Let's all keep in mind the fact that BEFORE this infamous moment, Stanley gave up the tying run with one strike away from a Red Sox win.

One of the most embarrassing moments ever in baseball, and the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear the word "choke." Several others come to mind shortly thereafter...I'll share later...

It was a bad moment not so much because I am a Boston fan because at the time I hated the Mets and they were the biggest rival of my team, the Cardinals. Everyone forgets that even if Buckner had made the play, the game still would have been tied and gone on at least one more inning and Boston still could have won, sort of like the recent NFL divisional game between Pittsburgh and Indy when Jerome Bettis lost the ball and Indy got it back. Bettis would have been the Buckner of Pittsburgh had Indy scored. Just goes to show every little play and second of a game, no matter what the sport, matters.

TRUE Red Sox Fans know that it wasn't ONLY... Bill Buckner, or Bob Stanley... Calvin Schiradi looked like Charlie Brown right before he gets his clothes knocked off by a line drive. Let us not forget.... the poor dude from the Angels that let up the two run homer to Henderson is history... as it.. he killed himself... Billy boyt was only run out of town.

I feel horrible for Buckner. That's how he gets remembered. For blowing the series. That's like you getting remembered at your work because you got fired or ruined the company.

OK, in 1986 I was a California Angels fan. Red Sox fans seem to have forgotten it was Bill Buckner who started off the rally in the ninth inning of the 1986 ALCS Game 5 with a leadoff base hit up the middle. Don Baylor followed with a homer that made it 5-4 Angels. Had Buckner not gotten that crucial leadoff hit the Red Sox would have never even been in the World Series in 1986 (the Angels got the Red Sox to two out in that inning prior to losing the lead)- not to mention all the other contributions that Buckner made to the Red Sox that year. As an Angel fan at that moment I remember thinking that pesky Buckner, he is such a battler.Bill Buckner was a great baseball player, and he was a great Red Sox player. He never deserved to be treated the way he was by the Red Sox fans, for merely making one error, (granted it was an important one). And he truly deserved to be in that game at that time. He should have been forgiven long before the Red Sox won the World Series last year. The Red Sox and their fans could show much class by opening their arms towards Buckner and welcoming him back to Boston with a day in his honor.

Okay this is by far one of my most tendentious ratings ever simply because I'm a die hard Mets fan and can recall ever single aspect of the play- the series and the 1986 season. I remember distinctly praying to the Lord God I promise not to take a dime I make from all the bets at school if you just let Mookie get a hit here and allow the Mets to win the series... it wasn't exactly a hit but I didn't take any of my winnings nonetheless :-)

It was an incredible comeback, but it was Bob Stanley's fault. If that wild pitch doesn't go that far inside to Wilson, the game wouldn't have been tied when the ball went through Buckner's legs. I'll always remember Gary Carter's facial expressions after the series was over. He rocks.

Eh, I think Buckner's out of the hook today. So quit whining Bo-Sox fans! ... Boston blew the 5-3 lead in that game, so it can't be all Buckner's fault. When Mookie's grounder rolled between his legs, it turned out to be one of the greatest, defining moments in history. And it put a huge smile on my face. ... HAHAHA! Boston got what they deserved that year. Queens went wild!

I feel bad for Buckner, yeah it was a horrible error and a memorable moment, but he got abused for it, and that's what everyone remembers most about that game and series, and about Buckner, who was a good player.

the bigger goat was stanley. his wild pitch blew the lead. if stanley gets wilson out, like he should have, the game is over.

Not only is Buckner the scape goat, MOOKIE WILSON is the hero of NY!!! HAHAHA

IT WAS NOT BILL BUCKNER'S FAULT--McNamara should be the one hung out to dry. Here's why: Bill Buckner made the final out in the top of the seventh inning...an inning in which the Red Sox took a 3-2 lead and had the bases loaded when Bill Buckner popped up for the third out. My contention is that with the bases loaded with a left-handed pitcher on the mound (Orosco), and the left-batting Bill Buckner's leg all banged up, a 6-year-old child should have been smart enough to make the offensive/defensive substitution of putting Don Baylor in to bat for Buckner. The right-handed batting Baylor led the team in HR's that year as well as RBI's and also held the record for being hit by the pitch in MLB at the time. So with the lead, two out and the bases loaded, McNamara let the lame Buckner bat instead of replacing him with a healthy (and much more likely to produce insurance runs) Baylor. Talk about a moronically insipid oversight on the part of a supposed 'manager'. What an Idiot!!!! This red Sox fan will NEVER utter a bad word about Billy Buck. But henceforth McNamara will be known as he whose name shall not be uttered.

Biggest goat in sports history.

1986 was the first World Series I ever saw. I was 10 years old. I am from Minnesota and know the frustation Red Sox fans go through cause I have the same deal with the Vikings. I wish they didnt show that Buckner play so often.

people overlook the fact that buckner's error did not determine the game. pitcher bob stanley had already blown it by throwing a wild pitch that led to the tying run. if buckner had not blundered, the red sox might have just gone on to lose in the next inning.

What do Michael Jackson and Bill Buckner have in common? They both wear a glove on one hand for no apparent reason. This play was monumental in proportion. Had he made the play the Red Sox curse would be one that no one talks about anymore. Because of him the Sox will never win a series again.

I'm a Sox fan, so this is a tad painful. In my view, however, Buckner has taken the fall for dismal performance by the Boston bullpen, who twice had the Mets one strike away from defeat. Schiraldi and then Stanley choked, allowing the lead to slip away and the Buckner error was just the final straw. The other person who should come in for some blame, is Boston manager John McNamara, who normally replaced Buckner with a defensive specialist late in games. For some reason he did not, and this was the result. Boston managers making poor decisions in post-season play is getting to be a habit, as witness Grady Little's inability to pull Martinez last season.

Why is this so memorable? How about the wild pitch that plated the tying run. The Mets had 2 outs and nobody on, down by 2 in the 10th, then: single, single, single (on an 0-2 count), wild pitch, Bill Buckner's error. The blown save should be remebered more than the error

It WASN'T Buckner. If you look at the replay, you'll see RUTH'S hand on the ball.

This play does not belong in the most memorable moments of baseball. Buckner was playing hurt and the ball took a bad bounce. He was a hero for just playing in the game. The play was just the last in a string of unbelievable occurrences, (do you believe in Voodoo?) Calvin Schiraldi, who deservedly got tht loss after blowing Roger Clemen's 3-2 lead in the 8th, gave up hit after hit in the 10th but at one point needed one strike, one good pitch, to give the Sox the Series win. He couldn't do it, and it came down to Wilson's ground ball. That little squibber was hardly a defining moment in baseball history.

I Turned 2 Years Old on the same day when That Happend. (October 25,1986)

haha that was funny. way to go bill!

Red Sox 1 strike away from their 1st World Series title in 70 yrs. Mets batting in the bottom of the 10th, down by 2, 2 outs, 2 strikes no one on - then a single, then another single, then again down to their last strike, then another single, 1 run scores, down by one, then a WILD PITCH - TIE GAME - and then a little squibbler by Mookie Wilson through poor Bill Buckner's legs - the rest is history. The NY Mets then go on to win game 7 after the Red Sox blow another lead. Amazing!!