- 5 hours ago
They left out that the Mets were a better team, winning 108 games to Boston's 95
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
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Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
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00:01Okay.
00:02That ball was on the line!
00:05It's five up there!
00:07Michigan can't take it, not up.
00:13No way!
00:15Line right!
00:22Hi everybody, I'm Brian.
00:24I'm Bob Stanley.
00:26It was only game six.
00:31Maybe the Mets were better?
00:32And welcome to ESPN Classics'
00:35Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame.
00:37A series that takes a fresh look at sports personalities
00:39who are remembered largely for their mistakes,
00:41controversial moments, or questionable decisions.
00:44Our mission is not to further vilify these individuals,
00:47but instead to challenge conventional wisdom
00:49and re-examine what has been accepted as fact.
00:52In so many cases, the facts have become distorted
00:54and nuances lost with the passage of time.
00:57In this show, we'll attempt to make a case
00:59for the man who could easily be called
01:01the poster boy for this very series.
01:03Few men have suffered more for one moment
01:05on the field of play than Bill Buckner.
01:08When a grounder rolled through the legs
01:09of the Red Sox first baseman in the 1986 World Series,
01:12he became the lightning rod for decades of futility.
01:15Before we count down the reasons
01:17why you can't blame Buckner for Boston losing the series,
01:20we'll look at the events
01:21that led to Buckner's moment of infamy.
01:30With the Red Sox fan, no fan in sport cares more deeply.
01:34At times, moronically, at times, imbacillically.
01:38It's like Shakespeare, like waiting with bated breath
01:41to see what collapse is going to happen.
01:44Look at all the great teams and the times
01:46that the Red Sox were there at the door.
01:49They were heavily favored to beat the Cardinals in 1946.
01:52The series went seven games.
01:54Enos Slaughter scoring from first base.
01:57As Johnny Pesky held the ball
01:59and the Sox lost a series they ought to have won.
02:04There it goes, a long drive
02:06and mistakes, right here, Cobra.
02:10We will have a seventh game
02:13in the 1975 World Series.
02:16Even after Carlton Fisk hits the miraculous home run,
02:20there's still one miracle short
02:21and lose the 1975 World Series.
02:25And then, of course, in 1978,
02:27the Sox had blown a 14-game lead after July 20th.
02:32And then Bucky Dent hitting the home run
02:34in the playoff game to beat the Red Sox 5-4.
02:37Yastrzewski will not get its home run!
02:40A three-run home run for Bucky Dent.
02:43I mean, of all the guys,
02:46they had a home run.
02:51Bucky Dent.
02:53You know what I mean?
02:54By 1986, I think that Red Sox fans
02:57had more or less accepted the old Dublin ballad.
03:00Being Irish means laughing at life,
03:02knowing that in the end, life will break your heart.
03:05The sad truth of the ballad
03:07seemed to be holding for Boston
03:08in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS.
03:11Down three games to one,
03:13the Red Sox trailed the Angels 5-4
03:16with two outs and one on in the ninth inning.
03:20To left field, and deep and down,
03:23he goes back, and it's gone!
03:27Unbelievable!
03:29When Dave Henderson hit the home run
03:31against the Angels
03:33to take, you know, victory from the jaws of defeat,
03:36at that point, it seemed,
03:37ah, history has turned.
03:39When Dave Henderson hit that home run,
03:41it was the shot heard around the world for Bostonians.
03:45Now we are going back to Boston,
03:47and we knew we were going to win.
03:48The Red Sox are trying to go
03:52from last rights
03:55to the World Series.
03:57And they do.
04:00After beating the Angels in seven games,
04:02the Red Sox took the first two contests
04:05of the World Series
04:06against the heavily favored Mets.
04:08The winds of fate had changed,
04:10or so it seemed.
04:12And there's a drive
04:13into deep left field.
04:15Heap just watches this one,
04:17and it's going to go
04:17on the pavilion top.
04:19It is 6-2 Boston.
04:22After losing the next two games,
04:24Boston continued the march
04:25in game five.
04:28Fastball high,
04:29and he chased it again.
04:31The Red Sox win it 4-2.
04:33They now have a three games
04:35to two advantage.
04:37It seemed like going
04:38into the World Series,
04:39all that historical baggage
04:41had been tossed off.
04:44And I remember thinking to myself
04:45before game six,
04:47that, gee,
04:48it really looks like
04:49it is going to happen.
04:50There's a fly ball
04:51deep left field.
04:53Way back it goes.
04:54It is gone.
04:55A home run.
04:57Deja Vu.
04:58In the tenth inning
04:59of game six,
05:00Dave Henderson put Boston ahead
05:02with a leadoff home run.
05:03After scoring a second run,
05:06the Red Sox took the field
05:07just three outs away
05:08from their first World Championship
05:10in 68 years.
05:12I can see we're going to be
05:13World Champions.
05:14So,
05:15I was feeling it.
05:17Digging myself.
05:18We were digging ourselves.
05:19Henderson going to run it down.
05:21And the Mets are down
05:23to their last hour.
05:25I'm thanking God.
05:26This is great.
05:27Real emotional time.
05:28And I'm spiritually happy.
05:30I mean,
05:30I'm almost in tears.
05:31It meant something
05:32to all of New England
05:34that is very, very hard
05:35to explain
05:36unless you've experienced it.
05:39And here they were
05:40right on the brink.
05:42With his team still ahead
05:44by a run,
05:45manager John McNamara
05:46tapped Bob Stanley
05:47to close out the game.
05:49And it's going to go
05:51to the backstop.
05:52Here comes Mitchell
05:53to score the tied run.
05:55And running Knight
05:56is at second base.
05:58With the score tied at five
06:00and runners on first
06:01and third,
06:02Stanley ran the count
06:03to two and two
06:04against Mookie Wilson.
06:07Little roller up along first.
06:09Behind the bag.
06:10It gets through Buckner.
06:12Here comes Knight
06:13and the Mets win it.
06:16When the ball went
06:17through Buckner's legs,
06:19it was as if time
06:20stood still.
06:21It all kind of unfolded
06:22in slow motion.
06:24He took his eye
06:25off the ball
06:26and caused their fans
06:28a great deal of heartache.
06:29That may be the worst moment
06:31that I've ever seen
06:32in baseball.
06:33Really?
06:33I haven't missed
06:34a ground ball
06:34in two months.
06:35That was a hell of a
06:36one to miss.
06:38I've just got
06:38that sinking feeling.
06:40It feels like something
06:40died inside of me.
06:42It's probably the darkest
06:43day in Boston
06:44baseball history.
06:45It ruined the lives
06:46of many people.
06:48I just knew in my heart
06:50when they had lost that,
06:51that in my lifetime,
06:54the Red Sox
06:54will never win it all.
06:55In my children's lifetime,
06:57the Red Sox
06:58will never win it all.
07:01In Game 7,
07:02the Red Sox built
07:03an early three-run lead
07:04only to lose 8-5.
07:07Now the pitch
07:08on the way.
07:09He struck him out.
07:10Struck him out.
07:11The Mets have won
07:12the World Series.
07:13In a depressing
07:14aftermath
07:15that would last
07:16until 2004,
07:18Bill Buckner's error
07:19in Game 6
07:19became the enduring
07:21symbol of Red Sox
07:22futility.
07:24To come that close
07:26and not come away
07:27with it,
07:27given everything else
07:28that had happened
07:28to this franchise
07:29over the years,
07:30it was traumatic.
07:31People that don't
07:32live in Boston
07:33don't know
07:33what he went through.
07:35People would come up
07:36and throw garbage
07:36on his lawn
07:37and he really
07:38took a beating
07:39up here.
07:40Buckner...
07:41...in Boston
07:41knows about Boston
07:44and how they act
07:45when it comes to sports.
07:47Walked into a bar
07:48in Boston
07:50and somebody
07:51recognized him
07:52and picked up
07:53a piece of fruit
07:55and rolled it
07:56down the bar
07:57at Buckner
07:58and said,
07:58see if you can
07:58catch that.
08:00I'm from Boston,
08:01so no matter
08:02what you do
08:02to build Buckner,
08:03it's not bad enough.
08:04He broke the hearts
08:05of people
08:06in six states.
08:07He was driven out
08:07of New England
08:09because to New England,
08:12Bill Buckner
08:13was like Rasputin.
08:15He'd done evil,
08:17wicked things.
08:19We all make mistakes,
08:20but that was a mistake
08:21that will haunt him
08:22the rest of his life.
08:25That's the conventional
08:26wisdom behind
08:27why Bill Buckner
08:28has been made to blame
08:28for Boston losing
08:29the 1986 World Series.
08:31Perhaps Red Sox fans,
08:33having lived through
08:33a championship,
08:34are now ready
08:34to be a little
08:35more reasonable.
08:36Either way,
08:37we're going to count down
08:37the top five reasons
08:38you can't blame Buckner
08:39later in the show.
08:40But first,
08:41there are more
08:41than just five.
08:42We call them
08:43the best of the rest.
08:49Sox repeatedly committed
08:51the sin of omission.
08:52They left 14 runners
08:54on base.
08:55We did not capitalize
08:56on scoring chances
08:58early in the ball game.
08:59In the 10th inning,
09:01Jim Rice did have a shot
09:02to knock him more.
09:03They did have a two-run lead.
09:05Two-run lead,
09:05if you're a World Series champ,
09:07should be enough
09:08in the last inning.
09:09Of course, it wasn't.
09:11Another best of the rest,
09:13Oil Can Boyd.
09:14Did the pitcher
09:15jinx his team
09:15by celebrating
09:16prematurely
09:17during game six?
09:19Supposedly,
09:20Oil Can Boyd
09:21had already gone
09:22into the Red Sox clubhouse
09:23and it popped open
09:24the first bottle of champagne.
09:25All of a sudden,
09:26I get bear hugged
09:27from behind
09:28and I turned around
09:29and looked
09:30and it's Oil Can Boyd.
09:32And I said to him,
09:34I don't know
09:34where you've been sitting,
09:35but get your butt
09:36back there
09:36and sit down.
09:37We still have
09:38one out to go.
09:40Another best of the rest,
09:42Shea Stadium's
09:42message board.
09:44Someone jumped the gun
09:45in the 10th inning.
09:46I glance up
09:47to the scoreboard
09:48in left center
09:49and I see,
09:50congratulations
09:50to the 1986
09:51world champion,
09:53Boston Red Sox.
09:54And it seemed like
09:55ever since that
09:56went up there,
09:56that's when the floor
09:57came out
09:58from underneath
09:58the Red Sox.
10:02Reason number five,
10:04Roger Clemens exit
10:05from game six.
10:06Whose decision was it?
10:08Another great piece
10:09of Red Sox folklore
10:11is why did Roger
10:11leave the game?
10:12Roger says he had blisters
10:13and McClendon
10:14said he just wanted
10:15to come out of the game.
10:16In 1986,
10:18Clemens,
10:18with a 24-4 record,
10:20won the MVP
10:21and Cy Young Awards.
10:23In game six
10:24of the World Series,
10:26the Red Sox
10:26led 3-2
10:27after seven innings.
10:29Their ace
10:29had given up
10:30only four hits
10:31on 135 pitches
10:33when he was taken
10:34out of the game
10:34for reasons
10:35that still remain unclear.
10:37I had a blood blister
10:38that was bleeding,
10:38but the only pitch
10:39that that hindered me
10:40throwing was the slider.
10:46He came off the mound
10:47at the end
10:48of the seventh inning
10:49and said,
10:50that's all I can pitch.
10:51I'm never asked
10:52to come out of a game.
10:53I'll pitch
10:54till all of my fingers
10:55are bleeding.
10:55I don't know
10:56why Mac would
10:57make that comment.
10:58I wasn't going
10:59to force him
10:59to go back out.
11:00It was the truth
11:01in 1986
11:03and it's the truth
11:04sitting here today.
11:06Clemens has been
11:06called back,
11:07it seems like.
11:09I was on deck
11:09to hit.
11:10I was ready to hit.
11:11Sure, it's funny
11:12how I asked
11:12how I was out of the game,
11:13but I'm getting ready
11:13to go hit.
11:14I don't believe
11:15a word Mac Damaris says.
11:17I believe Roger Clemens.
11:18You're talking
11:19about a competitor.
11:20You can't tell me
11:21over a silly little blister
11:22Roger would want out.
11:23We all looked at it
11:25and what do you say?
11:27Some individuals
11:28they can work through it,
11:29some individuals
11:29they can't.
11:30And it depends
11:31on what pitch
11:31they're throwing
11:32and all that.
11:34Did he ask
11:35out of the game?
11:36No.
11:37That to me
11:39is a much bigger deal
11:40than Buckner.
11:42If you want
11:42to attach blame,
11:44the better place
11:45to go
11:45is with McNamara
11:47and or Clemens
11:49for that decision.
11:51Did that reason
11:52grab you?
11:53If not,
11:53we've got four more
11:54to go.
11:55Here's reason number four.
11:58Calvin Chiraldi,
11:59the Red Sox reliever,
12:01faltered in game
12:01six and seven.
12:04Calvin Chiraldi
12:05from the time
12:05he walked out
12:06of the bullpen
12:06looked like a guy
12:07who didn't want
12:08to be out there.
12:09Those eyes,
12:10you see those eyes.
12:11It's the famous
12:11Calvin Chiraldi eyes.
12:13Not a good sign.
12:14Just didn't have
12:14the killer instinct.
12:15Couldn't finish the job.
12:17Chiraldi,
12:18whom the Mets
12:18traded to Boston
12:19after the 1985 season,
12:21allowed the Mets
12:22to tie the game
12:23in the eighth inning.
12:24With two outs
12:25and no one on base
12:26in the tenth,
12:27the only thing standing
12:28between the Red Sox
12:29and a championship.
12:31I know he's a bum.
12:32I know he was a bum.
12:36Team can't get rid of you
12:39and then win
12:40a championship next year.
12:42You're a certified bum.
12:45Was his former
12:46battery mate,
12:46Gary Carter.
12:48I couldn't breathe.
12:49I was so excited.
12:52I mean,
12:53it happened to me
12:53in the College
12:54World Series, too.
12:55I had to go off
12:56the back of the mound
12:57and try to catch my breath.
12:59I just came to the plate
13:00with a great deal
13:01of confidence
13:02because Calvin Chiraldi
13:04was with the ball club
13:05the year before.
13:06The Phillies
13:06were beating our brains in
13:08and Chiraldi
13:09happened to be
13:09out on the mound.
13:10He wanted out of there.
13:11And I could just see
13:12there was kind of
13:12a scared look
13:13in his eyes.
13:15In the bottom
13:16of the tenth inning,
13:17I said,
13:17hey,
13:17this guy ain't gonna
13:18get me out.
13:20Lined into left field.
13:22Base hit Picard
13:23and the Mets
13:23are still alive.
13:24I knew how to beat him.
13:27He was one of the tenths.
13:29I've seen this guy
13:30in training camp.
13:32I've seen him
13:32in preseason.
13:37It's a crock of s***.
13:38Why would I have been scared?
13:40There's never been a time
13:41in my life
13:42that I've been scared
13:43on the mound.
13:43But in an interview
13:44following his save
13:45in game one,
13:47Chiraldi was singing
13:48a different tune.
13:49I was scared to death
13:50out there tonight.
13:50I mean,
13:52it's really terrifying
13:53out there.
13:54We'll be in the
13:55World Series
13:55and everything.
13:56After Carter's
13:57tenth inning single,
13:58pinch hitter
13:59Kevin Mitchell
14:00stepped to the plate.
14:02Third ball
14:03and that's gonna be
14:03hit to center.
14:04Base hit.
14:05And now suddenly
14:06with two out
14:07in the tenth inning,
14:08the tying runs
14:09are aboard
14:10and Ray Knight
14:11will be the batter.
14:13With the count
14:140-2 on Knight,
14:16Chiraldi threw
14:17hard inside.
14:19And that's gonna be
14:20a hit into center field.
14:21Base hit.
14:22Here comes Carter
14:23to score
14:24and the time run
14:25is at third.
14:27Absolute.
14:30Hits.
14:31The night was over
14:32for the right-hander.
14:34I don't know what happened.
14:35I mean,
14:36I'm so quick.
14:38I don't know what happened.
14:41It's just a wrong feeling.
14:42I don't know what happened
14:43about 54 million people
14:48and that's just counting
14:49the United States
14:50can tell you
14:51what happened.
14:53Calvin Chiraldi
14:54gets to,
14:55you know,
14:55with one strike
14:57and he can't get out of it.
14:59If there's one person
15:00that probably
15:01shoulders the most blame
15:02for game six and seven
15:04it's Calvin Chiraldi.
15:05You've got game seven.
15:06Calvin Chiraldi
15:07comes in
15:07and gives up
15:08three runs
15:09I think in a third
15:09of an inning.
15:10How come he's not
15:11the big goat
15:11that people pick on?
15:14The battery
15:15of Rich Gedman
15:16and Bob Stanley
15:17and the wild pitch
15:18that got away
15:19in the tenth inning
15:19of game six.
15:20You really can't blame
15:22Bunker.
15:22I thought the bigger play
15:23was Gedman
15:25not handling
15:26the pitch
15:27by Stanley
15:28allowing the time
15:29to score
15:29because now
15:30everything changes.
15:31The whole dynamic
15:32of the game changes.
15:33With the Red Sox
15:34still leading 5-4
15:35manager
15:36John McNamara
15:37called to the bullpen
15:38for Stanley
15:39to face
15:39Mookie Wilson.
15:40With Kevin Mitchell
15:41on third
15:42Ray Knight
15:42on first
15:43and the count
15:44at two and two
15:45Stanley let one fly.
15:48And it's going to go
15:49to the backstop
15:50here comes Mitchell
15:51to score
15:51the tying run
15:53and Ray Knight
15:54is at second base.
15:56Players told me
15:57that the ball
15:58was supposed
15:58to be a sinker
15:59and Stanley
16:00threw a little bit
16:01of a cross-seamer.
16:02And yet he did call
16:03for a fastball inside
16:04and when I went
16:04to throw it
16:05he went outside.
16:06So he got a little
16:07mix-up
16:07and the ball
16:09went to the back side.
16:10It wasn't the ball
16:12that Buckner missed
16:13it was the pitch
16:14that Stanley threw
16:16because that
16:17let the Mets tie it.
16:21Three reasons down
16:22and two to go.
16:23Here's reason number two.
16:25Mookie Wilson's speed.
16:27Had Buckner fielded
16:28the ball cleanly
16:29Wilson may well
16:30have beaten either
16:31Buckner or Stanley
16:32to the bad.
16:33Mookie's one of the
16:34fastest guys
16:35in the game
16:35at that time
16:36getting down
16:36to first base.
16:37There's a guy
16:37that can get down
16:38the line
16:38in under four seconds.
16:40I've looked at
16:40the replays
16:41and to tell you
16:43the truth
16:44even if he caught
16:45that ball
16:45Mookie's safe.
16:48Supporting the supposition
16:49that Wilson
16:50would have been safe
16:50had the ball
16:51been fielded cleanly
16:52was Buckner's
16:53ailing legs.
16:54His ankles
16:55had been gouged.
17:00They had been operated
17:01and re-operated upon.
17:03This guy played
17:04through a tremendous
17:05amount of pain.
17:06He had no joint
17:07left in his ankle
17:08whatsoever.
17:08He tried.
17:09He was there.
17:10So you cannot blame him.
17:12Further hindering
17:13Buckner's chances
17:14was his field position.
17:16We had a pickoff play
17:17on second base.
17:18Marty was out of position
17:19so I had to move over
17:20to cover the hole.
17:21It was hit just slowly
17:22enough and Buckner
17:23was playing just deep enough
17:24and Mookie was running
17:25just hard enough
17:26and I think
17:27to myself
17:28you know what
17:28he's going to beat
17:29that play.
17:30In all honesty
17:31I was just worried
17:32about beating the pitch
17:32to the bag
17:33because I don't think
17:34Buckner could have
17:34beaten me to the bag.
17:36Rob Stanley wasn't there
17:37and he wasn't going to
17:38beat Mookie to first base.
17:39So at the very least
17:40the game would have been tied
17:41and who knows
17:42what would have happened
17:42after that.
17:46John McNamara
17:47the Red Sox manager
17:48made some decisions
17:49that still have many fans
17:51scratching their heads.
18:18I blame Johnny McNamara
18:21and he was being
18:22paid allegedly
18:23to manage that team.
18:24He didn't.
18:25In game six
18:26with veteran slugger
18:28Don Baylor
18:28ready and waiting
18:29McNamara chose
18:31rookie Mike Greenwell
18:32to pinch hit for Clemens
18:33in the eighth inning.
18:35Greenwell struck out
18:36on three pitches
18:37with a man on second.
18:38Greenwell had barely
18:39played during the
18:4086 season
18:41and Greenwell
18:42looked pathetic.
18:43He was useless
18:44at that point.
18:45To this day
18:45he's second guessed
18:46by his players
18:47for not putting
18:48Baylor in at that point.
18:49And as Boston Wright
18:50has pointed out
18:51it was a move
18:52he made many times
18:53during the season.
18:56What McNamara
18:57did do with regularity
18:59that October
18:59was benched
19:00the hobbled Buckner
19:01for defensive purposes.
19:03In all seven
19:04Boston wins
19:05that postseason
19:05he inserted
19:06Dave Stapleton
19:07at first base
19:08in the late innings.
19:09But in the tenth inning
19:11of game six
19:11Buckner took the field
19:13with a 5-3 lead.
19:15I wrote a column
19:16the day before
19:18the Buckner era
19:19the clear premise
19:19being that he was
19:20too injured
19:21he shouldn't play
19:22and most important
19:23that the game
19:24finds people like this
19:26who are vulnerable.
19:27I talked to McNamara
19:28about it
19:29in the eighth
19:29or ninth inning.
19:30I said hey
19:30I feel like
19:31somebody else
19:32is better to be out there
19:32go ahead
19:33and put him out there.
19:34Ground ball
19:35to first base
19:36Buckner
19:36it goes for him
19:38and here comes
19:39the winning one
19:41the Mets have won it.
19:42I remember riding down
19:43in the elevator
19:44after the game
19:45with Bart Giamatti
19:46who had spent his whole life
19:47growing up a Red Sox fan
19:48and the first thing
19:49Giamatti said
19:50when I got on the elevator
19:51was that f***ing McNamara
19:53how could he leave
19:53Buckner in there?
19:54For whatever reason
19:55whether John McNamara
19:56got sentimental
19:57or Buckner talked him into it
19:59he wanted to be in the picture
20:00when they won it
20:01I think he just caved
20:02and figured
20:03what are the odds
20:04that there's going to be a ball
20:04that's going to flip
20:05this thing around on us?
20:07In game seven
20:08Bruce Hurst
20:09held the Mets scoreless
20:10through five innings.
20:11In the sixth
20:12New York scored
20:13three runs
20:14to tie Boston
20:15McNamara then went
20:16to Chiraldi
20:17in the seventh
20:18the shell-shocked
20:19reliever
20:19promptly gave up
20:20three more runs
20:22after Boston scored
20:23two runs in the eighth
20:24Al Nipper came in
20:26only to give
20:26those two runs back
20:28the Mets 8-5 victory
20:30gave them the World Series
20:32we'd all like to see
20:33what would have happened
20:34if Oil Can
20:34or Clemens
20:35or someone else
20:36had gone into that game
20:36I was in the bullpen
20:37every time the bullpen
20:38phone rang
20:39you get excitement
20:40running through
20:40you think
20:41you're going to get
20:41the call to get up
20:42but it never happened
20:43you have John McNamara
20:45sort of being
20:47frozen at the wheel
20:48at the critical time
20:49he couldn't
20:50make the moves
20:52that he had made
20:52all year long
20:53and that probably
20:55should have been made
20:55then
20:56Buckner was not the
20:57GOAT in 1986
20:58John McNamara
20:59I think
21:00is palpable
21:01for the Sox
21:01blowing the 86 series
21:03he's got a good
21:04Irish name
21:04but I don't think
21:05that they raise
21:06many toasts
21:06to John McNamara
21:10well there you have
21:10it
21:11the top 5 reasons
21:11why you can't
21:12blame Bill Buckner
21:13for Boston losing
21:14the 1986 World Series
21:15in light of
21:16close examination
21:17and a 2004
21:18Red Sox championship
21:19it's time to let
21:21this one rest
21:21I'm Brian Kenney
21:23thanks
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