It’s absolutely true that Game 6 is what he’s most known for. That undeniable. It’s ‘sad’ that in this moment that’s what is most often attributed to him. But that’s how journalism works.

 

[bpo57]

Honestly, I’ve never heard the perspective that mookie would have been safe at first anyway. But, I may have intentionally not tuned into a lot of discussion about that game.

I was surprised to learn Buckner had 2700+ hits.

Maybe an even more shocking stat is that in 1985 - one year before the infamous WS Game 6 - he stole 18 bases.

 

[bpo57]

I’m not going to say it’s “lazy.” It’s absolutely true that Game 6 is what he’s most known for. That undeniable. It’s ‘sad’ that in this moment that’s what is most often attributed to him. But that’s how journalism works.

I think the "lazy" part is our sports culture/media. As has been pointed out, that game was lost well before that play for a variety of reasons. But our sports media loves drama and storylines and are not all that interested in any sort of sophisticated analysis. Guy has damn near a HOF career and all the media wants to talk about is one play. Kinda like when people ridicule the Buffalo Bills for losing four straight SBs instead of praising a team that accomplished something that has never been done in SB history.

 

[Alsacs]

Private Site

bjbsjournal.com