There were two notable omissions from the coverage in the Portland Press Herald of the death of Bill Buckner, the George Armstrong Custer of America’s national pastime.
First, Boston manager John McNamara failed to insert a late-inning defensive substitution for the ailing Buckner. This seemingly inexplicable blunder has been popularly ascribed to sentimentality on the part of the Red Sox skipper. (He purportedly wanted his starting first baseman on the field when the team clinched the 1986 World Series.)
Second, there is a common misconception among baseball fans that a putout at first by Buckner would have ended the game and hence the series. This is patently false. A clean play on Mookie Wilson’s grounder would merely have sent the game into the 11th inning, with its outcome, of course, still very much in doubt.
Dennis Coffey
Old Orchard Beach
Send questions/comments to the editors.
