Buckner's Bolero

If Bobby Ojeda hadn't raged at Sullivan and Yawkey
And hadn't been traded to the Mets for Calvin Schiraldi
If Oil Can Boyd hadn't been such a nutcase
And Jim Rice had twice taken an easy extra base

If the Red Sox had had a better playoff 4th starter
Instead, Nipper served up a big fat slider to Carter
What would Seaver have done if not for his bum knee?
Would he have taken the ball and exacted revenge on his old team?

If Gooden had pitched like the real Dr. K
Or Donnie Moore hadn't had that nightmare day
That stuck with him 'til he couldn't take anymore
And turned his own kitchen into a killing floor

And John McNamara, what the hell was he thinking?
Was it him, not the party boy Mets, doing all the drinking?
If he'd hit Baylor for Buckner and yanked the first baseman
For his by-the-book late inning defensive replacement
That ball would have been snagged if it'd ever been hit
And Mookie's last name wouldn't now be "86"

Bob Stanley picked a pretty bad time to uncork a wild pitch
And I'm sure he's still thinking that you could have blocked it, Rich
Then the tying run might have not been tallied by Mitch
If one play killed the Sox, can you please tell me which?

I guess everything happens for some sort of reason
And there must be a tragic end to every long season
If even one man doesn't do one thing he does
We'd all know Bill Buckner for just what he was
A pretty tough out for the Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs

Ten thousand at bats and close to three thousand hits
And he stole plenty bases before his legs quit
As tough to walk as he was to strike out
But there's only one play that ever gets talked about

Now some kind of fame lies in being a scapegoat
And if not that, then you're just an historical footnote
And your 22 years playing ball might be forgotten
Maybe Bill Buckner was lucky his luck was so rotten