Ouch!  Baseballs most memorable blunder!  Can you imagine going through the rest of your life knowing the entire world will never remember anything else that you’ve ever done but make a major mistake.  Can you imagine that.

October 25, 1986: Baseball has plenty of heroes, but Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s failure to field a routine ground ball in the 1986 World Series unfortunately makes him the one of the game’s all-time goats. With a comfortable 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 10th in Game 6 (and a series lead of 3-2), Boston allows the Mets to tie it up. Mookie Wilson’s ground ball to first looks like the game will go to the 11th, but Buckner (playing on bad ankles) lets the ball roll between his legs as the winning run scores. It not only propels the Mets to an improbable Game 6 victory, but opens the door for them to win the Series in seven. “It’s a shame that Buckner, who was a very fine player for many years,” says John Thorn, the MLB’s official historian, “is now remembered for one play.”

One of my favorite memories is this one with Rick Monday.  You gotta love it!

April 25, 1976: Rick Monday was a US Marine for 6 years, which made him uniquely qualified to be patrolling center field for the ChicagoCubs at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976. Monday noticed two protesters in left-centerfield, preparing to burn the American flag. He swooped over and snatched the flag from them. “I was angry when I saw them start to do something to the flag, and I’m glad that I happened to be geographically close enough to do something about it,” Monday told the Washington Post.

Later in 1976, Dodgers exec Al Campanis gave the flag to Monday. He still has it—as well as a place as a real American hero. “I know the people were very pleased to see Monday take the flag away from those guys,” Manny Mota, who played with Monday, told the Post. “I know Rick has done a lot of good things as a player and as a person. But what he did for his country, he will be remembered for the rest of his life as an American hero.”

More great moments in baseball history to follow.

Jim

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