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anniversary of B

(2015-05-15 23:56:40) 下一个
NEW YORK -- The Bill Buckner ball is back in play. Dermontti Dawson Steelers Jersey . The prize souvenir from the 1986 World Series will go on eBay this month with a US$1-million price tag, put up for auction by the Grammy-nominated songwriter who once bought it from actor Charlie Sheen. Seth Swirsky owns the ball, along with a bevy of bats, gloves and other mementos tied to the likes of Shoeless Joe Jackson, Johnny Vander Meer and Eddie Gaedel. He celebrates the games lore, and has written three books based on his letters to and from ballplayers. "I love my collection. I dont think Ive ever sold anything from it," Swirsky told The Associated Press from his home in Los Angeles. "But that ball, its time to pass it along, to let someone else enjoy it." Swirsky plans to begin the online auction on Oct. 15, and it wont last long. He intends to close the bidding late on the night of Oct. 25 -- at the exact minute of the 25th anniversary of Buckners famous error. Swirsky said he decided to part with a favourite piece while driving around last week, a day after watching Boston collapse on the final night of the regular season. "The myth of Buckner continues. There he was on Curb Your Enthusiasm last month. Everybody knows where they were when that play happened," he said. "I wasnt in a gloating mood. This isnt about, ha, ha, the Red Sox lost. Im not a Red Sox hater, Im a baseball history lover. "If anything, I want people to know how good Buckner was. You really wanted Billy Buck on your team. He got 2,715 hits -- almost as many as Lou Gehrig," Swirsky said. Buckner, however, is more noted for what happened in Game 6 of the 86 Series. Playing first base for Boston, he let Mookie Wilsons grounder roll through his legs, allowing the New York Mets to cap an incredible rally in the 10th inning. The Mets went on to win the title. The ball was picked up by right field umpire Ed Montague, who put a tiny "x" near a seam to mark the real thing. Montague gave it to Mets executive Arthur Richman, who in turn presented it to Wilson. Then Wilson signed it to Richman -- "The ball won it for us," he wrote -- and the souvenir made its way around the clubhouse. Someone left a tobacco stain where he kissed it. Sheen bought the ball for more than $93,000 in 1992 and Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000. Auction houses handled those transactions, but Swirsky said hes going online because the anniversary date is fast approaching. To Swirsky, the Buckner ball captures the heart of the sport. "People ask, Why would you have a ball about sorrow? To me, its encompasses the two emotions of the game. The highs and lows, all encapsulated in one ball." Raised in Long Island, the 51-year-old Swirsky gave the ball to the Mets Hall of Fame last year for display. Hes also shown it to both Wilson and Buckner at different times. Buckner thought it was "cool" and Wilsons eyes "got real big," Swirsky said. Swirskys extensive collection is a combination of historical and hysterical. Hes got a ticket stub from Gehrigs last game, the ball Reggie Jackson hit for his third straight home run in the 1977 World Series and a letter commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to Shoeless Joe after getting banned in the Black Sox scandal. Swirsky also owns the cap that Jose Canseco was wearing when a ball bounced off his head for a home run, a bottle of champagne the Red Sox had in their clubhouse in anticipation of winning the 86 Series and a rare autograph from Gaedel, the dwarf who batted in a 1951 publicity stunt. Baseball memorabilia is only a part of Swirskys life. He co-wrote the hit "Tell It To My Heart" by Taylor Dayne, and has multiple hits with Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John and Al Green. Swirsky also performs with The Red Button, his Beatles-oriented retro band that recently released a new album. Swirsky thinks $1 million is a good starting point, based on previous ball sales. Mark McGwires 70th homer went for over $3 million and Babe Ruths homer from the 1933 all-star game went for $850,000, as did Hank Aarons last home run. Swirsky plans to donate part of the proceeds to the Baseball Assistance Team, which helps those in the baseball family having financial hardship. He previously donated from his book sales to B.A.T. "We should share this with the people who created these memories for us," he said. Swirsky would sell the Buckner ball for a certain person in an instant. Outspoken political commentator Keith Olbermann -- an excellent baseball storyteller, too -- came in second to Sheen when the ball initially went to auction. Olbermann then was second to Swirsky. "If I got a call from Keith and he wanted it for a million, Id do it. He deserves it," Swirsky said. "Id rather have someone who really wants it to have it, you know?" Le Veon Bell Jersey . Toews played his first preseason game after being sidelined by a lower body injury. Alex Ovechkins first goal of the preseason, a power-play tally at 8:17 of the third period, lifted the Capitals into a 4-4 tie. Martavis Bryant Steelers Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players.Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is now only two wins away from capturing the 1,000th win of his illustrious career. Krzyzewskis squad got back on track Saturday with a 63-52 victory over the sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals. Amile Jefferson scored 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (15-2, 3-2 ACC), who avoided dropping three straight ACC games for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign. Jahlil Okafor added 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven boards for Duke, which shot 48.8 percent from the field and went 17-of-23 from the foul line. Terry Rozier ended with 17 points for the Cardinals (15-3, 3-2), who have lost two of three. Montrezll Harrell tallied 10 points and 14 rebounds. Ben Roethlisberger Steelers Jersey. Trailing 12-9, Duke put together a 17-2 run to gain control. Jefferson tallied six points during the surge that Quinn Cook capped with a 3-pointer for a 26-14 edge. After taking a 30-20 lead into the locker room, the Blue Devils started the second half on a 12-2 spurt. Okafor scored four points during the burst, including a layup with 15:35 remaining to make it 42-22. Louisville used a late run to make the score a little better. Game Notes The Blue Devils improved to 6-4 all-time against Louisville ... Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists for Duke ... The Cardinals shot just 29.5 percent from the field and went 4-of-25 from beyond the arc. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
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