Buckner

 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

Bill Buckner passed away on May 27. 

Bill was a very good ball player.  I followed his career after he first came up to the majors with the Dodgers back in 1969. He had a fine career, first with the Dodgers but also with the Cubs, Red Sox, and few other teams as his career wound down.

He was clutch. Bill was the type of player that  you wanted to see at bat with the game on the line. Or, if you were pulling for the other team, you did not want to see him coming up to the plate with the game on the line.   His career batting average was an excellent .289  and he finished with 2,715 hits. In major league baseball, if you finish with 3000 hits in your career, you are almost automatically given serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Bill finished 285 hits short of that mark. He was a very good ball player, but there is no hall of ‘very good.’

When Bill died, there was quite a bit of publicity. Because, according to most, he was best known for an error he committed in game six of the 1986 World Series between his Red Sox and New York Mets.  A softly hit ground ball that inexplicably trickled  between his legs at first base that allowed Ray Knight to score the winning run – leading to the Mets taking the World Series and extending the Red Sox 'Series drought  to 68 years; a famine that was a recognized result of the dreaded trade of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919.  It would take Boston another 18 years to break that “Curse of the Bambino.”

Most of the articles I read or stories I saw on TV focused on that one miss-play, and yet almost always the reporters would write or say something like, it’s a shame that such a fine player and person was and will be recalled for one simple play not made.

I’d like to offer a slightly different opinion on that. Perhaps that one dreadful play made, not just Buckner’s career, but perhaps his life. And I say that for two reasons.

First, had that play not happened, his passing from Lewy Body dementia on May 27 would have hardly made the news. Maybe just a short blurb here and there. I would have noted it because, as I mentioned earlier, he was very good player whose career I followed…error or not. But most fans would have made the note, had a few memories, and moved on. Buckner was a very good player, but not a hall of fame player.

But the second reason that the ‘play’ may not have been such a curse is found here. Many, not all, news outlets reported a statement put out by Jody Buckner, Bill’s wife of 39 years.  The statement was short and to the point. It reads like this:

“Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family. Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

A very small statement that gave a large insight to the man.  Bill was a Christian, and his wife wanted to make it clear that in spite of everything from disease to errors, that was what was most important. Even more important than the Hall of Fame.

I can’t help but think of the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

All things. Even…errors.

Which in turn makes me wonder. What will I be remembered for?  My mistakes, my errors? They are legion. Or maybe how God was able to use my mistakes and errors for the greater glory of the gospel and His kingdom? 

And then…. What do you want to be remember for?

Bill Buckner passed away on May 27.  And there is a lot more to that story than meets the eye.