The ball rolled off Mookie’s bat and through Buckner’s legs, helping form an incredible friendship.
Mets legend Mookie Wilson and Red Sox goat Bill Buckner remain on opposite sides of history for their roles in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, but Wilson said the two players are now best friends.
“Bill and I have become very, very close,” Mets fan favorite Wilson told WIP radio in Philadelphia on Wednesday. “We’re really the best of friends. As good a friend as you can have. … I think I’ve learned more about Bill since both of us have gotten out of the game [than any] ballplayer I ever played with.
“He is a great, great person. We enjoy each other’s company and we have a lot in common, a lot more than you would think. And it’s just been great.”
Though the game already was tied when Buckner made the infamous error — and he could have been beaten to the bag by Wilson if he fielded it cleanly — and the Red Sox still had an opportunity to break the then-68-year title drought in Game 7, Buckner was blamed by many fans for the series loss. Nearly all Boston fans let it go after their 2004 World Series championship, and a once-bitter Buckner has made peace with his place in baseball history.
“He’s a part of history, and that part of history is never gonna leave,” Wilson said of Buckner. “It’ll be here long after Bill and I are gone from this Earth, so we just kind of embrace it.”
Wilson and Buckner will appear together Saturday for an autograph session at the 94WIP Philly Sports Expo.