Notebook: Buckner returns to Fenway Park
Bill Buckner’s eyes were red. He paused for 15 seconds to control his emotions. Then he spoke again.
The outstanding hitter known for a costly World Series error had just thrown out the ceremonial first pitch to a loud standing ovation before the Red Sox home opener Tuesday. It was a strike to former teammate Dwight Evans.
The experience, Buckner said, was “probably about as emotional as it could get.”
But he nearly decided not to come.
The Red Sox received their championship rings for winning the 2007 World Series before Tuesday’s 5-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. Buckner’s legacy is tied to losing the series in 1986.
The fine-fielding first baseman knew the same old questions would crop up about that play 22 years ago that has been replayed on television hundreds of times. At first, he turned down the team’s request. A few days later he agreed to return to Fenway Park for the first time since 1997 when he was batting coach with the Chicago White Sox.
“I really had to forgive,” he said after collecting himself, “not the fans of Boston per se, but I would have to say, in my heart, I had to forgive the media … for what they put me and my family through. So I’ve done that.”
Clearing the bases
Outfielder Jordan Schafer, the top prospect in the Atlanta Braves’ farm system, was suspended for 50 games by the baseball commissioner’s office, which said he used human growth hormone in violation of the sport’s minor league drug program. … Center fielder Chris Young and the Arizona Diamondbacks finalized a $28 million, five-year contract extension that runs through the 2013 season. … Derek Jeter will miss at least three games with a strained left quadriceps, but the New York Yankees are not planning to put their shortstop on the disabled list. … Estella Aaron, the mother of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, has died in an Atlanta hospital after a short illness. She was 96. … Drugmaker Bayer AG will announce plans today to donate $10 to prostate cancer research for every strikeout during the regular season this year.