The New Buckner
WHO
Bobby Buckner, a switch--hitting shortstop who hit .405 his senior year at Boise (Idaho) High and will play next year for baseball power Texas. On June 4 he played in the High School All-American game and went 1 for 3.
HIS NAME MIGHT SOUND FAMILIAR BECAUSE ...
his father, Bill, an All-Star, had 2,715 hits in 22 major league seasons and led the NL in batting in 1980. Also, Game 6 (above).
BIG BREAK
Bobby learned to switch-hit as a sophomore when he broke his wrist during a sliding drill. Swinging with his off hand, he worked out from the left side of the plate to pass time.
CLUTCH MOMENTS
During a state tournament game his junior year, Bobby saved a potential winning run with a diving stop of a grounder, and also hit a home run to tie the game. Says Boise coach Jeff Hultberg, "That's when he started to piece it together."
HIS DAD SAYS ...
of Bobby's playing ball, "It's his choice. He wanted to play on a high level so I was able to tell him what he needed to do."
BOBBY'S WORST FIELDING PERFORMANCE
In an American Legion game last summer, "I had three errors and we fell apart," he says. "But you've got to have a short-term memory. If you remember a game like that, you're not going to be able to field grounders the next time."
ABOUT HIS DAD'S FAMOUS ERROR IN 1986
Bobby says, "I never hear about it. My friends are all athletes and they know that stuff can happen at any time. I played against a kid in the-All-American game [Howard Johnson's son Glen] whose dad was on the '86 Mets. We didn't talk about it though."
BILL ON BOBBY AND THE E-3 LEGACY
"He knows it's not his problem, it's the media's problem. He's a great player and a great kid. He's smart enough to know that one play doesn't make a career. Even if it did, we weren't even ahead at the time. It's a waste of time to talk about now."
The Pop Culture Grid
How do sports stars fit in? | One person I'm dying to have in my five | Best song of summer | Last gadget you bought | Favorite play or musical | Closest thing I have to a famous relative | Bigger Freak: Criss Angel or David Blaine |
BILL HALL Brewers, CF | Meagan Good | Big Things Poppin (T.I.) | A laptop computer | I've never seen one | My mother, Vergie | David Blaine |
MARTIN TRUEX JR. NASCAR driver | I've already got them all | Home (Daughtry) | XBOX 360 | Never been to one. I only do movies | My dad. He's a legend in the seafood business | Criss Angel, by far |
SOPHIA YOUNG Silver Stars, F | Tony Parker | Irreplaceable (Beyoncé, top) | I upgraded to a new iPod | The Lion King on Broadway | Venus Williams, my sister from another mother and father | Criss Angel |
REGGIE WILLITS Angels, CF | Nobody | Summertime (Kenny Chesney) | A PSP | I don't think I've ever seen one | My sister Wendi. She played for the L.A. Sparks | I don't know either of those guys |
PHOTO
STAN GROSSFELD/BOSTON GLOBE/AP (BILL BUCKNER)
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JOE JASZEWSKI/THE IDAHO STATESMAN (BOB BUCKNER PLAYING)
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LISA M. COLLARD/THE IDAHO STATESMAN (BOB BUCKNER HEADSHOT)
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JEFF HANISCH/US PRESSWIRE (HALL)
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SAM SHARPE (TRUEX)
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RON HOSKINS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (YOUNG)
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KIRBY LEE/WIREIMAGE.COM (WILLITS)
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GREG NELSON (PARKER)
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JO HALE/GETTY IMAGES (BEYONCE)
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MATTHEW PEYTON/GETTY IMAGES (ANGEL)
TWO PHOTOS