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. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. His playing career lasted over twenty years and he accumulated over 2700 career hits.

Career

Bill Buckner at Wrigley Field on June 11, 1981

Buckner was born in Vallejo, California, United States. Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2 Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero Vallejo (vəˈleɪoʊ or /vəˈleɪhoʊ/ in English /baˈjeho/ in the original Spanish) is the largest city in Solano County California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He graduated from Napa High School. He was the second player chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1968 June Draft (after his friend Bobby Valentine was selected first). Robert John Valentine (born May 13 1950 in Stamford, Connecticut) nicknamed Bobby V, is a former player and manager in 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. The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly Sigma Chi ( ΣΧ) is one of the largest and oldest all-male college Greek-letter social fraternities and a Secret society. 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. Champions Major League Baseball The most notable part of the 1969 season were the Miracle Mets World Series: New York Mets The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. He won the National League batting title in 1980 with the Chicago Cubs. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. He was an All-Star in 1981. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2 Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero 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. Nike Inc ('naɪki ( is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The high-top is a Shoe that extends significantly over the wearer's Ankle. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

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. In Baseball, the term contact hitter is used to describe a hitter who does not strike out often In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes 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). Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals World Series MVP Darrell Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Kansas City Royals over St Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4-3 Willie Stargell, Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2 Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies (4-1 Rick Dempsey, Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St

As a player he was a speedy baserunner who twice finished in the top-ten in the league in stolen bases. In Baseball, baserunning is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate He twice led the league in doubles. In Baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching Second base without being called out by the Umpire After a serious ankle injury in the early 70's while playing for the Dodgers, which affected him for much of his career, Buckner never was the same type of base runner. In the remaining years of his career, Buckner endured extensive daily therapy and icing of his ankle in order to maintain his high level of playing standards for another decade and a half.

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.

1986 World Series

Game 6: Ray Knight (not pictured) scores the winning run as Bill Buckner and Bob Stanley watch Mookie Wilson's slow roller. Charles Ray Knight (born December 28 1952, in Albany Georgia) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball player who played in Robert William "Bob" Stanley (born November 10, 1954) in Portland Maine is a former Major League Baseball right-handed Relief William Hayward "Mookie" Wilson (born February 9 1956) is a former Major League Baseball Center fielder who played with the New

On October 25, 1986, the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Mets in game 6 of the World Series. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. 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. An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during New York came back to tie the game with three straight singles off Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by pitcher Bob Stanley. Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962 in Houston Texas) was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox Robert William "Bob" Stanley (born November 10, 1954) in Portland Maine is a former Major League Baseball right-handed Relief Mookie Wilson fouled off several pitches before hitting a ground ball to Buckner at first base. William Hayward "Mookie" Wilson (born February 9 1956) is a former Major League Baseball Center fielder who played with the New 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. Charles Ray Knight (born December 28 1952, in Albany Georgia) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball player who played in 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. The 1986 American League Championship Series was a back-and-forth battle between the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels for the right to David Lee Henderson (born July 21 1958 in Merced California) nicknamed Hendu, is an American former Major League David Lee Henderson (born July 21 1958 in Merced California) nicknamed Hendu, is an American former Major League

Retirement and legacy

After Buckner retired from professional baseball he moved his family to Boise, Idaho, where he invested in real estate through the company Can Am Development (canamdevelopment. Boise (ˈbɔɪsi is the capital and most populous city of the U com). One of the housing subdivisions which he developed is named Fenway Park. He also owns Bill Buckner Motors in Emmett, Idaho. Emmett is a city in Gem County, Idaho, United States. The population was 5490 at the 2000 census.

The "Buckner Ball" was later auctioned for $93,000. The high bidder was Charlie Sheen. Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3 1965 better known as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor The ball is now in the collection of songwriter Seth Swirsky, who refers to it as the "Mookie Ball. Seth Swirsky (b August 5 1960, New Haven Connecticut) is an American Pop music Songwriter, Author, Recording "

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. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5 1934 in Mobile Alabama) nicknamed "Hammer" "Hammerin' Hank” or "Bad Henry” is a retired Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers

On April 8, 2008, Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox home opener against the Detroit Tigers. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian Calendar Major League Baseball See also 2008 Major League Baseball season Postseason October 1 – ALDS and He received a 4 minute standing ovation from the sell-out crowd. After the game when asked if he had any second thoughts about appearing at the game he said, "I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I've done that and I'm over that. "^[1]

References in popular culture

• Boston poet John Hodgen wrote a poem "Forgiving Buckner". The poem begins, "The world is always rolling between our legs. . . " ^[2]

• In Boston, the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge has acquired the nickname "The Bill Buckner Bridge" because cars pass unimpeded through the bridge's Y-shaped "legs. The Leonard P Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is a Cable-stayed bridge that carries eight lanes of the Interstate 93 and U "^[3][4]

• In the movie "Rounders" the character Mike McDermott, played by Matt Damon, describes walking back into Teddy KGB's card room (where he had lost his entire savings on one hand of poker): "I feel like Buckner walking back into Shea. "

Trivia

• Buckner was wearing a Chicago Cubs batting glove underneath his fielding mitt when he committed the infamous Game 6 error. The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. ^[5]

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

Quotes

"Bill Buckner was more than just a great player. See also List of lifetime home run leaders through history This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2000 hit milestone during their career in MLB Below is the list of 155 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 400 doubles milestone Below is the list of 300 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 1000 Runs milestone Below is the list of 257 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 1000 RBI milestone The batting championship is awarded to the Major League Baseball player in each of the American League and the National League who has the highest Batting average Major League Baseball recognizes doubles champions in the American League and National League each season He was a champion warrior. " -Ray Knight

References

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. A viral video is a Video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing typically through Email or RBI Baseball ( Run Batted In Baseball) is a Baseball Video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Vincent Edward "Vin" Scully (born November 29, 1927 in The Bronx, New York) is an American Sportscaster, Play-by-play, in Broadcasting, is a North American term and means the reporting of a Sporting event with a Voiceover describing the details of the action
• The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: E-3
• Newsday: The Buckner Ball, August 16, 2006
• Billbuckner.com