With the 25th Anniversary of the Bill Buckner blunder rapidly approaching, the infamous ball from the play is headed to eBay. The mishandling of the ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson to the Red Sox first baseman during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series seemingly shifted the momentum of the series in favor of the Mets. Since then, the play has been replayed more times than a Slap Chop commercial.
The current owner, Seth Swirsky, is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who purchased the ball at auction for $64,000. The ball belonged to Charlie Sheen before that. Swirsky will be listing the ball on October 15th with an asking price of $1 million. The auction will be scheduled to end at the exact minute as the 25th anniversary of the 10th inning error.
When the ball passed through Buckner's legs, at first it was just an error committed on a major stage. However, once the Mets won the series, the ball represented the turning point.
As to how the ball ended up in the possession of Charlie Sheen first, the right field umpire at the game marked the ball with an "x" and passed it along to the Mets. Eventually, it made its may to Mookie Wilson, who signed the ball, ''The ball won it for us." In 1992, Sheen paid over $93,000 for the ball and ended up selling it for a $30,000 loss nearly ten years later.
Swirsky was quick to point out that the auction is not meant to shame or vilify Buckner. It is simply a chance to honor the event, which, according to Swirsky, "encompasses the two emotions of the game. The highs and lows, all encapsulated in one ball.''
The tandem of Buckner and Wilson have appeared together recently in a television episode and will host a charity event on the 25th anniversary of the game.
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