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He's the hero we need, not the one we deserve.
Think the Marlins front office had an eventful week last week in Dallas? Consider Marlins catcher John Buck’s week.
He started the week by bagging a trophy-class deer (209 points on the Boone & Crockett scale) on a hunting trip in south Texas. Once he returned from the wild and got a phone signal, he found out he will have three new All Star teammates.
To top all of that off, he returned home to South Florida and helped rescue two elderly women from an overturned car near the Sawgrass Mall in Sunrise.
“As I look back on it, it was not your typical week,’’ Buck said with a chuckle.
Let’s go in reverse chronological order, which brings us to this past Thursday morning.
As Buck and his wife pull their car out of their Broward County neighborhood, the Marlins catcher notices landscaping crews hard at work. Then he notices a tall palm tree shaking violently in the distance.
“I was like, ‘Man, are they cutting trees down over there?’’ he says to his wife.
Turns out the tree was shaking after being hit by a car, an accident Buck happened upon perhaps one minute after it occured.
‘I pulled out of the entrance (of his neighborhood) and I saw this car upside down and smoking. I kind of saw a hand pulling at the window,’’ he said.
“I looked at my wife and my wife’s like, ‘Go help! Just go!’’
Buck ran to the overturned car and went to work with two other Good Samaritans.
Buck and a bus driver who stopped to give assistance were able to help the car’s driver crawl out of a window of the upside-down car. Buck and another man pulled the passenger out.
Buck also called 911, but at the scene he said. “I didn’t do a whole lot of talking — everybody was speaking Spanish around me.’’
It didn’t take long for police and paramedics to arrive. Buck said the injuries to the two elderly women did not look life-threatening. He said he thinks the passenger might have suffered a broken leg; the driver didn’t appear to be physically hurt too much.
“It wasn’t that serious,’’ he said. “But the car upside down and the way it landed, the two older ladies were pretty lucky.’’
Buck didn’t stick around too long – he was on his way to pick up his son from school.
“I pulled them out, then the police came, I gave my report and was like, ‘Guess my job’s over.’ So I took off.’’
Around the same time of the accident, the Marlins were introducing new pitcher Mark Buehrle to the media in Miami.
When the Marlins signed Buehrle earlier in the week, Buck was on a hunting trip in south Texas with three other friends – pitchers Matt Cain and Jeremy Affeldt of the Giants and Brian Fuentes of Oakland.
Buck – whose twitter handle is @14Buckshot – said he did pretty well on the hunt: a deer that scored 209 on the Boone & Crockett scale.
“It was a good one if you’re a hunter,’’ said Buck, who offered praised to his hunting guide, Jimmy Ferguson of 2J Outfitters. “It was a 200-class deer, which is like hitting the lottery for a deer hunter.’’
Once Buck and his friends emerged from the wilderness, he got a cell phone signal – and news that the Marlins had signed Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell.
It was the Buehrle signing, which capped off the Marlins’ week at the winter meetings, that made an impression on Cain, Affeldt and Fuentes.
“The other guys were like, ‘Bro, you signed Buehrle, too?’’’ Buck recalled.
Buck’s next task, before leaving south Texas, was to call Buehrle.
“I got right on the horn and called him,’’ Buck said, “and said, ‘This might be the best day ever for a catcher – I bagged me a world-class buck AND I bagged me a Buerhle!’’’
He started the week by bagging a trophy-class deer (209 points on the Boone & Crockett scale) on a hunting trip in south Texas. Once he returned from the wild and got a phone signal, he found out he will have three new All Star teammates.
To top all of that off, he returned home to South Florida and helped rescue two elderly women from an overturned car near the Sawgrass Mall in Sunrise.
“As I look back on it, it was not your typical week,’’ Buck said with a chuckle.
Let’s go in reverse chronological order, which brings us to this past Thursday morning.
As Buck and his wife pull their car out of their Broward County neighborhood, the Marlins catcher notices landscaping crews hard at work. Then he notices a tall palm tree shaking violently in the distance.
“I was like, ‘Man, are they cutting trees down over there?’’ he says to his wife.
Turns out the tree was shaking after being hit by a car, an accident Buck happened upon perhaps one minute after it occured.
‘I pulled out of the entrance (of his neighborhood) and I saw this car upside down and smoking. I kind of saw a hand pulling at the window,’’ he said.
“I looked at my wife and my wife’s like, ‘Go help! Just go!’’
Buck ran to the overturned car and went to work with two other Good Samaritans.
Buck and a bus driver who stopped to give assistance were able to help the car’s driver crawl out of a window of the upside-down car. Buck and another man pulled the passenger out.
Buck also called 911, but at the scene he said. “I didn’t do a whole lot of talking — everybody was speaking Spanish around me.’’
It didn’t take long for police and paramedics to arrive. Buck said the injuries to the two elderly women did not look life-threatening. He said he thinks the passenger might have suffered a broken leg; the driver didn’t appear to be physically hurt too much.
“It wasn’t that serious,’’ he said. “But the car upside down and the way it landed, the two older ladies were pretty lucky.’’
Buck didn’t stick around too long – he was on his way to pick up his son from school.
“I pulled them out, then the police came, I gave my report and was like, ‘Guess my job’s over.’ So I took off.’’
Around the same time of the accident, the Marlins were introducing new pitcher Mark Buehrle to the media in Miami.
When the Marlins signed Buehrle earlier in the week, Buck was on a hunting trip in south Texas with three other friends – pitchers Matt Cain and Jeremy Affeldt of the Giants and Brian Fuentes of Oakland.
Buck – whose twitter handle is @14Buckshot – said he did pretty well on the hunt: a deer that scored 209 on the Boone & Crockett scale.
“It was a good one if you’re a hunter,’’ said Buck, who offered praised to his hunting guide, Jimmy Ferguson of 2J Outfitters. “It was a 200-class deer, which is like hitting the lottery for a deer hunter.’’
Once Buck and his friends emerged from the wilderness, he got a cell phone signal – and news that the Marlins had signed Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell.
It was the Buehrle signing, which capped off the Marlins’ week at the winter meetings, that made an impression on Cain, Affeldt and Fuentes.
“The other guys were like, ‘Bro, you signed Buehrle, too?’’’ Buck recalled.
Buck’s next task, before leaving south Texas, was to call Buehrle.
“I got right on the horn and called him,’’ Buck said, “and said, ‘This might be the best day ever for a catcher – I bagged me a world-class buck AND I bagged me a Buerhle!’’’
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