WE ALREADY FORGAVE BILL BUCKNER

One pitch away from their first World Championship in 1986, I remember sitting on my couch, wondering how one is supposed to react to winning a World Championship. After all, my boys of Summer had been there two other times in my lifetime, and lost. The Impossible Dream season of 1967 was my first exposure to my beloved Sox, and even though they lost in game 7, it was still a lot of fun. 1975 was a little different. The expectations for that team was higher, so losing in game 7 hurt a bit more. But this team in 1986 was on a magic ride. Dave Henderson's majestic home run against the California Angels had gotten us here. Now, we were about to become World Champs.

A ground ball down the first base line bounced through the first baseman's legs, and the New York Mets had rallied from a 2 run deficient in the 10th to win game 6. The Red Sox just needed one more strike to win, but an error by the first baseman cost them the game, and ultimately the series. What followed was one of my saddest stories in professional sports that I've ever seen.Yesterday, during the 2008 Boston Red Sox home opener, I think the problem was somewhat solved, in an long overdue act.

The first baseman, by the way? None other than Bill Buckner,. A major league veteran of 15 plus seasons at the time, he was the epitome of hustle, and desire. One of my favorite players of all time, what he had to endure after that fatal mistake was not only uncalled for, but downright inhuman. Here was a man who was playing on two bad ankles. No excuse he ever used, but that's the truth. It was painful to watch him run the bases, but he never complained, he just did his job, every day. His uniform was always dirty after a game. How many players can be described that way? But now, his long career would be defined by one play. How unfair is that?

Nobody ever talked about the wildness of the kid pitcher, Calvin Schiraldi, or the ineffectiveness of the mighty Bob Stanley, that had put the Sox in that predicament to begin with. That always puzzled me. If we wanted a goat to blame, we could have used either of them. But Mr. Buckner took the hit instead. The fact that mostly everyone watching the game thought he should have been replaced by a younger teammate in that inning never came up, or at least it wasn't a major issue. Nope, he was the goat, and his career would now be defined by one play. Shame on us all!

Mr. Buckner, and his family, ended up being run out of our state. He couldn't go anywhere unless he was being threatened by the public. He and his family moved on, but the media never did. I can't count how many times I have been forced to watch that video. Same for him, I guess. Never a video of him making a diving stop of a ground ball, robbing someone of extra bases. Never a video of him stretching a single into a double, or scoring from first on a hustle play. Just one video.

Over the past 22 years, I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for his return to Fenway. I know he had been offered to come back a few times, but never accepted. Who could blame him? The same fans who had run he and his family out of town, now wanted him back. What for? The new ownership finally convinced him to come home yesterday. When he appeared from the left field wall, my heart stopped. The curse of the bambino was gone, not that Babe Ruth was around to hear it. Now, one of my favorite players, was finally home. As I watched the tears roll down his cheek, and listened to the standing ovation he received, I thought how sad it was that we had ever gotten to this point, but was glad that he finally got hid due, a standing ovation.

Thank you Boston Red Sox ownership for finally putting this issue behind us. Thank you Red Sox fans for giving him a well deserved standing ovation. But most of all, thank you Mr. Buckner for making us all feel better. I know you will probably never understand, or forgive us, but here is my big thank you for all of the good things you did. Welcome home, please don't be a stranger!