'86

This being the 20th anniversary of the Mets '86 season, here's something I occasionally like to ponder: what would have happened if Bill Buckner had fielded Mookie Wilson's grounder in Game 6?

I have always held that, even if Buckner had come up with the ball, he would not have beaten Mookie to the bag. I couldn't see Buckner stopping his sideways movement and starting forward again, especially with his bad ankles. I also don't think Bob Stanley would have gotten to first in time to beat Mookie either, the way Mookie busted out of the box.

However, if Buckner has the ball, then Ray Knight has to stop at third. So, it would have been 1st and 3rd, still two outs, and Howard Johnson at the plate. I'm sure that Boston had no one up in the bullpen, so they would have had to stick with Stanley.

I can see Mookie stealing second. I know that it didn't matter if he was in scoring position, since Knight was the winning run. But the Sox were reeling... just one out away from a championshp and all of a sudden, single by Carter, single by Mitchell, RBI single by Knight, Mitchell scores on a passed ball/wild pitch. So, why not increase the pressure on the Sox? Maybe Rich Gedman makes a bad throw? Maybe Stanley balks or tosses another pitch that Gedman can't reach? There's certainly no worry about a double steal, but Mookie's presence on the bases is another reminder that they just needed one more strike.

What would HoJo have done? He was not yet known as a power hitter, and he did strike out a lot (although so did Mookie).

Supposing Mookie does steal. Do the Sox then walk HoJo to face Lee Mazzilli?

Or Stanley gets them out of the inning. I don't remember who the Sox would have had coming up, but they're definitely feeling "what happened?"