Don Miller autograph 1927 Yankee

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

I am not putting them up with the greatest teams in history but they were a damn good team,,, 108 Wins and they beat Houston in 6 in the NLCS, Game 6 is considered a classic. They only played one playoff series then.
Las Vegas had them as the World Series favorite.

I thought that with Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan, the Mets had no chance (I watched game 6 in an airport and had to board before it ended)

And of course, without Buckner, they had no chance against the Red Sox. Given all that, I wouldn't even rate them the best of '86. But they did get the job done.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by Runscott

without Buckner, they had no chance against the Red Sox.

Technically not true. At the time of the Buckner gaffe, the Mets had already tied the game. If Buckner had made the play, the game would have gone into the 11th inning.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Technically not true. At the time of the Buckner gaffe, the Mets had already tied the game. If Buckner had made the play, the game would have gone into the 11th inning.

That's really interesting. I always remembered it as the Red Sox could have won it if Buckner had made the play, but the earlier wild pitch had tied it up. Buckner just finished things off.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Runscott

That's really interesting. I always remembered it as the Red Sox could have won it if Buckner had made the play, but the earlier wild pitch had tied it up. Buckner just finished things off.

That's what happens when you get old

[r2678]

Enough with this talk about Boston and the Mets! I'd like to know where my 1959 Indians rank!

[mschwade]

1959 Indians? Hard to put them up for argument of the best team ever when the Indians haven't won a World Series since 1948.

[JimStinson]

Poor Buckner , It was not Buckner's fault at all he was playing injured could barely walk actually , and with the lead they had....It was the manager's job to place a defensive sub at first that could at least walk..
Manager blew it not Bill Buckner.
And give the Mets some credit for taking advantage of it and having the tenacity to come back and win , except for Keith Hernandez who was already in the clubhouse drinking a beer and thinking "wait till NEXT year"..
________________________
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[packs]

I don't understand why Buckner gets all the heat. As was pointed out, making the play wouldn't have given Boston the win.

The same thing with Bucky Dent's homerun. I get it, the home run put the Yankees ahead. But it didn't win the game. After he hit the home run the Red Sox rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 8th. Reggie Jackson's home run in the top of the 8th was the one who won the game for the Yankees. Not Bucky Dent's.

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

Poor Buckner , It was not Buckner's fault at all he was playing injured could barely walk actually , and with the lead they had....It was the manager's job to place a defensive sub at first that could at least walk..
Manager blew it not Bill Buckner.
And give the Mets some credit for taking advantage of it and having the tenacity to come back and win , except for Keith Hernandez who was already in the clubhouse drinking a beer and thinking "wait till NEXT year"..

I always have to laugh when I hear people say "poor Buckner" as he was one of the first to criticize Leon Durham for letting a ball go through his legs against the Padres in the 1984 playoffs. For those who don't remember, there was a first baseman controversy in '84 with the Cubs as Leon Durham eventually won the job from Billy Buck who would soon be shipped off to Boston. After Durham booted the ground ball Buckner was quoted as saying that if he was in the game he would have never missed that ball, implying that the Cubs would have been in the series if he was there. Two years later, Buckner was in the same situation and was now the goat for his miscue.

I remember talking to Jay McCracken, then of Upper Deck at the Field of Dreams show in Iowa back in '92 or so and I asked him if Buckner's Upper Deck card from 1990 which showed him fielding his position but you could clearly see the large tarp between his legs was intentional and he looked at me, winked and said, "what do you think".

I think it is time Buckner is let off the hook for this one though.