On May 27, 2019 Bill Buckner passes away at age 69 from Lewy Body Dementia.
He played 22 years in the majors for five different teams. He was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who drafted him in the second round of the 1968 amateur draft, and the Chicago Cubs for eight seasons each before joining the Red Sox.
Buckner won a batting title and was an All-Star, and finished top-15 in MVP voting three consecutive years. But it’s his singular play at first base at Shea Stadium in October 1986 that stuck with fans for years. The Red Sox were looking for their first World Series title since 1918 with a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 10th inning when the Mets tied it.
Mookie Wilson came up with a runner on second and worked the count full before hitting a slow roller up the first base line. Buckner went to his left, but watched as it rolled through his legs and the runner scored.
Buckner retired in 1990 after attempting a second stint with the Red Sox. Sadly, he and his family were forced to move from Massachusetts to Idaho due to taunts and criticism. His career consisted of 2,715 hits, 1,208 RBIs, 1,077 runs scored and 174 home runs.
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