Bill Buckner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bill Buckner | ||
|---|---|---|
| First baseman | ||
| Born: December 14 1949 | Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 21, 1969 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | ||
| Final game | ||
| May 30, 1990 for the Boston Red Sox | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .289 | |
| Hits | 2715 | |
| RBI | 1208 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
William Joseph "Bill" Buckner (born December 14, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Kansas City Royals. Although his playing career lasted over twenty years and he accumulated over 2700 career hits, he is best known for the costly error he committed in the 1986 World Series.
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[edit] Career
Buckner was born in Vallejo, California, United States. He was the second player chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1968 June Draft (after his friend Bobby Valentine was selected first). Before entering MLB, Buckner briefly attended the University of Southern California, where he never played sports; he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Buckner played his first major league game in 1969 with the Los Angeles Dodgers (at the age of 19) and his last game in 1990 (at the age of 40) with the Boston Red Sox. He won the National League batting title in 1980 with the Chicago Cubs. He was an All-Star in 1981. Buckner was the first major league player to wear Nike high-top baseball cleats professionally, preceding by a number of years the waves of major leaguers wearing high-tops starting in 1989.
For his entire career, "Billy Buck" was known as one of the more consistent contact hitters in the major leagues: in 2,517 games, Buckner accumulated 2,715 hits and only 453 strikeouts. He led the league four times in most at bats per strike out (1980, 1982, 1985, 1986), and four times placed second in the category (1979, 1981, 1983, 1987).
As a player he was a speedy baserunner who twice finished in the top-ten in the league in stolen bases. He twice led the league in doubles. His hard-running style, however, led to problems with ankle injuries, which affected him for much of his career.
Originally promoted to the majors as an outfielder, he moved to first base when he joined the Cubs to take pressure off his ankles. At that position, he played 1,555 regular season games and made only 128 errors in 13,901 chances. Despite his ankle problems, he managed to post respectable stolen-base numbers in 1981 (15) and 1982 (12) with the Cubs and 1985 (18) with the Red Sox.
[edit] 1986 World Series
On October 25, 1986, the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Mets in game 6 of the World Series. Boston led the best-of-7 series 3 games to 2, and had a two-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. New York came back to tie the game with three straight singles off Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by pitcher Bob Stanley. Mookie Wilson fouled off several pitches before hitting a ground ball to Buckner at first base. The ball rolled under Buckner's glove, through his legs, and into right field, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run, forcing a seventh game, which the Mets won. Buckner's error capped off a poor Game 6 performance; he went 0-for-5 with runners on in all five at-bats.
Buckner was a key member of the team that year. He hit 8 home runs that September, with 22 RBIs and a .340 average, missing only three games. He drove in over 100 runs for the season. In game 5 of the Championship Series when the Red Sox faced elimination, he singled to start their ninth inning rally capped off by Dave Henderson's famous home run.
[edit] Retirement and legacy
After Buckner retired from professional baseball he moved his family to Boise, Idaho, where he invested in real estate: one of the housing subdivisions which he developed is named Fenway Park. He also owns Bill Buckner Motors in Emmett, Idaho.
The "Buckner Ball" was later auctioned for $93,000. The high bidder was Charlie Sheen. The ball is now in the collection of songwriter Seth Swirsky, who refers to it as the "Mookie Ball."
Buckner also played a supporting role in another of baseball's milestones, as the Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder seen climbing the fence in an attempt to catch Hank Aaron's 715th home run on April 8, 1974.
According to some Red Sox players, following their victory in the 2004 World Series, Bill Buckner was one of the first persons called by members of the team.
On June 27, 2006, the Red Sox had a reunion of the 1986 players during the game at Fenway Park. Although Buckner could not attend, fans cheered and applauded when his name was shown on the center-field video board.
[edit] References in popular culture
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
- Boston poet John Hodges wrote a poem "Forgiving Buckner". The poem begins, "The world is always rolling between our legs...", a clear reference to Buckner's error.
- Boston band Slide named their debut album Forgiving Buckner.
- In The Simpsons episode "Brother's Little Helper", Bart gives Homer a book, titled Chicken Soup for the Loser, which, according to Bart, inspired Buckner to open a chain of laundromats.
- In the film Rounders, as Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) walks into the cardroom where, earlier in the film he had lost $30,000, he says, "I feel like Buckner, walking back into Shea."
- In the movie Stuck on You, an obnoxious antagonist yells "Hey boys from Beantown, say hello to Billy Buckner!" The comment immediately triggers a fight.
- In the film Fever Pitch, Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon) and his friends attempt to explain the Curse of the Bambino to his new girlfriend, Lindsay Meeks (Drew Barrymore), but rather than explain the Buckner error, he can only grumble, "Buckner!" Later, after she breaks up with him, he wallows in his misery by playing the tape of the Buckner game, continually rewinding it to just before the pitch before his friends break in, and take it away, treating it as an intervention for an addiction.
- On the television series Ally McBeal (which takes place in Boston), when Ally has one of her manic spells, she rattles off a long list of incidents leading to tragedies in her life. One of them was "ground ball towards first base."
- The 2005 movie Game 6 is about a playwright who misses opening night of his Broadway play to watch Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
- The Buckner incident was chronicled in an episode of VH1's I Love the '80s. ESPN's Stuart Scott stated that "you can't mention the name Buckner in Boston without seeing a person cringe."
- In the movie Celtic Pride, Dan Aykroyd's character is trying to stop Damon Wayans' character from escaping and his gun accidentally goes off. When Wayans expresses disbelief, Akroyd replies, "I'll say. That's my Bill Buckner baseball [which he just put a hole in]."
- In the liner notes of Denis Leary's No Cure for Cancer CD, Bill Buckner is thanked.
- In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Manos: The Hands of Fate", one of the characters mentions The Master's resemblance to Buckner.
- In Boston, the recently-constructed Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge has acquired the nickname "The Bill Buckner Bridge" because cars pass unimpeded through the bridge's Y-shaped "legs."[1][2]
- In the television series Boston Legal episode “Live Big”, Ivan Tiggs says “Bill Buckner” to his fiancée Missy to snap her out of a laughing fit inspired by Shirley Schmidt.
- On their 2003 album This is the Way to Rule on Southern Records, Iowa City band Ten Grand's Matt Davis sings the lyric "I feel just like Bill Buckner" on the song "This Isn't Heaven, This Sucks".
[edit] Trivia
- Buckner was wearing a Chicago Cubs batting glove underneath his fielding mitt when he committed the infamous Game 6 error.[3]
[edit] See also
- List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster
[edit] Quotes
"Bill Buckner was more than just a great player. He was a champion warrior." -Ray Knight
[edit] References
- ^ Fabrizio, Richard (2003-07-27). Company begins Memorial Bridge assessment soon. Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Pegoraro, Rob (2005-07-11). Fast Forward. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ - ESPN.com Page 2: Photo reveals double curse in '86
[edit] External links
^ ESPN.com The Buckner play 20 years later - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2615471
- See a video and the actual ball that went through Buckner's legs on Seth.com
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Video of the ball going through Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series
- 1986 World Series Game 6 Re-Enacted in RBI Baseball - A popular viral video depicting Buckner's infamous error using RBI Baseball for video and Vin Scully's original play-by-play for audio.
- The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: E-3
- Newsday: The Buckner Ball, August 16, 2006
- Billbuckner.com
The Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry & The Curse of the Bambino |
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The New York Yankees • The Bronx, New York City, New York • Yankee Stadium Owner: George Steinbrenner • General Manager: Brian Cashman • Manager: Joe Girardi The Boston Red Sox • Boston, Massachusetts • Fenway Park Owner: John W. Henry and Tom Werner • General Manager: Theo Epstein • Manager: Terry Francona Key Moments Frazee's Folly • Curse of the Bambino • Bucky Dent's Home Run • Buckner's Blunder • The Impossible Dream • Aaron Boone's Home Run • The Bloody Sock • The Curse Reversed
Key Series
1918 World Series • 1975 World Series • 1986 World Series • 1999 ALCS • 2003 ALCS • 2004 ALCS • 2004 World Series Key People
Babe Ruth • Harry Frazee • Joe DiMaggio • Ted Williams • Carlton Fisk • Thurman Munson • Bucky Dent • Bill Buckner • Roger Clemens • Wade Boggs • Derek Jeter • Pedro Martínez • Alex Rodriguez • David Ortiz • Manny Ramírez • Curt Schilling • Jason Varitek • Johnny Damon • Aaron Boone • Joe Torre |
| Preceded by Andy Kosco | Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Leftfielder 1970 | Succeeded by Dick Allen |
| Preceded by Willie Crawford | Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Rightfielder 1971 | Succeeded by Frank Robinson |
| Preceded by Wes Parker | Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day First Baseman 1972-1974 | Succeeded by Steve Garvey |
| Preceded by Von Joshua | Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Leftfielder 1975-1976 | Succeeded by Dusty Baker |
| Preceded by Dave Parker | National League Batting Champion 1980 | Succeeded by Bill Madlock |
| Preceded by Mike Schmidt | National League Player of the Month August 1982 | Succeeded by Claudell Washington |
Categories: Articles needing additional references from July 2007 | 1949 births | Boston Red Sox players | California Angels players | Chicago Cubs players | Kansas City Royals players | Living people | Los Angeles Dodgers players | Major league first basemen | Major league players from California | National League All-Stars | National League batting champions | People from Boise, Idaho | People from Vallejo, California
