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ErikV Baseball indeed could be a cruel game. Names such as Merkle, Buckner, Bartman and Donnie Moore will forever be etched in fans memories, for all the wrong reasons.
At age 19 young Fred Merkle made, what was at the time, a common play - not properly advancing to the next base. Had it not been for Johnny Evers disputing the play and a similar play taking place just a couple of weeks earlier, Merkle's baserunning blunder would likely have gone unnoticed.
A number of plays have occured in baseball since the "Merkle's Boner" play. Several modern day versions include Bill Buckner's 1986 World Series error and the infamous interference of fan, Steve Bartman. Perhaps unfairly, Fred paid dearly for that mishap for the rest of his life. This is an excerpt of David W. Anderson's 2003 book "More than Merkle."
