Mookie Wilson

The major league baseball player Mookie Wilson was born William Hayward Wilson on February 9, 1956 in Bamberg, South Carolina. The switch-hitter attended the University of South Carolina and was drafted by the New York Metpolitan Baseball Club ("Mets") in the 2nd round of the 1977 amateur draft. Att 5' 10" and 170 lbs., Mookie didn't have power, but he did have speed. He made his debut with the Mets on September 2, 1980 for the first of 10 seasons, before finishing his career up with the Toronto Blue Jays for the remainder of the 1989 season and for the 1990 and '91 seasons. In his 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, he hit .274 with 67 home runs, 438 RBI, and 327 stolen bases in 1403 games. A favorite with Mets fans, who would chant "Moooo-kie" for their hero, the up-beat Wilson was a positive force on the field and in the club-house, bringing a certain something to his teams that could not be measured in numbers alone. After arm surgery in 1985, Wilson became a utility player due to his low on-base percentage. In 1989, he was traded to the Blue Jays, where he helped his new club win a division title that year. Mookie earned baseball immortality in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Boston Red Sox were one out away from winning the game and the World Series when Wilson came to bat against BoSox pitcher Bob Stanley in the bottom of the 10th inning at Shea Staidum with two out and two men on. Wilson battled Stanley until he threw a pitch in the dirt near Wilson's feet forcing Mookie to jump over the ball to avoid being hit by the pitch. Stanley's wild pitch enabled Kevin Mitchell to score from third base with the tying run, with Ray Knight advancing from first to second base. Two pitches later, Wilson hit a slow roller toward Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who allowed it to roll through his legs, a misplay that gave Knight the chance to score from second base, winning the game. This bottom of the 10th inning of the Sixth game, with two out drama was the most unexpected comeback in a single game in the history of the Fall Classic. The scoreboards at Shea Stadium has already flashed a concession naming the Red Sox World's Champs, such was what seemed the inevitability of their victory. Mookie and Bob Stanley's bad pitching and Bill Buckner's hideous fielding, an unbelievable misplay on an easy, routine ground ball to first changed all that. The disheartened Red Sox went down in Game Seven, making Mookie's 1986 Mets -- a team that had won an astounding 108 games in the regular season -- the World's Champs. The Game Six debacle was seen as proof that the Red Sox indeed were hexed (until they finally broke the "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004). Mookie Wilson was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame and currently (2005) is the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a New York Mets farm team.