INTERVIEW: YANKEE HERO BUCKY DENT

This interview was conducted by Dan Holmes at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 1978, Bucky Dent was a prototypical “good field, no hit” shortstop. The tiny, somewhat bow-legged Dent had good range in the field and a strong throwing arm, but he’d never hit more than eight homers in a season, and never even sniffed the .300 mark. The previous season, the 25-year old Dent had won a World Series title in his first season with the New York Yankees. But in ’78, his team got off to a sluggish start, and by July they trailed the Boston Red Sox by as many as 14 1/2 games. The prospects for another championship run were bleak.

But after manager Billy Martin was fired and replaced by Bob Lemon, the Yankees caught fire, catching the Red Sox in September. On the final day of the regular season, after a Yankee loss and a Boston win, the two teams were deadlocked atop the American League East. A winner-take-all one-game playoff was necessary. In that game, played at Fenway Park, Dent emerged as the unlikely hero, belting a game-winning homer that vaulted him into legendary status in Yankee lore, and forever cast him as Bucky “Bleepin’” Dent in Red Sox Nation.

You went from Chicago, where the expectations were low, to the pressure of playing in New York. How did you adjust?
I didn’t try to do anything different when I got to New York. I was lucky to be teamed with Willie (Randolph) in the infield, and we just spent so much time working together, getting our timing down, and talking about the Game. I didn’t know any better to be nervous or put pressure on myself. That team had so many great players who were expected to carry the team – Reggie, Guidry, Thurman, Nettles, Catfish, we had All-Stars everywhere. I was happy to just fit in where I did, and do what I was asked to do.

What was it like playing for George Steinbrenner?
The Boss treated me well. I will always owe him for bringing me over, and Al Rosen, who made the trade to bring me from the White Sox in ’77. george was good to me, and every team I ever ended up going to after the Yankees, George wished me well and he told me I’d always be welcome back to the Yankees. I got to manage the team and that was one of the great thrills of my life.

How important was baseball in your family growing up?
It was really everything for all of us, me and my brothers. We played all the time, and I got to be a pretty good fielder because we played catch and took grounders so much. I tell kids now that they need to get outside and play ball if they want to be a ballplayer. It’s a great game and it can teach our kids so many valuable lessons. Like how to accept failure, because it happens a lot on a diamond.

Take us through the at-bat against Mike Torrez in the seventh inning of the one-game playoff in 1978.
We were down 2-0, and Mike was pitching a great game, outdueling Guidry. I was doing what I always tried to do – make contact. I wasn’t a home run hitter, obviously, but I was proud to be a tough guy to strike out, and against Mike, I just wanted to put the ball in play somewhere, and maybe something happens. The pitch was right there, a fastball, and I got good wood on it.  I knew I had hit it high enough to put it up against the wall, but I didn’t know it was (out) until the first base umpire signalled it as I got to the bag. I was thrilled. As a kid, I had dreamt of hitting a home run to win a big game, and I couldn’t believe that dream had come true.

Do you ever go to Boston, and what is the reaction of Red Sox fans?
When I managed, I was up there a few times a year, and it was always interesting. (Smiles) Boston fans love to tell me where they were when I hit the home run, and honestly, I don’t mind hearing it, because it reminds me of that special moment, and that we won the game! It’s funny, Mike (Torrez) and I are good friends, we were teammates on the Yankees. We do appearances together, and when we go, people love to talk to him too. We’re forever linked.

What’s it like to have such a special place in Yankee history?
There are a lot of guys who have their spot in Yankee legend, and I’m just lucky to be one of them. Reggie, Catfish, Gator, Thurman, the fans will never forget what they did, and neither will their teammates. It’s special with the Yankees because of how far back it goes – to Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig. I got a kick out of talking to Phil Rizzuto, and just having a small place in the history of Yankee shortstops. He was a real legend, I had one day when I did something legendary. Today, I tell kids (at the Dent Baseball School he runs with his brothers) to watch Derek Jeter, because Jeter plays the game the right way, he works hard and he plays hard every day. That’s somebody to emulate, and I’m proud to be a Yankee and see guys like Jeter carry on the tradition.