It's a moment all Red Sox fans would like to forget and one New York Mets fans look back on with excitement: the Bill Buckner error. The infamous play from the 1986 World Series, where the ball off of Mookie Wilson's bat went through Buckner's legs and into right field, gave the Mets the win in Game 6. The Mets then won Game 7 for their second World Series title in franchise history.
That Buckner baseball is an iconic piece of MLB history, and it turns out new Mets owner Steve Cohen is the keeper of the piece of memorabilia. In an interview with SNY on Wednesday, Cohen revealed that he owns the baseball. He shared the story of how he got it in his hands:
It started “Behind the bag!” It ended up in @StevenACohen2’s possession.
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) November 26, 2020
Next stop: The Mets Museum.
An incredible reveal during tonight’s interview. Not only does Steve Cohen own the Mets, but he owns maybe the most important piece of Mets history. pic.twitter.com/jZy2JWwGxO
"This is the Buckner ball," he said proudly during the interview, showing off the piece of Mets history.
Cohen found out the ball was going up for auction a few years ago and thought "It's a great moment in Met history," and was fine with the estimated price he was given between $100,000 and $150,000. The ball ended up going for much more than that, at $418,250. Cohen was unaware it was purchased on his behalf at such a steep price. He said at first he was very angry about it, but he's "happy now."
The ball is signed by Wilson and says, "To Arthur, the ball won it for us, Mookie Wilson, 10/25/86." Arthur Richman was a Mets executive who at one point had the ball in his possession.
Cohen said he soon plans to put the ball in the Mets museum at Citi Field.
