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 Bill Buckner Photo Gallery
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Follow up To My Tribute to Bill Buckner

Before we say a final farewell to Bill Buckner, I’d like to do mention a few more of his accomplishments, which were pointed out in today’s Chicago Sun-Times by sportswriter, Gordon Whittenmeyer.

As we all know, Bill Buckner, one of the greatest contact hitters of his or any other generation, passed away this week at the age of 69 following a battle with dementia. I’m very appreciative of the many kind words about the tribute I wrote and the many heartfelt comments left by of our readers in appreciation for all Bill gave to the game we love.

As I mentioned, the news of his passing was all the more shocking to me as I just saw him two months ago on March 25 signing autographs at the Cubs-Red Sox spring training game in Arizona. To my recollection, he seemed fine that day.

Gordon Whittenmeyer’s article lists many of Bill’s outstanding career accomplishments. I thought it would be a fitting final farewell to Bill to share these with you. I knew Bill was a great ballplayer, but some of these are really impressive:

• Bill had more career hits (2715) than acclaimed Hall-of-Famers such as Billy Williams (2711), Ted Williams (2654) Jimmie Foxx (2646), Richie Ashburn (2574), Joe Medwick (2471), Ernie Banks (2583), and Joe DiMaggio (2214), I know Ted and Joe lost significant time to military service, but that’s still saying a lot. Plus Bill played much of his career hurt. There are many other Hall-of-Famers ranked below Bill Buckner.
• Bill wasn’t considered a slugger, but he had more career RBIs (1208) than Gabby Hartnett (1179) and sluggers like Greg Luzinski (1128), and Frank Howard (1119).
• Bill had a higher career batting average than Carl Yastrzemski (.285), Yogi Berra (.285), and Ryne Sandberg (.285), and many other Hall-of-Famers.
•  Bill scored more runs (1077) than Kirby Puckett (1071), Maury Wills (1067), and Davey Lopes (1023).
• In his 1980 batting title year, Bill had fewer strikeouts (18 in 615 plate appearances) than five Cubs had in the month of May: Javy Baez (42), Kyle Schwarber (31), David Bote (25), Wilson Contreras (23), and Jason Heyward (21).
• During the decade of the 70’s and ‘80’s, only Pete Rose more hits (2929 in 11105 plate appearances) than Billy Buck (2707 in 9988 plate appearances).
• There are approximately 175 position players in the Hall of Fame. Bill Buckner’s 2715 career hits place him a very respectable 51st on the list, behind Lou Gehrig in 50th place with 2721, and ahead of Billy Williams with 2711.

In case you missed it, he’s some highlights of Bill’s career I mentioned the other day:

Bill played 22 seasons (1969-1990) in the majors for the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Angles, and Royals. Over his career, he hit .289, with 1077 runs, 174 home runs, and 1208 RBIs. He won the National League batting title (.324) in 1980. He also led the league in doubles twice, and was a 1981 All-Star.  Bill hit over .300 eight times. His 2715 career hits currently rank 66th all-time and are ahead of many Hall-of-Famers. A great contact hitter, he struck out only 453 times in 9397 at-bats (10037 plate appearances). His strikeout rate of 4.8 percent currently ranks him 47^th all-time in major league baseball history.  From 1977 to 1982, he averaged only 21 strikeouts per season.

I’m not trying to make the case Bill belongs in the Hall of Fame, but we’re talking about an outstanding ballplayer here; one who deserves a lot more than to be remembered by one misplay.

One final time: Rest in Peace, Bill Buckner

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

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