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One swing binds Dent, Torrez forever
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BY SCOTT WALSH
STAFF WRITER
As manager of the Columbus Clippers in 1989 and again in 2004, Bucky Dent recalls coming to what was then known as Lackawanna County Stadium to play the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.
“I remember it was a fun stadium with a nice setting with the rocks and the mountains in the background,” Dent said. “It was a fun place to play. There were a large number of Yankees fans there. I was really kind of surprised when we first went in there.”
Now, Dent is looking forward to returning to Scranton. He will participate in the Legends Reunion on Aug. 16 at that same stadium, which is now called PNC Field. The event features a five-inning exhibition baseball game between a team of former New York Yankees and a team of ex-Boston Red Sox. It is co-sponsored by the Times-Tribune newspapers and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
“I hope I don’t pull any muscles,” Dent said.
Of course, whenever the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry surfaces, Dent’s name immediately comes to mind. His three-run home run off Mike Torrez in the seventh inning of the one-game American League East Division playoff in 1978 helped the Yankees win, 5-4, and complete a comeback from a 14-game deficit as late as July 19. They went on to win the World Series in six games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t ask Dent about the home run. “It was a great game between two classic teams; one of the best games ever played,” Dent said. “I never get tired talking about that game.” Sometimes, though, Dent wonders what if he had grounded out or popped up instead of hitting the home run.
“Sports is a game of moments,” he said. “That was a big moment and a big game. Everybody knew where they were at when I hit the home run. It’s kind of amazing 30 years later.”
In the World Series in 1978, Dent hit .417 with seven RBIs and was named the series Most Valuable Player.
While his home run defined his 12-year playing career, Dent had many other highlights.
He came up with the Chicago White Sox at age 21 and played 40 games in 1973. The following season, he became the Sox’s everyday shortstop and batted .274 with five home runs and 45 RBIs. He finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting that season to Mike Hargrove. George Brett finished third in the voting.
Dent played two more seasons in Chicago and was chosen for his first All-Star Game in 1975.
“I have great memories of Chicago,” Dent said. “(Rich) Gossage and I came up together and we were roommates in the minor leagues when we first started out. Chicago is a great town; I really enjoyed playing there. Dick Allen was one of the best players I ever played with.”
On the eve of the 1977 season — April 5 — Dent wound up being traded from the White Sox to the Yankees for Oscar Gamble, LaMarr Hoyt, Bob Polinsky and $200,000.
“It was the last day of spring training,” Dent said. “That was the first year of the Toronto Blue Jays and (the White Sox) were getting ready to go to Toronto to open the season. I put some stuff in my car and my phone rang in my apartment. I picked it up and heard a crowd. Then this guy goes, ‘Is this Bucky Dent?’ I go yeah and he goes, ‘This is George Steinbrenner.’ I was like, Get out of here! He said he had a deal that would make me a Yankee if I would sign my contract. Nick Buoniconti was my agent at the time, so I told him I had to call Nick. He (Steinbrenner) called back five minutes later and said the deal was on and I was going to New York. I was really, really excited.”
After five-plus seasons with the Yankees, Dent was dealt to the Texas Rangers in August 1982 for Lee Mazzilli. He played for the Rangers in 1983, but was released just prior to the 1984 season. He briefly latched on with the Kansas City Royals late that year, but played the final game of his career on Sept. 11.
That’s when he turned to coaching, working in the Yankees’ minor-league system. He managed the New York Yankees for the final 40 games of the 1989 season and the first 49 games of 1990 before being fired. He also has worked as a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds.
Today, Dent lives in Florida. He runs his own baseball school, where the field features a replica of Fenway Park’s Green Monster. The scoreboard appears as it did the moment Dent hit his famed home run.
Contact the writer: swalsh@timesshamrock.com
“I remember it was a fun stadium with a nice setting with the rocks and the mountains in the background,” Dent said. “It was a fun place to play. There were a large number of Yankees fans there. I was really kind of surprised when we first went in there.”
Now, Dent is looking forward to returning to Scranton. He will participate in the Legends Reunion on Aug. 16 at that same stadium, which is now called PNC Field. The event features a five-inning exhibition baseball game between a team of former New York Yankees and a team of ex-Boston Red Sox. It is co-sponsored by the Times-Tribune newspapers and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
“I hope I don’t pull any muscles,” Dent said.
Of course, whenever the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry surfaces, Dent’s name immediately comes to mind. His three-run home run off Mike Torrez in the seventh inning of the one-game American League East Division playoff in 1978 helped the Yankees win, 5-4, and complete a comeback from a 14-game deficit as late as July 19. They went on to win the World Series in six games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t ask Dent about the home run. “It was a great game between two classic teams; one of the best games ever played,” Dent said. “I never get tired talking about that game.” Sometimes, though, Dent wonders what if he had grounded out or popped up instead of hitting the home run.
“Sports is a game of moments,” he said. “That was a big moment and a big game. Everybody knew where they were at when I hit the home run. It’s kind of amazing 30 years later.”
In the World Series in 1978, Dent hit .417 with seven RBIs and was named the series Most Valuable Player.
While his home run defined his 12-year playing career, Dent had many other highlights.
He came up with the Chicago White Sox at age 21 and played 40 games in 1973. The following season, he became the Sox’s everyday shortstop and batted .274 with five home runs and 45 RBIs. He finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting that season to Mike Hargrove. George Brett finished third in the voting.
Dent played two more seasons in Chicago and was chosen for his first All-Star Game in 1975.
“I have great memories of Chicago,” Dent said. “(Rich) Gossage and I came up together and we were roommates in the minor leagues when we first started out. Chicago is a great town; I really enjoyed playing there. Dick Allen was one of the best players I ever played with.”
On the eve of the 1977 season — April 5 — Dent wound up being traded from the White Sox to the Yankees for Oscar Gamble, LaMarr Hoyt, Bob Polinsky and $200,000.
“It was the last day of spring training,” Dent said. “That was the first year of the Toronto Blue Jays and (the White Sox) were getting ready to go to Toronto to open the season. I put some stuff in my car and my phone rang in my apartment. I picked it up and heard a crowd. Then this guy goes, ‘Is this Bucky Dent?’ I go yeah and he goes, ‘This is George Steinbrenner.’ I was like, Get out of here! He said he had a deal that would make me a Yankee if I would sign my contract. Nick Buoniconti was my agent at the time, so I told him I had to call Nick. He (Steinbrenner) called back five minutes later and said the deal was on and I was going to New York. I was really, really excited.”
After five-plus seasons with the Yankees, Dent was dealt to the Texas Rangers in August 1982 for Lee Mazzilli. He played for the Rangers in 1983, but was released just prior to the 1984 season. He briefly latched on with the Kansas City Royals late that year, but played the final game of his career on Sept. 11.
That’s when he turned to coaching, working in the Yankees’ minor-league system. He managed the New York Yankees for the final 40 games of the 1989 season and the first 49 games of 1990 before being fired. He also has worked as a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds.
Today, Dent lives in Florida. He runs his own baseball school, where the field features a replica of Fenway Park’s Green Monster. The scoreboard appears as it did the moment Dent hit his famed home run.
Contact the writer: swalsh@timesshamrock.com
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