Does Rep. Yarmuth not know that Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch at this year's Fenway opener, in one of the nicer (and far more overdue) moments in baseball this or any other year?
How about the fact that Buckner received a deserving, not to mention lengthy, standing O from the Fenway fans when he hustled his butt off to make the team out of spring training in 1990? Less than four freakin' years since the error, and a decade and a half before the 2004 title!
How about the fact that Game 6 was lost long before Mookie Wilson came to bat? Let's start with John McNamara yanking the best pitcher in baseball for a rookie pinch-hitter. McNamara says Roger Clemens asked out, but why did Clemens grab a bat and helmet and was in the on-deck circle when he was pulled? Not in the dugout. The ON-DECK CIRCLE!
How about the fact that Boston fans have buried any animosity toward him or others who committed famous gaffes (Mike Torrez in 1978. Bill Lee in 1975. The list goes on. 2004 atoned for a lot of sins)? And true Red Sox fans are embarassed that Buckner felt he had to move to Idaho or Montana or wherever to escape his notoriety.
How about the fact that Johnny Pesky, still considered the "goat" of the 1946 World Series for allegedly holding a relay throw for too long, is now a beloved elder statesman of the team (since long before the 2004 title) who got to hoist the 2004 championship banner at Fenway? And if Buckner were to come back as, say, a hitting coach, he would be welcome with open arms? Especially if he straightened out Varitek. . . .
The fact of the matter is, ESPN and FOX have gotten far more mileage out of the video of that error (quote Vin Scully with me now: "slow roller down to first . . . . behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!") than the one of Keith Foulke tossing the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz at first for the 2004 title. And even though it's had an 18-year head start, the error will continue to be played more than the putout. Sad but true.
So let's get this straight: Boston does not hate Buckner. The national media thinks it does.
-JDE2
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1 comment:
I can't agree more!
The national media has always had a Buckner obsession and projected it onto New England. People who actually believed he was responsible for losing that game -- and many true fans don't -- "forgave" him a long, long time ago.
I was at the 1990 game when he returned and you could really feel the love. Almost like people were apologizing for what he had to go through.
It is the casual fan, or people outside New England who have perpetuated the myth of Buckner blame for so long.
Now if Calvin Schiraldi came back, that whould be a whole differenct story....
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