Billy Buck welcomed back to Boston
It’s about time, I say. The Boston Red Sox organization and fans have once again embraced one of the better former Cubs of the late-70’s, Bill Buckner.
AP Story on Buckner’s return to Fenway
He was one of the few bright spots in the Cubs daily lineup from 1977-83, really dark years in Cubdom. He always seemed like a classy guy, hard worker even on those crummy Cubs teams - he came to play. He played 22 years even through frequent injuries having compiled a life ave of .289 and more career doubles than strikeouts. I met him in 1977 as part of a promotional event prior to a game and he became my favorite Cub. I remember an odd statistic on Buckner; from 1971-1980 he hit .300 or better in every even numbered year, and .299 or less in every odd numbered year. That was a strange but predictable stat. Of course he broke it by hitting .300 in 1981…and 1982…
Now Red Sox nation has apparently (finally) forgiven him for a rare error that contributed to another year of futility for that franchise. They instantly forgot Billy Buck had a .992 fielding percentage at first base, among the best of all time. For me, it’s about time they welcome him back!
April 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
It is nice to see him welcomed back. I’m from Boston and I never felt that he should have been hated as much as he was. Great guy, great player, great Red Sox and Cubbie. Good to see you again Bill.