25 Years Ago

[TheMeanWalrus]

10/18/1986

Bruce Hurst's three hit shutout and the Red Sox 1-0 win put them up one game to none in the the 1986 World Series

 

I remember this like it was yesterday

And in the aftermath of the Sox game one win, all attention was focused on the pitching matchup of the century

 

Dwight Gooden vs Roger Clemens

 

And the legend of Clemens ****iness would begin that night

 

More to come later, as the 25th anniversary of the day my childhood officially ended approaches

[a700hitter]

10/18/1986

Bruce Hurst's three hit shutout and the Red Sox 1-0 win put them up one game to none in the the 1986 World Series

 

I remember this like it was yesterday

And in the aftermath of the Sox game one win, all attention was focused on the pitching matchup of the century

 

Dwight Gooden vs Roger Clemens

 

And the legend of Clemens ****iness would begin that night

 

More to come later, as the 25th anniversary of the day my childhood officially ended approaches

I was at that game. I was sitting in LF Lodge seats with my nephew. He was making paper airplanes out of some signs that were handed out at the gate and he was throwing them onto the field. I told him to knock it off and warned him that if he got kicked out that I would disavow knowing him. A beach ball was getting batted around the stands when my nephew stood up and whacked it right onto the field of play. Play got delayed. If you have an original video of the game, the announcers mention the reason for the delay and you see the beach ball getting removed. If it is a later created version, the announcers just make a reference to the delay. I remember leaving Shea that night and the Mets fans were very subdued, and I felt certain that it was finally our season.

[TheMeanWalrus]

Well, out of all the games you'd want to be at as a Sox fan, that was probably the one, although Hurst shut em down in game 5 too but if I recall correctly, it wasn't with the sheer brilliance of what he did in Game One.

 

There's still part of me that can't believe I can actually talk about what happened over those 9-10 days in the fall of 1986

 

Looking aheada day in my little stroll down memory lane, I think the Clemens vs Gooden game two match-up was the single most hyped baseball game I can remember. Except maybe for the two Pedro vs Clemens game which would come years later.

 

Clemens sucked in Game 2

So did Gooden

[VA Sox Fan]

TMW you missed the 25th anniversary of the day my childhood officially ended

 

Happy 25th anniversary, Red Sox fans

 

Posted by Obnoxious Boston Fan October 24, 2011 11:11 AM

 

How did you celebrate "Buckner, Stanley, Gedman and Schiraldi Day?"

 

Well, the Red Sox coincidentally marked the 25th anniversary of Game 6 (which began on Oct. 25, 1986) by announcing their new general manager. That can't be a good sign. One strike away? Those were the good old days. Now, they're about 100 light years away. Bad omen? More a kick in the groin from history. Bill Buckner may have gotten the last laugh with his appearance on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and the revival of his cursed presence on the Red Sox. Had the Red Sox gone 9-18 in September and still made their GM switch Tuesday, no one would have noticed the timing.

 

We all know it was really Bob Stanley, Calvin Schiraldi and Rich Gedman who screwed things up in the 10th inning on that night of horrors at Shea. By the time Mookie hit the ball toward Buckner after midnight, the game was tied and the Sox were already doomed. You can now buy that ball for $1 million on ebay. Beats spending it on Tim Wakefield.

 

One quick note - Schiraldi's middle name is "Drew" - no kidding. He never had a chance.

 

Now, this bit of coincidental history is just something else we can pile onto this team until next season. The Red Sox who brought us 1978, 1986 and 2003 are back until further notice. My father's Red Sox have become his grandson's Red Sox. Being GM of this team would be a dream job for any fan, yours truly included, but who out there envies Ben Cherington? He's walking into a nightmare. The team needs a new manager, a right fielder, at least three starting pitchers, probably a closer and a DH, not to mention an exorcism in the clubhouse just to get rid of the chicken grease stains and stale smell of Bud Light. Ben also has 30 million fans who are mad as hell, dispirited, disgusted and despondent all at the same time.

 

Cherington might feel like Chip Diller did while being indoctrinated into Omega House with Larry Lucchino, Josh Beckett and most of Red Sox Nation swinging the paddle. "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

 

He began his reign Tuesday by vowing "there will be changes" and then told us John Lackey will have Tommy John surgery and miss 2012. Maybe a healthy Lackey can get his ERA under 6.41 in 2013.

 

Cherington gets serious credit for the time served with the team - starting as a scout in 1999. And just because he was there for Lackey, J.D. Drew, Dice-K, Julio Lugo, Eric Gagne and all of Theo Epstein's other free-agent blunders, that doesn't necessarily mean he was on board with each of these deals. How many times have you disagreed with your boss, but kept your mouth shut? Probably every day on the hour. Not sure how long the honeymoon will last, but he'll get one from fans.

 

He shares credit/blame for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell with Jed Hoyer - his new counterpart in Chicago. (Theo did sign Beckett to an extension in 2006.)

 

We'll be debating the successes and failures of Theo through the holidays. Cherington will not have the financial leeway his boss enjoyed. Think about this: In just the past five years the Red Sox committed $72 million to Drew, $103.1 million to Dice-K (don’t forget the rights fee), $82.5 million to Lackey and $36 million to Lugo. Most pro franchises would have gone into a financial tailspin after taking a $293.6 million hit on so many stiffs. The team still had enough spare change, concession revenue and NESN subscriber fees to pay Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Beckett.

 

Ben will have to be thrifty, smart and lucky. Carmine's margin for error is going to be a lot thinner than anyone in a Red Sox uniform. Larry will be looming larger than ever. It's not going to be pretty.

 

Best of luck, Ben. One strike away these days will be quite an accomplishment

[seabeachfred]

Uh Oh, maybe I'd be better served if I didn't mention this, but it is part of Red Sox history even if I was on the opposite side of it in 1986. Tomorrow it will be the 25th Anniversary of that unnverving day which might be the worst day of all for Red Sox fans. Boston blew a three run lead and lost the series to the Mets. It happened to be my 46th birthday and being a nominal Mets fan back then (born in Queens and live their my first 14 years) I thought it was a great thing. Who knew???? Flash forward 18 years. I had my Red Sox epihpany four years earlier and I see the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years on my 64th. I am in New York riding the rails with my friends to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the New York Subway (October 27, 1904), and this is the second best place to be. The next day I walked down 5th Avenue and then 42nd Street like I was the king of New York, getting hoots and howls all along the way. I even stopped into the Yankee store on 42nd to the glare and stare of those working that day. I can say without a second's hesitation that the 2004 birthday present beat the 1986 one all to hell.

 

I might have overdone the celebration bit and sticking it to the Yankees who I had despised since I was seven. I think possibly the Big Guy up there may have wanted to bring me back to earth because on the 29th heading for the airport I got hit with a case of sciatica and layed me up for about seven weeks.

 

For the further record, believe it or not, when I see films of that Buckner miscue today I cringe and change channels even though back then I thought it was a good thing. As I like to say, go figure.