He coulda been our Bill Buckner

As I was watching Byung-Hyun Kim hold the Diamondbacks to only 5 runs in 3 innings before injuring his thumb this afternoon, I was reminded how grateful I am that he is long gone from the Arizona roster.

It also got me to thinking. His blown saves in Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series are just a footnote-- part of the drama that set the stage for Gonzo's magical bloop hit. But what if that hit in the bottom of the 9th never materialized? Any number of things could have gone slightly differently, and Jeter & Co. would have chalked another world championship up to Yankee Aura and Mystique. How, though, would we have seen it?

Imagine watching the bottom of the 9th inning of that amazing game seven. Now, imagine that it ended a bit differently: Tony Womack flies out, or maybe Luis Gonzalez grounds out to shortstop. Game over! Oh, the pain! We came so close! I hate those Yankees! How did this happen? We were up 2 games to 1 in New York, and nearly won both games 4 and 5! Damn that Derek Jeter. If he and his buddies hadn't come back when we had the games won... hey... Kim blew both of those games! If he had just not blown one of his two save opportunities in New York, Game 6 would have been the end of it!

Yes, if the Diamondbacks had not staged one of the most miraculous comebacks in World Series history, Kim would have become the most hated Arizona player of all time. Twenty years from now, we'd still mutter under our breath when his name is mentioned. Byung-Hyun Kim would have become our Bill Buckner.

Kim owes a lot to the Diamondbacks for what they did (by winning game seven), probably more than he can imagine. He's lucky to only be a mediocre sidearm reliever with control problems, making 2.5 million dollars a year. He could have been a legend.