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| Date | October 2, 1978 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Fenway Park | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Boston,Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 32,925 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | ABC WPIX (NYY) WSBK-TV (BOS) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | ABC:Keith Jackson andDon Drysdale WPIX:Phil Rizzuto,Frank Messer andBill White WSBK-TV:Ken Harrelson andDick Stockton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | CBS WINS (NYY) WITS (BOS) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | CBS:Ernie Harwell andWin Elliot WINS: White, Rizzuto, Messer andFran Healy WITS:Jim Woods andNed Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1978 American League East tie-breaker game was aone-game extension toMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1978 regular season. The game was played atFenway Park inBoston on the afternoon of Monday, October 2 between therivalNew York Yankees andBoston Red Sox to determine the winner of theAmerican League's (AL)East Division.
The tie-breaker was necessitated after the Yankees and Red Sox finished the season tied for first place in the AL East with identical99–63 (.611) records. Entering the final day of the season on Sunday, October 1, the Yankees had a one-game lead; they lost 9–2 toCleveland while Boston shut outToronto 5–0 to force the playoff.[1] The Red Sox were thehome team by virtue of acoin toss. In baseball statistics, the tie-breaker counted as the 163rd regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.
Ron Guidrystarted for the Yankees, whileMike Torrez started for the Red Sox. The Red Sox took a 1–0 lead in the second inning with ahome run by left fielderCarl Yastrzemski and extended their lead to 2–0 in the sixth on arun batted insingle by right fielderJim Rice. The game is perhaps most remembered for the seventh inning, when light-hitting shortstopBucky Dent lifted a three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead, which has led to the game being commonly nicknamed the "Bucky Dent Game". After the home run, the Yankees added two more runs, giving them a 5–2 lead. The Red Sox scored two more runs, but the Yankees ultimately won the game when relief pitcherGoose Gossage got Yastrzemski to pop out to third basemanGraig Nettles to earn thesave. Guidry was the winning pitcher, while Torrez received the loss. Bucky Dent's seventh-inning home run has
With the victory, the Yankees finished the regular season with a 100–63 (.613) record and clinched the AL East championship, en route to winning theWorld Series. This was the first tie-breaker to be contested after the introduction of divisional play in 1969. The 1978 Yankees are the last team to win the World Series after playing a tie-breaker, due to the elimination of tie-breaker games beginning with the 2022 season, because of postseason expansion.
The Yankees and Red Sox had combined to win the past threeAmerican League (AL)pennants. The Red Sox lost the World Series in1975, the Yankees lost in1976, and then won in1977. Heading into 1978, the Yankees, Red Sox, andBaltimore Orioles, who had also challenged for the AL East championship in1977, all expected to contend for the AL East title. The Orioles and Red Sox had tied for second place in 1977,2+1⁄2 games behind the Yankees.[2] The youngDetroit Tigers, withLou Whitaker andAlan Trammell, also appeared ready to challenge for the AL East.[2][3]
The Red Sox signedMike Torrez, who won two games in the 1977 World Series for the Yankees, as afree agent during the offseason.[2] Before the season, the Red Sox acquiredDennis Eckersley to join Torrez,Bill Lee, andLuis Tiant in their starting pitching rotation.[4] The Yankees, meanwhile, acquiredGoose Gossage andRawly Eastwick to joinSparky Lyle, 1977's ALCy Young Award winner, in their bullpen during the offseason.[2] Both teams placed five players on the AL squad for theAll-Star Game: Gossage,Ron Guidry,Graig Nettles,Thurman Munson, andReggie Jackson represented the Yankees, whileCarl Yastrzemski,Fred Lynn,Rick Burleson,Carlton Fisk, andJim Rice represented the Red Sox.[5]
The Red Sox had once led the division by ten games; theMilwaukee Brewers were in second place, while the Yankees were in third.[6][7] The Yankees experienced injuries toWillie Randolph,Catfish Hunter,Bucky Dent, andMickey Rivers,[8] and fell to fourth place in the division, as Baltimore moved into third.[9][10] After a shake-up engineered by ownerGeorge Steinbrenner, with Munson moving from catcher toright field,[11] the Yankees fired their combustible managerBilly Martin on July 24, replacing him withBob Lemon.[12][13][14][15][16] The Yankees had lost four of five after the All-Star break, including a three-game sweep byKansas City in New York which ended with a club suspension of Reggie Jackson;[17][18] at 47–42 (.528), they trailed Boston by 14 games on the morning of July 19.[10][19][20] However, New York finished the season 52–21 (.712) in their last 73 games, while the Red Sox went 38–35 (.521) over the same time frame.[21] This included a four-game sweep of Boston in Fenway Park in early September,[22][23] in which the Yankees outscored the Red Sox by a composite score of 42–9; the series was dubbed "TheBoston Massacre" by the sports press.[22][23][24] By the end of the four games on Sunday, September 10, the two teams were tied for first place at 86–56 (.606), with twenty games remaining.[25][26][27][28]
The Yankees took the AL East lead three days later[29][30][31] and did not lose it until the final day of the season.[25] The margin was up to3+1⁄2 games after another win over the Red Sox on Saturday, September 16,[32][33] but results were different the next day,[34][35][36] the first of Boston's dozen wins over the final two weeks. Clinging to a one-game lead with seven remaining, New York won six straight,[37] but dropped the finale at home to strugglingCleveland on Sunday, October 1.[25][38][39][40] Boston won their final eight games to catch the Yanks;[25] after theIndians' win, a 9–2 complete game victory by left-handerRick Waits,[38][41][42] the Fenway Park video screen flashed the happy news: "THANK YOU RICK WAITS, GAME TOMORROW."[43][44]
The tie-breaker game was the first in the AL since1948, when theIndians defeated theRed Sox for the pennant at Fenway Park, and the first in the majors since the advent of the division system in1969.[45] Guidry, who had won 24 games in the 162-game regular season,[45] started on three days of rest, less than usual,[46] and Torrez started the game for the Red Sox.[45] He started for the Red Sox onOpening Day[47] and had a 16–12 record, but contributed to the Red Sox struggles late in the season with six consecutive losses.[45] Game time was 2:30 p.m.EDT, televised nationally onABC.
Carl Yastrzemski hit ahome run in the second inning, andJim Rice drove inRick Burleson with asingle in the sixth inning, giving the Red Sox a 2–0 lead.[46] Meanwhile, Torrez held the Yankees to two hits through six innings.[21] With one out in the seventh inning,Chris Chambliss andRoy White of the Yankees both singled off of Torrez, and pinch hitterJim Spencer flied out.[48] Dent then hit a fly ball that cleared theGreen Monster wall in left field for a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 3–2 lead.[49][50]
Torrez was removed from the game after walkingMickey Rivers.RelieverBob Stanley came in, and after Rivers stole secondThurman Munson drove him in with a double.[46] In the eighth inning, a home run byReggie Jackson made the score 5–2.[46] The Red Sox cut New York's lead to just one run in the bottom of the eighth against closerGoose Gossage on RBI singles byFred Lynn and Yastrzemski.[51] But the Yankees would hold off the Red Sox, thanks in part to a heads-up defensive play by right fielderLou Piniella with one out in the bottom of the ninth. With Burleson on first base,Jerry Remy hit a line drive to Piniella in right field, but Piniella was blinded by the late afternoon sun and could not see the ball. However, he pretended to field the play normally, pounding his glove as though he would easily catch the ball, then stabbed at the ball on a bounce as it almost passed him. This prevented Burleson from advancing to third base; when Rice followed with a deep fly to the outfield, Burleson could only move up to third base instead of scoring the tying run.[21][51]
Batting with two out and two men on, Yastrzemski popped out to third basemanGraig Nettles in foul territory for the game's final out, and New York won the game, 5–4. Guidry improved his record to 25–3 (.893), while Torrez took the loss; Gossage recorded his 27th save.[52]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| New York Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Ron Guidry (25–3) LP:Mike Torrez (16–13) Sv:Goose Gossage (27) Home runs: NYY:Bucky Dent (5),Reggie Jackson (27) BOS:Carl Yastrzemski (17) Attendance: 32,925 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This game was televised regionally by the respective teams' rights holders,WSBK-TV in Boston andWPIX in New York City.[53]ABC Sports picked up the contest for national viewers, and thus provided alternate coverage of the game on itsNew York andBoston affiliates.Keith Jackson andDon Drysdale called the action in the ABC booth.[54]
On radio, theCBS Radio Network offered national coverage of the game, withErnie Harwell doing play-by-play andWin Elliot working as a color commentator. Locally in the home markets,WINS in New York City andWITS in Boston fed the game to the teams' respective radio networks.
In the Red Sox' broadcast booth,Dick Stockton andKen "Hawk" Harrelson worked the television side whileNed Martin andJim Woods were heard on radio. In the Yankees' booth,Phil Rizzuto,Bill White, andFrank Messer alternated play-by-play on both radio and television, and were backed up on radio byFran Healy.[55]
For the third straight year, the Yankees went on to face theKansas City Royals in the1978 American League Championship Series. The Yankees won the best-of-five series for their third consecutive pennant. New York defeated theLos Angeles Dodgers in theWorld Series to win their second consecutive championship, and 22nd overall.[56]
The loss by the Red Sox was seen as a manifestation of theCurse of the Bambino, long thought to be the reason behind a decades-long litany of failures for the Red Sox after owner Harry Frazeesold Babe Ruth to the Yankees on January 5, 1920.[57] Described as a "shocking blast" by theSporting News, Dent's home run silenced the Fenway Park crowd. For the light-hitting Dent, it was just his fifth home run of the 1978 season.[58] It sealed Dent's reputation among Yankee fans, while inspiring the permanent nickname "Bucky Fucking Dent" inNew England.[59] Twenty-five years later, in Game 7 of the2003 American League Championship Series,Aaron Boone received similar treatment byRed Sox fans after he hit the home run in the bottom of the 11th inning that clinched the pennant for the Yankees, but the Yankees later lost to theFlorida Marlins in theWorld Series, which went six games.
Guidry and Rice were considered candidates for theAL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award for their strong seasons.[45] Rice was named MVP, with Guidry finishing second in the voting. Guidry won the ALCy Young Award.[60] Lemon was named AL Manager of the Year.[61]
The Red Sox got retribution for Dent's home run in1990 when theYankees fired Dent as their manager during a series in Boston.[62]
Tempestuous Billy Martin...resigned as manager of the New York Yankees yesterday...Martin's demise followed the latest in a series of battles with Yankees' principal owner George Steinbrenner and star outfielder Reggie Jackson.
From Natick to Nantucket,Red Sox fans felt some semblance of retribution. Dent's greatest moment as a player—and his worst moment as a manager—came in Boston. Leave it to Yankee bossGeorge Steinbrenner to compound the drama of his 18th managerial change in 18 years by doing the deed in Boston.
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