Bucky Dent is throwing out the first pitch for Game 4 of the ALDS
Dent also threw out the first pitch for Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.
The Yankees are pulling out all the stops for their do-or-die ALDS Game 4 against the Red Sox Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
New York enlisted former shortstop Bucky Dent to throw out the first pitch, after a colossal 16-1 defeat in Game 3 Monday night gave Boston the 2-1 edge in a best-of-five series. Dent, who won two World Series during his five and a half seasons in New York, is sure to stir up nightmarish memories for Sox fans who remember the tribulations of the late 70’s.
The 66-year-old is probably most well-known for his three-run, seventh-inning home run in the 1978 AL East tiebreaker game against the Red Sox. The homer — one of only 40 in Dent’s 12-year career — helped lift the Yankees to a 5-4 victory and clinched them a playoff berth. While New York went on to win the World Series, Boston missed the postseason after blowing a 14-game division lead in one of the most monumental collapses in league history.
For fans who fear Dent’s participation in the ceremonial festivities Tuesday night won’t bode well for the Red Sox, fear not. Dent also threw out the first pitch for Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS — and Boston knows how that story ends.
Bucky Dent hits a three-run homer off Mike Torrez in the seventh inning of a one-game AL East playoff game at Fenway Park, Oct. 2, 1978.
