John Buck: Hero

The Miami Marlins had an eventful week at the Winter Meetings. In addition to making headlines for its valiant push to sign slugger Albert Pujols, Miami successfully landed three premier players in Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle, and Jose Reyes.

But one of the club's returning players, catcher John Buck, had an even wilder few days. Buck's highlight of a week that included bagging a trophy class deer on a hunting trip? As Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post writes, it was rescuing two women from an overturned car.

Capozzi:

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 occurred.

‘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.

After representing the Toronto Blue Jays on the American League roster in the 2010 Midsummer Classic, Buck earned the prestigious title of Major League Baseball All-Star. In light of his act of bravery last week, though, he can now also be referred to as a hero.