It wasn`t exactly the kind of legacy he wanted. When the Boston Red Sox released him the year after their ill-fated 1986 World Series, Bill Buckner knew he would be forever remembered by hard-core fans for two things.
Both bad.
”They remember me hobbling around,” he said. ”And me making an error.”
Some might think he returned simply to seek redemption before calling it a career. Or to exorcise the demons that tormented him after his error on Mookie Wilson`s grounder cost the Red Sox Game 6 of their World Series duel against the Mets. If you guessed all of the above, you`re wrong on both counts.
”I`m just here because I enjoy playing here. I live here, and they had an opening at first base,” Buckner said, referring to the vacancy created by Nick Esasky`s off-season defection to the Atlanta Braves. ”It was basically why I came back. I don`t feel like I have to redeem myself. I feel like I had a lot to do with us making it to the World Series. When you get there and blow the seventh game, everybody wants to win it, and I certainly would have loved to have popped the cork on the champagne. I`ll certainly take my chances getting back there again.”
It is with a spring in his step and a snap in his bat that the 40-year-old Buckner has set out to supplant those bad memories. It couldn`t have happened if he hadn`t make the team.
”The toughest thing was just getting to spring training. I was pretty nervous just for the tryout,” said Buckner, who was signed Feb. 14. ”I was just glad to get the chance to go to spring training to do something there. I remember I struck out in my first at-bat in spring training. I asked myself,
`What am I doing here?` Then the next time up, I hit a home run. Things began to look better.”
Since giving him an enthusiastic reception at Fenway on Opening Day, fans have warmed up to the new and improved Buckner. In a recent game against the Angels, he left the Fenway Faithful agog with his hustle around the bag and an inside-the-park homer.
”Buck`s proven he`s still a tough out and plays good solid defense, and he catches the balls he gets to,” said Marty Barrett. ”And at 40 years old, that`s a credit to him. I`m sure he was probably contemplating retirement, but now he`s having a good season for us so far, so I think he`s gotten a lot of self-satisfaction out of it, and as a team, we`ve definitely benefited from it.”
Said Buckner, ”I`m running a lot better now, and I think I`m still a pretty good fielder. I`m working at it and just taking it a day at a time.”
