I had the opportunity to live and work in Boston for about four years, and, as a New England interloper, I was forced to endure the wailing and gnashing of teeth from many a Red Sox fan, the real ones and the gaggle of bandwagon jumpers.
In the last few years, the latter group has become the dominant force of nature there, while the true fans have been buried under a sea of pink Red Sox hats and fawning members of the local media who never met an on-camera ego trip or a free meal they couldn't pass up.
And they know who they are. Then again, so does everyone else in that town. But I digress.
Makes no difference who it was or how the conversation rolled around to Bill Buckner, but one thing was ice-cube clear.
People hated the man with an unbridled passion.
Not once did I meet an everyday fan who did not want to take some pointed object and impale Buckner with it for what he did to them, even when some of the homicidal horde was barely old enough to urinate without diapers when it happened.
My friends in the press corps, a different story. They knew the back stories while also knowing full well the scope of idiocy shown by some of these fanatics. Not fans, mind you, but dangerous fanatics.
Which is why what happened in some pockets at Fenway Park for the Red Sox 2008 home opener seemed more of a fawning embarrassing lie than a true welcome back to someone who has, for years, been forced to endure more baseball anger and verbal abuse than Steve Bartman.
Red Sox ownership did what previous spiteful management failed to do, and welcomed Buckner back home with the ceremonial first pitch.
Knowing full well how most of those in the seats felt about him made for some conflicting emotions from Buckner. Wanting to drink it all in, to savor redemption, failing to wear his bullet proof jersey, or knowing exactly how the Christians must have felt.
I wasn't there, but I would be willing to bet a large number of those applauding were those who would have rather come to bury Buckner, not to praise him.
The same ones who, while applauding, turned to anyone within speaking distance and uttered more than one four letter word demeaning the front office for even taking one iota of a second to consider bringing this bumbling fool back to Fenway Park.
Still they cheered, most of them, knowing it was a lie. In this case, one might actually have more respect for the ones who rained down catcalls because they were, at the very least, being true to themselves and their feelings.
I met Buckner last year at a youth baseball event in New Mexico, and, while making small talk, he knew better than to even mention Boston, and those who knew him well indicated it was the right choice.
Buckner was engaging, but had been hardened over the years thanks to the treatment of slack-jawed Red Sox followers who conveniently forgot there was another game in that World Series following Buckner's error.
One more game they could have won, and no one would have ever thought twice about that mistake. One game the entire team failed to win, where Calvin Schiraldi and Al Nipper were like cats with hairballs coughing up leads and handing the game to the Mets.
They never tasted the violent hate spewed by these IQ-challenged bottom feeders. Just Buckner. Only Buckner.
It's hard to recall any one player in recent baseball lore that has been as vilified as Buckner for one single play in one single game.
That, and the manner in which the bile grew with each passing day and poisoned more than one generation of fans who would have better spent their time enjoying the game and their team than spending precious hours being bitter about having their title stolen from them.
Pathetic.
Rest assured that, despite the welcome back, the good tidings, the smiles, and the applause, many a ticket holder left that game still laughing and deriding Buckner for how he single-handedly ruined a game, a Series, a season, a City, a region, and the dreams and aspirations of many who since have lived tortured lives mired in a living Hell from which there is no escape.
One can only hope that, as he was leaving Fenway Park, Buckner secretly thumbed more than his nose at those who sentenced him to such ignominy for so many years. He deserved so much more than this one moment returning to the sunshine.
And those who still will curse Buckner and remind their children of the man who purloined their dreams in a wanton act of thievery? They deserve exactly what they get for the rest of their miserable lives. Living in the mental squalor they created and will pass on to the next generation of lemmings.
Though some will thankfully see this lie for what it is. A sad excuse that turns base hits into hate and poisons everything and everyone around it.
Congratulations to Red Sox ownership for righting a massive wrong.
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3 months ago
Just wanted to say that as a diehard red sox fan that grew up post-buckner, I think would say most knowledgeable fans didn't particularly have the hatred of the man as much as it is portrayed. There were a million things that went wrong in that game/series, particularly late-inning pitching changes and the lack of defensive replacements that I think most people would point their finger at. In my mind a lot of the lore is media-driven by awful "Curse" tv specials and fox broadcast intros. But alas.
3 months ago
As a baseball fan (not a Sox fan, so feel free to blithely dismiss anything I write), Buckner was a credit to every team he played for. I hate the bum rap he got for that play. And frankly, he didn't go out and lose all nine innings of game seven alone, did he? The man deserved at least a shot at the Hall, and all he gets is this trumped up, media-perpetuated idiocy. The fans know better.
3 months ago
Your portrayal is just plain wrong.
Buckner himself says is was not the fans "per se" who villainized him; it was the media. He noted in press interviews today that the fans at Fenway cheered him in Game 7 of the 1986 Series; the error occurred in Game 5. He spoke publicly today about the ovations he received from Red Sox fans in 1990 and as a member of the White Sox organization when he returned.
He also spoke very clearly today about praying after receiving the invitation from the Red Sox to return today, and how he had to forgive the press in order to accept.
I've been a Red Sox fan for 35 years, and I live among other fans. I've never known one fan to say that he or she hated Bill Buckner. Among all the fans that I know, we've all felt horribly about what happened to him and hoped for this day to come.
Confirmation of what I am posting is easy for any sincere, honest person to find. Simply search "Buckner" tonight and you will find hundreds of articles about his return and plenty of reliable sources. Or, you can find broadcast and internet outlets replaying some of these comments from his various press conferences today.
Your depiction of the fans feelings for Bill Buckner is duplicitous and there can be no excuse for it. The truth is widely available tonight to anyone who cares about the truth.
3 months ago
Anonymous, I can see where the public perception is what you've indicated, but not being a Red Sox fan for 35 years granted me a certain perspective. By not being so emotionally tied to the team I was able to learn much more than the surface. Yes, he blames the media but it's the constant and belligerent tone taken by the fans that left a scar on Buckner. The media is something players deal with every single day and cast aside. But when the people you play in front of spending decades wallowing in their own hatred and spew it on a regular basis, that's where players draw the line.
I can understand your opinion, but the truth is out there. The issue is it's not always readily available nor made public for people to see. The press is an easy target to blame. Had Buckner gone after the fans it would have never ended, and he's too much of a class act to buy into their insecurities. What is said at a press conference is for public consumption. What has been done and said by addled members of the fan community will never go away.
The media, especially in Boston, tells you what you want to hear and would never report nor take themselves to task for their mistakes. And if you lived there you know from where I speak.
3 months ago
your portrait is 100% wrong. Not even close.
the national media made buckner into a punching bag. any red sox fan who is over roughly 30 eyars old knows buckner was part of the equation, but not by any strecth the reason the sox blew the 1986 world series. with the help of the national media, so many people out there now believe that had buckner fielded that ground ball, the sox would have won the world series. but red sox fans know much better.
if your goal was to get a reaction, mission accomplished. if your goal was to print something accurate, sorry, better luck next time.
3 months ago
sorry tou double-post, but it is like the national media who says "or as he is called in boston aaron bleeping boone". that never happens, not once. if red sox fans talk about the 2003 alcs, the discussion goes no furhter than grady little. boone never gets brought up.
and contrary to what people think, and to portrayls in movies like "fever pitch", red sox fans do not sit around replaying the bucker play on a vcr. not now, and not before 2004. were there some whiny red sox fans who cursed fate, and talked about idiotic things, such as a curse (thanks a lot, shaughnessy, you a--hole)? sure, i am sure they did.
in 2003, they did not lose because of a curse, they lost because of a nitwit manager who should not have been allowed to operate the remote control, let alone manage a team in the MPB playoffs.
for the most part, the sox needed to get a better team,. they have done that in 2004 and 2007. i hope they keep it up.
3 months ago
Ed, you are completely wrong and ridiculously off-base. Please leave the "this is how real Sox fans feel" crap to actual Sox fans, Shaunnessey.
The people who hate Buckner are the "pink-hats" who jumped on the bandwagon in 86 just in time to see him botch a groundball.
I have never met anyone who is a real fan who hates Buckner.
Again, as I did in my article today, I point to 1990 when he received a standing ovation on opening day.
The media pushes this theory that we all hate Buckner. It's a crock. And this is why bringing him in for Opening Day was just wrong. It gives people like you a chance to tell the world how awful Red Sox fans are.
I couldn't be more annoyed with this situation, this article, and all the made-up garbage I've been reading since 2:00 PM EST yesterday.
3 months ago
Sean, I appreciate your comments but allow me to reply. For 4 years I worked in the Boston media, just leaving recently. Every single person in my shop who followed baseball, and that was every male in the place, never hesitated to tell me how much they hated Buckner and what a jerk he was. Most of the words I would never put in print, honestly. Sure, they tried to say how sorry they were in public, but in private I was amazed at how much anger there was after all those years. And these are people who, as I pointed out, were barely out of diapers when it happened. I can also say with all candor there were plenty of people I met who had rooted for this team for years who felt the same way, including the member of broadcast management who said to me, and I quote, "that f---ing a----le, I hope he burns in hell".
Bringing him in for Opening Day is something that should have been done long ago instead of letting this fester. And if you re-read what I posted, I never said ALL Red Sox fans were awful, merely pointing out this sub-culture. I found the real Red Sox fans to be more passionate that anyone I have ever met, and also damn knowledgeable about the game. I stand by my own experiences living in New England.
As for Dan Shaugnessy, even his peers will quietly tell you how little respect they have for him and his blatant homer-ism for the Red Sox.
Don't hate, and don't hate the messenger, my friend. Disagree instead with those who created the message in the first place.
from 3 months ago
You're a former member of the Boston media (yes, I was one of the six people who saw your Comcast CN8 show), you're a lifelong Mets fan, and are the EXACT media type that I complained about in my Buckner column.
The reason you don't invite Buckner to a Red Sox celebration is because it gives media members like yourself a chance to poke Red Sox fans in the eye with a sharp stick.
It's real easy to say, "The issue is it's not always readily available nor made public for people to see." as if you're some elitist that can see things us normal fans can't. Fact is, you're a failed member of the local media who is obviously bitter at the successful members (and I'm not taking side, I hate the successful and unsuccessful members of the local media). You're a Mets fan, you're bitter at the Boston market, and you're using this opportunity to vent about Boston.
Fair enough. But take this into consideration. The entire message Buckner heard about "the people you play in front of spending decades wallowing in their own hatred and spew it on a regular basis" came from and was reported on by the media. Talk radio. The six people who watched your show.
If Sox fans are so bad, why aren't we tormenting Mike Torrez for throwing a meatball to Bucky Dent? Or Pesky for holding on to the ball too long in '46? Tim Wakefield for giving up the homerun in 2003?
The reason Buckner's name is thrown out there so much is completely media driven. Like I said in my article, every time someone chokes in a playoff series ESPN shows the highlight. Every time the Sox play the Mets in Interleague play, it's shown. I think Sports Final on Channel 4 even had it in their open for a while.
You're wrong. The comments here, where most of us are just anonymous faces and would have nothing to gain by lying about our true feelings towards Buckner, are just a sampling of the proof that's easily available.
But I'm sure you'll fall back on the "it's only what Sox fans say in public" and base everything on these private conversations between you and nobody....
3 months ago
Well, i cant believe your classifying Sox fans as Idiots. Your the idiot. Of Course i was mad at Buckner, but i got over it. People dont realize the game was already tied, Stanley and Schiradi were more to blame. Also, the whole year Macnamara put Stapleton in as a defensive replacment for Buckner in the ninth. He didnt that day because he "wanted Bill to be on the field for the celebration"....Thats a joke. So yeah, i thought Buckner got a bad rap, and i didnt hate him.......until......
A few years back i saw Buckner on QVC hawking signed Photos of him with the ball going between his legs. He was making money and a mockery out of Sox fans by doing that. Right there he was dead to me forever. There is no way he should have thrown out the first ball opening day. Bill Buckner is a toilet.
Plus, he was always crying about how he got "run out of town, treated bad, blah blah blah"....he made millions of dollars playing baseball, and he crying about what people say?I have no sympathy for that. There is six year old kids with leukimia. What a chump, a coward if you will.
3 months ago
Well, i cant believe your classifying Sox fans as Idiots. Your the idiot. Of Course i was mad at Buckner, but i got over it. People dont realize the game was already tied, Stanley and Schiradi were more to blame. Also, the whole year Macnamara put Stapleton in as a defensive replacment for Buckner in the ninth. He didnt that day because he "wanted Bill to be on the field for the celebration"....Thats a joke. So yeah, i thought Buckner got a bad rap, and i didnt hate him.......until......
A few years back i saw Buckner on QVC hawking signed Photos of him with the ball going between his legs. He was making money and a mockery out of Sox fans by doing that. Right there he was dead to me forever. There is no way he should have thrown out the first ball opening day. Bill Buckner is a toilet.
Plus, he was always crying about how he got "run out of town, treated bad, blah blah blah"....he made millions of dollars playing baseball, and he crying about what people say?I have no sympathy for that. There is six year old kids with leukimia. What a chump, a coward if you will.
3 months ago
Yeah...yesterday was not the return of Bill Buckner to Boston.
Anyone who pays attention knows that he went back to the Red Sox in 1990, (where he played in 22 games) and then retired.
Sean Crowe says he received a standing ovation from the fans in 1990. If he says it happened, then it did.
3 months ago
Every Red Sox fan I know did not blame Buckner for game six. The media, both local and national, spent an inordinate amount of time blaming Buckner and showing that replay over and over and over again (while I almost never saw the replays from all the other plays in the inning that led to the game being tied before there ever was a slow roller down the first base line). I can't believe how many people i have talked to over in recent years who had no idea the game was tied when Buckner's error occurred. I don't disagree that there are legions of bandwagon Red Sox fans (which is no different than for any team that has success), and I wouldn't be surprised if these are the types of people that blamed Buckner. But true, die hard Sox fans, did not. It would be like blaming Pedro or Tim Wakefield for game seven of the '03 ALCS. Also, and this may have been noted in another post (i apologize if it was), but Buckner began 1987 with the team and also came back to the Red Sox in 1990 and received a large ovation on opening day at Fenway then. The story that I have seen all over the place the last couple of days is Red Sox fans finally forgive Buckner and cheer him - that is simply nothing more than a media created falsehood. It isn't even one side of a story, but it is just a lie. also, from articles on Buckner I have read, the Red Sox, both this ownership group and previous ones, tried on numerous occasions to bring Buckner back to Fenway, and he declined. I am not blaming him for declining, but it is not true that it took the Red Sox until 2008 to make any effort to make him feel as if he was still part of the organization.
3 months ago
Please Ed, keep replying. Every single Bostonian disagrees with you. Ask anyone who was alive and paying attention to that series, and you'll see that 1 play didn't kill the Red Sox. We had poor pitching the entire post season and it finally caught up to the team. Also, you failed to mention Buckner was playing on not ONE but TWO bad legs at the time. Every fan of the game knew this. People bring up Buckner so often not because of his mistake, but because we were all in the same boat. The entire series was "We had it. We freaking had it. And it rolled through our legs." Buckner epitomized the fans, but only because we felt the same pain he did. Anyone who blames that collapse on ANY 1 player is an idiot.
Again, Ed, pontificate on subjects you might have an inkling about.
3 months ago
Your article sucks. You are way off base. Bill Buckner endured the pain, acknowledged its source (the media), prayed, and decided to show up. The fans appreciated it and him. You, sir, are an arse.
3 months ago
So you lived in Boston for a few years and you think you're an expert on all things Red Sox!?!? Listen poser...live and die with the Sox the way all of us who grew up here have and then you can have your opinion. I was 15 in 1986 and as much as game 6 hurt, I was more mad at the shotty pitching that gave up the tying runs. Anyone who was a true knew it wasn't Bill's fault. Of course you forgot to mention the standing ovation he got on opening day 1987 by the Fenway faithful before he was released in July of that year. How conveniant. So here's what's "pathetic"...wannabe journalists like yourself that try to write hard-hitting Shaughnessy-esque editorials, but fail miserably. You don't live here, and you definitely don't know Boston sports fans or Boston sports, so just go back to your little computer...sip your Vodka cranberry and leave the writing to real journalists. I hope you found a Pink Hat that fit while you lived here.
from 3 months ago
Kevin, actually, it would be a scotch, neat. Shoddy is not spelled with "t"s, and you will also find "convenient" is spelled differently as well. My girlfriend at the time wanted a pink hat but I convinced her that only front-runners would wear one.
I would never lower myself to writing "homer" articles as many in New England do with alarming regularity, and I find that the people crying foul are the ones who have hated Buckner since that day. What is pathetic in many instances is those who are too close to a subject to offer an objective opinion.
I never stated nor pretend to be an expert on all things Red Sox, merely an educated observer who experienced first hand the verbal hate aimed at Buckner. I respect your experience as a fan and not a journalist, but found my experience to be very different.
For "anonymous", I have found it rather convenient (proper spelling) to pontificate without using a name and hiding behind the electronic veil. You are correct that anyone who blames one player for one mistake is an idiot, which I would have to conclude then there are a multitude of those who fit into that category. Allow me to point out a few examples.
http://www.masslive.com/editorials/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-2/120783166842710.xml&coll=1
You will notice in this article, written by a New England journalist, the line "forgive the media and Red Sox fans for their brutalization of him for so many years." Note the words FANS.
Here's an article from the Boston Herald
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/letters/view.bg?articleid=1086103&srvc=home&position=recent
Please note another NE based writer talking about fan abuse with the line "We’ve tortured the poor guy for over 20 years". Note the word "WE'VE".
And from one of the better NE journalists and someone I have always respected, Sean McAdams from the Providence Journal.
http://www.projo.com/redsox/content/sp_bb_sean10_04-10-08_PS9NEV9_v10.38fcc30.html
Please note the lines " To think that Buckner was, until Tuesday, regarded by Sox fans as some sort of villain is to display an ignorance of the very fans they otherwise venerate. Talk about a tin ear." Note the word FANS.
I would hope that Stew also will take note of these examples. What I have commented on is neither fabrication nor unsubstantiated fact. Those who have been there longer than I have know exactly from where I speak and have also seen first hand what SOME fans have perpetuated for decades. Note again I never said ALL fans.
I still have great respect for Red Sox fans and their passion, for I find the true fans to be those willing to admit their flaws and take responsibility for their past misguided actions.
To Tito and others, while I respect your opinion, one can only hope that in the future we can have an actual debate instead of stooping to insults. Try to conduct yourself as something more than a radio talk show poser and you will find the discussion actually goes somewhere and does not descend into rabble.
3 months ago
From Wikipedia: "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 . . . "
I've always been baffled by all this blame of Buckner. Had he fielded the ball and got the out, the game still would have been tied. At that point fate twists its finger toward some other sad sack in its way.
The only hatred I ever felt was for the Yankee fans who taunted and prodded every aspect of my fandom. From Bucky Dent to Aaron Boone. The healing started when Millar drew that walk and Roberts got the steal. When Bill Mueller got the single who cared anymore about Buckner's infamy at the hands of the angry kids who never went anywhere and did anything for themselves.
3 months ago
Some dude wrote in response to the original posts-
*Buckner himself says is was not the fans "per se" who villainized him; it was the media. He noted in press interviews today that the fans at Fenway cheered him in Game 7 of the 1986 Series; the error occurred in Game 5*
The error was in game 6, not 5, and game 7 was not at Fenway
3 months ago
Some dude wrote in response to the original posts-
*Buckner himself says is was not the fans "per se" who villainized him; it was the media. He noted in press interviews today that the fans at Fenway cheered him in Game 7 of the 1986 Series; the error occurred in Game 5*
The error was in game 6, not 5, and game 7 was not at Fenway
3 months ago
from today's Boston Globe,
"I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but in my heart, I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through," Buckner said. "I've done that, and I'm over that and I'm just happy."
the complete article is here - http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/04/10/buckners_fans_didnt_forget_to_forgive_him/
3 months ago
Hey Ed...are you really that much of a douchebag where if your losing an argument you attack someones spelling?.....What a joke!
you wrote
*Try to conduct yourself as something more than a radio talk show poser*
Kinda like you bragging that you are "part of the press"..i personally have never heard of you, and im a devout NE sports fanatic......
3 months ago
Eds Profile says this
*For the moment I don't spend a lot of time on camera as it's embarrassing at times to be called a part of a fraternity that has so severely deteriorated the last few years.*
You make it sound like you have a choice to be on camera. Like you turn down TV gigs. You have decided to come to a sports message board to broaden your career???? C'mon Ed...are we suppose to take that seriously?? I know that you think of us as "Radio sports talk show posers"(as you wrote), but one look at your profile and its clear who the "poser' really is.
3 months ago
Ed,
your last article on Clemens was a head scratcher. I was picturing you and Tom Davis
having lunch together and meeting Dan Burton later at his comfy home for some light
discussion on some matters of the economy, the killing of terrorists and how Katrina
is all wrapped up now. Are you a card carrying member of the Republican Party?
You failed to mention how Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds have very similar careers,
(in your last article). And in this one, you did not mention Roger the Dodger Clemens who asked out of game six. He did not finish the job and set a standard for the rest of his career. He would not win a
big game in the Post Season in the rest of his career. repeat, big game.
You are a clown as a writer. Change your approach pal.
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