The Boston Red Sox recently held a reunion of their ’86 World Series team during a series with the Mets. Bill Buckner declined the invitation to return. And that’s a shame. My gut feeling is that Buckner would have been well received by the Red Sox faithful, especially since they have won a World Series in the meantime. But Buckner was not taking any chances. He’d been reminded far too many times already about his error in Game 6 of the ’86 World Series that he didn’t want to tempt the fact that anyone would bring it up if he visited Fenway for the reunion. Unfortunately, because we take our sports in America very seriously, he was probably right.

Donnie Moore, Doug Brien, Doug Sanders, Scott Norwood, and Buckner, to name a few. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when reading these names? More than likely, it’s how each was on the cusp of victory, a huge victory, only to have a cruel and unexpected twist of fate intervene and forever mark them as being associated with a loss. A big loss.  Each had admirable, in some cases stellar, careers, but each will unfortunately be remembered for the one moment in the spotlight in which glory escaped them. Avoided them like the plague. Spit in their faces, even. Each is remembered unfairly for the one play, the one moment, which erased years of guts, glory, and success. Sports have a way of working themselves into the very core of our soul, and becoming, in a figurative sense, life and death for many of us. Sometimes, for those involved, it is.

Donnie Moore with pitching coach Rene Lacheman after the ’86 ALCS loss.

 Donnie Moore was one of the best closers in baseball in the mid '80s, but he was never the same after giving up a home run to Dave Henderson in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series in 1986. Moore’s team, the California Angels, were one strike away at the time from getting to their first World Series. It’s not remembered that Moore was playing hurt at the time. He was still the Angels’ best option, which is a testament to his talent. And even though the Angels still had two games with a chance to advance after the loss, neither was close. And Moore was never allowed to get over his single-pitch mistake. (In an incredible precursor of the fate that was to follow, Bill Buckner had a base hit to ignite the rally in the ninth inning of Game 5). Any highlights or remembrance of  that ’86 ALCS focuses on Henderson’s homer off Moore, and makes little mention of the fact that the Angels still had two games after that to win the pennant. They didn’t, and Moore was vilified. He pitched two more relatively ineffective years for the Angels before being released. His battles with depression finally caught up with him on July 18, 1989, when he shot his wife Tonya three times, (she survived), and then took his own life. He was 35.

Scott Norwood will forever be remembered as the kicker who missed a field goal that would have won his team, the Buffalo Bills, the Super Bowl. It’s forgotten that it was a 47-yarder, not a chip shot by any means, especially with the pressure of the moment. (If you ever make it onto a football field, look at the uprights from 47 yards away). It’s also forgotten that just before his missed field goal, the Bills had gotten inside the New York Giants’ 20 yard line, only to have the play called back because of a holding penalty. How many fans that watched the game even remember that? It’s not talked about much. What is talked about, and shown front and center in Super Bowl highlights, is the fact that he missed and the Bills lost. The game winning field goal would have been in the 30-yard range were it not for that penalty. Who was the culprit? And to be fair, did the holding penalty allow Thurman Thomas the room to get inside the 20 in the first place? Doesn’t matter. History cannot be changed. And history will show that Norwood missed the field goal that would have won the Super Bowl for the Bills. And if the Bills had won that game, there’s no telling how many Super Bowls the Bills would have won, even though there’s obviously no guarantee the Bills would have even gotten to the Super Bowl the next year, since history has shown us how difficult it is to repeat. I’m pretty sure that most Bills fans would take that one championship over four straight losses in the big game, though.

Doug Sanders had the 1970 British Open in his grasp. All that was standing in his way was a three foot putt on the final hole, and the Championship was his. Any amateur can knock in a three footer when it doesn’t mean anything. Well, this one meant something. A lot, in fact. Sanders had been pretty good since turning pro in the mid 50s, winning 17 tournaments, but no majors. And this putt was important. By making it, he would turn back Jack Nicklaus and win his first major championship. No one knows, or even cares, how many tournaments he won before or after that British Open. He lost decisively in a playoff to Jack the next day, and the missed putt is what is remembered. Sanders never reached the same level of play after that British Open that he had achieved before it. And everywhere he went, he was asked about the putt . . .

Doug Brien had two chances late in the game to push the New York Jets over the favored Pittsburgh Steelers in their playoff game following the 2004 season. He missed both field goals. Either would have won the game for the Jets and propelled them to the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. Never mind that Brien had hit numerous clutch kicks for the Jets during the season that had helped the Jets get to the playoffs. Brien had also hit several clutch kicks for the 49ers during his rookie year and had won a Super Bowl with them. He had hit kicks under pressure before, but they weren’t talked about nearly as much. After all, that’s what kickers are supposed to do, right? Deliver. Yet even on a field that was cold, muddy, and torn up, we don’t want to hear excuses. He choked, we say. And “How could you possibly miss that kick,” says Joe Sixpack. “You freaking piece of ####!” Oh well, Joe. Have another beer and tell everyone how even you could have made that kick. We have very little margin of error for our athletes. After all, they're making all this money and should be expected to come through. Perhaps, but the bad when they don't is not worth the good for many of them.

 Bill Buckner broke into major league baseball in 1970 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, after having one at-bat in the 1969 season. He could hit line drives to any field, and had a swashbuckling style, sort of a fan favorite. What an irony that would prove to be. He didn’t have the greatest speed, but didn’t hesitate trying to stretch a single into a double if the opportunity arose. He was never one to jog to first base. In fact, players who did didn’t sit very well with Buckner. He finished with stats that would surprise a lot of fans-Wally Joyner, Dale Murphy, Fred Lynn, and Hall of Famers Willie Stargell, Dave Winfield, and the great Nellie Fox had lower career batting averages than Buckner. Granted some of those were power hitters, and had many more HRs than Buckner had. But Buckner also had a career fielding percentage of .991. That’s right, .991. Not bad for a player who shifted between the outfield and first base most of his career. But, unfortunately, that is not what he is remembered for. All of us, as sports fans, are guilty of holding players to the highest expectations. And we expect those expectations to be met. It's unfortunate, and sometimes excruciating for the fan, but more so for the athelete, when they aren't.

Thanks for taking the time to read.