Passing on the Buck? ~ 06 March 2006
Update 10/12/2006: Buck O'Neill passed away on October 6, 2006, a great loss to baseball and humanity.
Last week the Baseball Hall of Fame electors voted on this year's nominees and hopefully electees that become enshrined immortality in Cooperstown, New York come July. While seventeen players from the former Negro Leagues and the first woman (Effa Manley - a former owner of the Negro Leagues’ Newark Eagles) ever elected found their way in the Hall of Fame, a notable snub took place. The amazing career of Buck O’Neil (See Chart) of the Memphis Red Sox, Kansas City Monarchs and the Chicago Cubs failed to catch the fateful dot of the voting markers of the electors - and in the last year of Buck’s eligibility to boot.
Since his pro baseball start in 1938 Buck missed only 1944 and 1945 when he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Buck joined the Kansas City Monarchs after a brief year in Memphis where he won batting titles in 1940 (.345) and 1946 (.350). During the 1942 season he led the Monarchs to the Negro World Series in which Buck hit .353 as the Monarchs put down the formidable Homestead Grays in four games. Known as a heady hitter, he specialized in finding the gap, making the drives off his bat illusive to fielders. A smooth fielder at first base, his combined talents gained Buck the admiration and respect of other players and managers. In 1948 Buck became manager of the now famous Monarchs. Between the start of his tenure and 1955, he lead the Monarchs to league titles in 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1953. In 1956 Buck received and accepted an offer with the Chicago Cubs to coach and scout. This position made him the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues - a color barrier broken that paved the way for other coaches and managers to follow. After thirty-three years with the Cubs, where he scouted the likes of Lou Brock and Joe Carter, he returned to Kansas City to scout for the Royals. Buck now chairs the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. By any standard of baseball, this career and the breakthrough milestones within it seemed good enough for Cooperstown. What happened?
Neptune, the planet of invisibility, has been working over Saturn, the Moon and starting to obscure the Sun in Buck’s horoscope. The hard work, discipline and commitment of Saturn as well as the Moon’s passionate love for the family of baseball - especially in the Negro Leagues faded in the blanketing fogs Neptune conjured. Still, the more optimistic veil of Neptune slowly creates mythical archetypes, fosters heros and ultimately clears the way for the brilliance of the Sun to shine through. Neptune works indirectly through Buck’s chart to cast a tarnish over the electors. What on Earth were they thinking? It smacks of something... politics, personal biases, ignorance? Certainly none of the electors considered Buck’s horoscope. If they had, they would have offered another mark of approval on their ballots.
Most amazingly, how did Buck take this? As a Scorpio, one might assume that the transgression will never be forgotten. But Buck has the lofty, “take the high road,” Jupiter also in Scorpio aligning with his Sun. He gets the bigger picture. Add to this a lovely diplomatic Venus in Libra and on interviews pressing Buck for reaction to the voting, he came off as forgiving, tolerant, understanding and not letting the snub deter his love for the game. This Venus has power. It aligns with a collection of black holes around an enormous nucleus that holds an entire league of galaxies together. The charisma and drawing magnetism of Buck’s Venus cannot be ignored. Witness the rally cry for a special election to place Buck where he belongs - in Cooperstown - by baseball writers, fans (I wrote a protest to SABR - the Society for American Baseball Research) and the baseball savvy and evocative Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. These black holes shall unleash a potent spray of x-rays (as black holes do) penetrating to the core of the matter and they shall establish an onslaught of pressure to do right by Buck.
As baseball season officially commences, though, some of the controversy wanes as other controversies heat up - steroids for one. Still, the beneficing and rewarding Jupiter will ensure Buck will not be forgotten. Between the second week of October - right in the thick of the 2006 playoffs - and through the first week of December, Buck receives the best Jupiter can offer. Given that the powerful, truth revealing Pluto opposes Buck’s own Pluto in this interval - a pattern many do not ever enjoy since it happens only after a nine decade minimum of life, we’ll find out what’s up. Buck cannot be denied what is due. He offered his life to baseball - America’s game - and served his country in war - how patriotic is that? Not only should the illusive enshrinement come his way, publishing offers, productions and plethora of opportunities stand to shower him as well.
Given that Jupiter, the planet of beliefs, comes back to embellish his basic way of being and reclaim his forthright philosophy, the world could greatly benefit from understanding Buck’s view of life. His graciousness, dignity, confidence and passion for the sport that has been his life show us all the streets leading to the high road.
Special Note: My thanks to Raymond at the Negro Leagues Baseball Mueseum for his generous support of this article. He graciously provided birth data, photographs and enthusiasm.