As Roger Clemens waited for the final out in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, so did Michael Kay and a handful of other reporters.
It never came.
While reminiscing with Rich Eisen about the chaos of working in stadium tunnels, Kay recounted a story from the 1986 World Series. Covering the event for The New York Post, he found himself isolated with other reporters beneath Shea Stadium. The tension was high as the Boston Red Sox held a 5-3 lead over the Mets going into the bottom of the 10th. The Red Sox were on the brink of ending their “curse,” needing just one out to clinch their first title since 1918.
“We’re underneath Shea Stadium, and there’s no TV,” Kay explained. “We’re waiting outside the Red Sox’s clubhouse to go in for the celebration. And we just feel the stadium shaking and shaking, and we have no idea what’s going on.”
With the Mets down to their final out and their backs against the wall, Gary Carter stepped up to the plate, the weight of the city’s hopes on his shoulders.
Unbeknownst to Kay, a thrilling sequence was unfolding above him.
Carter, Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight connected for a series of clutch hits. And Kay remained oblivious to the above drama even as Mookie Wilson’s grounder went through Bill Buckner’s legs, allowing the winning run to score.
They just felt the stadium shake.
“Then, in an instant, we see three men carrying Ms. (Jean) Yawkey out horizontally to the ground,” Kay said. “The owner of the Red Sox who was there to receive the trophy. Well, there was not any trophy that day. My job for the Post was to get sidebars on the Red Sox side…We’re watching the owner of the Red Sox be carried out, and then, the Red Sox are trudging. And we just know that they lost. We have no idea how they lost.”
Only in the most heartbreaking way imaginable.
“And now we have to go ask questions,” Kay continues. “So, we’re standing there, ‘What happened to Bob Stanley? Calvin Schiraldi…’ We had no idea.”
They also had no idea that Wilson’s grounder squirted through Buckner’s legs. It’s only about the most infamous play in both World Series and Boston Red Sox history, and here was Kay and the rest of the press corps inside the Red Sox’ clubhouse, just flying completely blind.
In modern-day terms, it would be like reporters being inside the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse inside Busch Stadium in 2011, not realizing that David Freese just hit a 2-run triple to tie the game. Of course, that doesn’t bring Freese hitting the game-winning home run in extra innings into the forefront, but that’s as close as you’re getting to a modern-day comparison with Nelson Cruz serving as Buckner.
And in drawing an analogy to flying, Kay described the experience as being on a plane with no radar, forced to navigate a landing with complete uncertainty.
But that’s what reporting looked like over 37 years ago. And while a lot has changed since then, that Buckner moment will forever live in infamy.
