Hardships keep 51s’ Stanley grounded

Bill Buckner has bore the brunt of the blame for Boston's infamous collapse in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, but former Red Sox pitcher Bob Stanley also has endured his fair share of abuse since then.

"One time a guy drove up in my driveway - my kids were playing in the driveway - and he got out of the car and picked up my kid's bike and threw it against the basketball pole and said, 'Tell your father he sucks,' and he took off," said Stanley, 57, the 51s pitching coach.

Stanley, whose wild pitch allowed the Mets to score the tying run in the 10th inning of Game 6, was on his way to cover first base when Mookie Wilson's ground ball rolled through Buckner's legs, bringing the winning run home.

"I should've picked the ball up. It was worth a lot of money," Stanley said jokingly before pausing a beat. "I would've thrown it out of the ballpark."

"The Steamer," as Stanley is known in the 51s clubhouse, long ago made his peace with 1986. Cancer, which afflicted his son Kyle at age 9 in 1990, puts things in perspective.

"I never even think about (1986) unless somebody brings it up," he said. "There were a lot of things in my life after that, with my son being sick, that the game of baseball's not really that important.

"It's just a game."

Shortly after Stanley retired following the 1989 season, Kyle was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his sinus cavity. After two years of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and surgeries, he was declared cancer free.

"In '86, I prayed to God that I'd be a hero, and he didn't answer my prayers," Stanley said. "But he answered my prayers when my son got sick."

A few years earlier, while visiting childhood cancer patients for the Jimmy Fund charity, Stanley had befriended a young boy who was diagnosed with the same tumor as his son.

The boy lost his battle and was buried, per his request, in a jersey Stanley had given him.

"I still believe that little boy looked over my son," Stanley said.

Kyle lost the sight in his right eye, but the 30-year-old is alive and well and getting married in April. He hasn't let his lack of vision stop him from beating his father on the golf course.

"When he lost his eye, he couldn't play baseball, so I got him golf clubs," Stanley said. "He played high school golf, and now he kicks my ass in golf."

Stanley started his coaching career in 1997 with, of all organizations, the Mets.

"I thought somebody was playing a practical joke," he said of the job offer. "It was an opportunity to coach, so I took it."

A pitching coach in New York's farm system for six seasons, Stanley had the same job for the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2008 before taking a three-year hiatus to help care for his dying mother, Theresa.

"I'm glad I got to spend three years with her," he said.

In his first season in Las Vegas, Stanley has helped the 51s lower their ERA by more than a run, from 5.76 to 4.62 - their lowest in 10 years.

"I love it. I missed it," he said of coaching. "I like being around the guys."

Born in Portland, Maine, and raised in New Jersey, Stanley's two favorite teams growing up were, ironically, the Red Sox and Mets.

He spent his entire 13-year career (1977 to 1989) with Boston, going 115-97 with a 3.64 ERA and 132 saves. A two-time All-Star, Stanley owns the franchise record for appearances with 637.

"All they remember is about that game, but that's all right," he said. "There were a lot of other good things."

With Game 6 tied 3-3 after nine innings, Stanley was supposed to start the 10th, but that plan changed when Boston went ahead 5-3.

"Then the (bullpen) phone rings: '(Calvin) Schiraldi's going back out there,' " he said. "Who knows what would have happened had I gone out there with a 5-3 lead and nobody out, because I was throwing the ball pretty well."

Schiraldi surrendered three two-out hits before giving way to Stanley, who had a 2-and-2 count on Wilson when the ball got past Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman.

"I just kept throwing sinkers away and he kept fouling them off," Stanley said of the 10-pitch at-bat. "The ball that got away from Gedman was a fastball in and a little miscommunication. The ball was supposed to be in, and he set up outside. A lot of people say it was a passed ball. It doesn't matter. The game's tied."

After fouling off two more pitches, Wilson hit his historic "little roller up along first" that "gets through Buckner" - as the legendary Vin Scully said on the TV broadcast - and sent the Mets to the win en route to the World Series title.

While Buckner and his family were eventually all but cast out of Massachusetts and moved to Idaho, Stanley never left. He has lived in New England since 1979.

He said he still occasionally gets grief about Game 6 but takes it in stride.

"It's part of the game," he said. "I tell them I got Alzheimer's after that year. I can't remember what happened."

While he was glad when the Red Sox won World Series crowns in 2004 and 2007, Stanley said it didn't take him and his teammates completely off the hook.

"They still remember '86," he said. "They'll always remember '86."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.