In a just world, Bill Buckner would not be long remembered for the 1986 World Series.
The 1974 World Series would’ve been more like it.
Buckner, the pride of Napa who died on Memorial Day, was a superb baseball player. He played relentlessly with skill, spirit, attitude and heart.
From the wonderful Jeff English profile penned for SABR: “Bill Buckner was a gamer. He played the game of baseball as hard as any player of his generation. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Walter Alston once said of Buckner, “He gets the red neck a lot, but I sort of like that.