Bill Buckner To Take Helm Of Brockton Rox

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The Brockton Rox announced Tuesday Jan. 4 that 22-year major league veteran Bill Buckner will be the club’s field manager for the 2011 season.
Brockton Rox CEO Chris Carminucci said in a prepared statement having Buckner as head coach is a move he hopes will help propel the team to a championship.
“He’s well-known and well-respected by New England sports fans, and has an incredible wealth of knowledge about the game. Our fans and players are in for a great experience in 2011," Carminucci said.
Buckner said he is looking forward to hitting the field and returning to a game he loves.
“I’m excited to spend the summer in back in Massachusetts with the Rox,” Buckner said in the statement. “I’ve been looking forward to getting back into baseball, and it should be a good season,” he said.
Buckner, 61, was driven from the area by heartbroken and, in some cases over-the-edge and revengeful fans who could not accept the Game 6 loss during the World Serie in 1986 when Buckner misplayed a ground ball at first base. The Mets went on to win Game 6 and won the World Series in Game 7.
Since the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, many hard feelings have dissipated and Buckner has been a welcome visitor to the area and now, Rox officials say, will use his extensive baseball knowledge to lead the Brockton Rox.
Buckner's career began in 1969 and ended with his retirement in 1990.
Buckner played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Kansas City Royals, amassing 2,715 hits, 498 doubles and 1,208 RBI. He led the National League with a .324 average in 1980, 35 doubles in 1981 and 38 doubles in 1983. A superb contact hitter, Buckner never struck out more than 39 times in a season.
Buckner made appearances in the World Series with the Dodgers in 1974 and the Red Sox in the infamous 1986 run. In 1981 he was a N.L. All-Star.
After his retirement, Buckner served as a hitting coach with the Chicago White Sox from 1996 to 1997.
A Vallejo, Calif. native, Buckner was a second-round choice of the Cubs in the 1968 draft after playing college ball for Arizona State University.
“It’s a great day to to have Bill Buckner join our organization,” Rox CEO Chris Carminucci added.
In 2010, Brockton went 54-39, second-best in the league, and reached the playoffs for the fifth time in the club’s history.
Three Rox players were selected to Baseball America’s All-Independent Team after the season, making Brockton one of just two independent clubs--out of over 60--with three players on the list.