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Bucky Dent | New York Yankee Legend Previews ALWCS for Present-Day Yanks Versus Archrival BoSox · Sid & Friends In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Bucky won the World Series MVP. I mean, people think
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: it was Reggie twice.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: It wasn't.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Reggie, of course, won it in 77, had that magnificent
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: night hitting three home runs, walked three different Dodger pitchers.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Bucky won the World Series MVP in 78, so it
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: didn't stop with the home run he hit against Mike
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Torres to beat the Red Sox. And Bucky, I want
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: you to know this. When I go to the Bronx
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: tomorrow night and they sit there with Randy Levine, my
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: wife and my son, I will be wearing the jersey
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: you sent me, the great number 20, that you sent
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: to me at the beginning of the season from Florida.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: I will be representing Bucky Dent in the Bronx, my friend,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: tomorrow night.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: There you go, buddy. I'm glad you got it and
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: glad you're going to wear it. It's going to be
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: a great series, and nobody ever gets tired of the
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Boston-Yankee-Red Sox rivalry. I'm telling you, it's great, and it's
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: great for both cities, and it's great for baseball.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Would you believe it, Bucky? I don't want you to
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: feel old, okay? Trust me, I'm right with that with you.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Would you believe if I said to you, you hit
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: that home run 48 years ago? Does it feel like
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: almost five decades ago?
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: No, it seems like yesterday, especially when Boston and Yankees
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: get after it. I mean, you know, always get flashbacks. Oh,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: it was a great year. Great, you know, 78 team. And,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: you know, just Yankee Red Sox. It just gets in
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: your blood. And I don't think anybody ever gets tired
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: of it, especially, you know, Boston or New York, the fans.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: They just love it.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: I want to go inside the head of Bucky Dent.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: You walk to the plate, right? And I'm sorry. It's
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: almost like Trump. Trump never thought he was going to
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: win the presidency, okay? Turned out to be the greatest
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: president ever, but he never thought he was going to win.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: And something tells me I don't think you thought you
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: were going to hit a home run in that spot.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: So when Buggy Dent actually digs those cleats into the
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: ground and is about to face that pitch from Mike
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Torres 48 years ago, what were you thinking?
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: I was just trying to get a base hit. We
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: were down, and we had two runners on, and I
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: knew it was a situation. The game was getting late,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: seventh inning. And, you know, you could feel the tension
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: start to build in the crowd. You know, I mean,
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: everybody would, you could just feel the pressure. And I
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: was just looking to get a base hit. I just
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: wanted to hit a base hit and drive in a
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: run and get us going. And, you know, Mike made
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: a mistake. He threw a fastball down and in, and
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: I hit it pretty good. And I really didn't even
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: know it was going to go out. I was just
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: running hard to get to second base because I knew
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: I was a tying run. But it wound up, you know,
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Going in the net, and I got a beautiful nickname
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: from that home run, and I love it.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: F-ing Bucky, right? Is it F-ing Bucky?
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: That's me, baby. I know.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: What's his name, the actor? I liked him a lot.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: He was in, oh, come on. He played a writer
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: on that cable show, and he was in that sci-fi thriller, too.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Big time actor. Wrote the book on you. You know
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: what I'm talking about?
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know who you're talking about.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: What the hell is his name? He had a sex problem, actually.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: He had to go away.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, boy.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: He did. He did. But I like the guy.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: He's good.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: He's a funny guy. Good looking guy. I forgot his name,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: but he wrote the book on you. So, you know,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: people don't mention this enough. Not only did you hit
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: the home run to beat Boston, but does anybody ever
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: say to you, hey, way to go? You won the
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: World Series MVP that year.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: No, that's kind of like overlooked. You know, I mean,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: that game was so special. It was such a big
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: moment that day. And everybody was, you know, it was
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: like the whole world stopped to watch it. And, you know,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: people kind of forget that I was the MVP of
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: the World Series in 78. You know, Reggie put on
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: that great display in 77, hitting those three home runs. And,
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: you know, they never really say much about me winning
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: the World Series MVP.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: No, they never do. I don't understand that. I don't
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: get it. David Duchovny is the name of the actor
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: we're looking for. That is David Duchovny. So I want
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: to get to this current Yankee team, but you came
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: over the same year as Reggie, the same offseason, right? 1977.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: You know, the Yankees had just gotten swept by the
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, and getting there wasn't
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: good enough for Steinbrenner. He was embarrassed. He was embarrassed.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: He got swept by the Reds. So he went out
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: there and he got Reggie, and they made a deal
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: with the White Sox to get you, right?
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Yes, I was kind of like the last piece of
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: the puzzle. You know, I got traded. Reggie went through
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: spring training with him. You know, he got to be
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: there in spring training. I got traded the last day
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: of spring training. You know, the Yankees had an off day.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: The White Sox had an off day. We were supposed
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: to go to play in Toronto with the White Sox. And,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: you know, I walked back in to get a bag
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: out of the apartment and the phone rang and I
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: picked it up and I hear this voice go, is
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: this Bucky Dent? I go, yeah. He goes, this is
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: George Steinbrenner. I go, get out of here. I thought
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: somebody was playing a joke on me. He says, if
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: you sign your contract, you'll be a Yankee. The Yankees,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: they were my team. I was excited to come over.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: You were?
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: They were your team? Where did you grow up again?
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Florida. You know, I grew up in Florida, but we
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: used to get the Yankee World Series games on black
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: and white TV when I was a kid in elementary school. Yeah.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Because they were in it every year. So I became
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: a huge Mickey Mantle fan. And, you know, coming over
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to the Yankees was my dream. Oh, that's awesome. That's right.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I thought because you met your wife, God rest her soul,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: as a Gator, right? Both Gators. And you're still down
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: there in Delray Beach or Boca, wherever the.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Hell you are. I don't know. No, I'm in Sarasota,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Bradenton area. Oh, you are?
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Okay, so you moved. It's still pretty. Still pretty. Very,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: very nice. So you get to the Yankees in 77,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: and then you go on. You manage a team for
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: a little while. So you've got this great Yankee history.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: So one more. When Bucky Dent, if you were coming
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: tomorrow night or Wednesday, walks into the Bronx, especially during
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: a Red Sox game, do these modern-day fans know the
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: hero that you are?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: No, not really.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Oh, God.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: You know, we were just there. We were just there
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: their last series, their homestand. We were there Thursday and Friday,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: my wife and I. We did a couple appearances and
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: stuff like that. But, you know, any time you walk
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: into Yankee Stadium, you've got to get chills because of
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: the history, you know, what the Yankees stand for, the pinstripes,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: you know. It's just hard to explain when you walk
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: in that place the feeling you get.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: No, but you just made me sad, man. I mean,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: you're Bucky effing Dent. You should walk in and get mobbed.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, I get mobbed. Nobody. I never hit one
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: home run for the Yankees.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: I'm going to be 75 years old next month.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Exactly. Bucky, I'm not just saying this to make you
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: feel good. You look so good. And, in fact, I
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: do have to say this. When you were on the Yankees,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: because you're such a good-looking guy and you still are,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: mind you, every woman in New York wanted you. You
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: ought to split the city between Bucky Dent with the
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Yankees and Lima Zilli of the Mets. Is that not right?
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: That's right. We wound up getting traded for each other.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Is that right? I forgot that. You did?
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: I got traded to Texas for Lee. We joke about
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: it all the time.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Oh, my God. Yeah, you guys were the women love
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: both of you guys. Bucky with the Yankees and Lee.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: God bless you. You still look great at 75. And
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: I'm sure you can still go out there and take
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: a couple of ground balls. The Yankees shortstop has been
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: a wild ride this year. They started with Volpe, and
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: that didn't work out. They went to Caballeros, which was
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: actually pretty good. And they eventually brought up the youngster.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I like this kid a lot, George Lombard. What are
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: your thoughts on that position moving forward?
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: I like him a lot also. You know, actually, two
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: years ago, the Yankees invited me back to spring training
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: for the first time in 20 years, and I got
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: to see him then. And I got to see him
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: this past spring training. I was back there, and, you know,
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: he's a great young player, and he's a great young kid,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: and he's got a bright future. You know, he's, you know, it's,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: you know, he just, He has that it factor, you know,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: as far as playing shortstop. And, you know, he's made
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: a couple mistakes early, you know, but that's grueling pains. And,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: you know, you know, he's going to get a great experience,
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: you know, playing in his first playoff game, especially against Boston.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: But I think he's going to be an outstanding player.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: I think the offense, you know, look, it's kind of
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: been up and down all year, and obviously that's because
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: of injuries. Aaron Judge has not played much this year.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Giancarlo Stanton has not played much this year. Even Bellinger
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: was hurt for some time. The catcher position has been
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: a nightmare offensively. The third base position, Ryan McMahon, they'll
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: probably play Bolpe in the playoffs. So the offense has
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: had its struggles all season long. Do you think that
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: comes back to bite the Yankees in this postseason, or
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: do you think moving forward they'll be okay?
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Well, here's the thing. They miss the presence and the
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: protection of Judge and Stanton in the lineup. Let's not
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: say anything more than they miss him. But they've learned
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: to win without them. I think the guy that's stepped
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: up really, really well has been Ben Rice. I got
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: to be around him in spring training. He's a gritty kid.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: He's got a good sense of humor and I think
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: he's grown into that, being a guy of presence in
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: the lineup. I mean, he hit 41 home runs and
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: 90-something RBIs, and he's picked it up. Judge went down,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: and Rice picked it up for them. And I think
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: he's been a big factor for them. But the Yankees
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: have learned to win without Judge in the lineup and Stanton,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: you know, They struggled a little bit more when Bellinger
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: went down, but he's back, and I think they're going
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: to be fine. It's just, can they play defense, and
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: can they do the little things that have beaten them
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: in the past in the postseasons? Not covering first, not
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: fielding a bunt, throwing the ball to the right bases.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: When you play in a series against good teams and
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: good pitching, you can't make those kind of mistakes. But
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I think they've still got a great chance. Look, they've
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: got a great rotation. You know, they've got a kid, Slitter,
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: that's going to be probably the Cy Young. I mean,
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: he's got tremendous grit. You've got Freed. You've got Cole
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: going one, two, and three. I think they've got a
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: really good chance of beating the Red Sox.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: That is a vicious one, two, three. Torrey had some
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: great pitching, too. When the Yankees got to the World
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Series six times with him, they won four of those.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: You had a couple of pretty good guys. Ron Guidry,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: he wasn't bad. I think you had Catfish, too. So
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: you had a pretty good rotation back then, right?
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Right. We had a good present in the rotation, and
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: we had a really good back into the bullpen with
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: That's right. You know, we talk about Torrey all the
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: time with Stanton and Nelson and Mariano and Wetland, but
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: you guys with Sparky and Goose, you couldn't hit those guys.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Those guys were amazing.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: No, and I saw that from the fact that because
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: I was coaching with Texas in 96, we played the
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Yankees 96, 98, and 99 in the first round of
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: the playoffs. We won the first game, and we never
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: won another one. We lost nine straight because of their
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: pitching and their back end of their bullpen. They just
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: matched up really well with their– with the Texas lineup. And,
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: you know, so I got to see that firsthand, but
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: the Yankees, you know, they, they, they've, they've shown some
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: grit down the stretch by, you know, winning some tough
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: ball games. And I think it really helped them, you know,
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: to be without judge and learn how to play without him.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: And some of the younger kids stepped up. Look, Spencer
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Jones got in the lineup and he's he's done really,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: really well. You know, Lombard has done really, really well.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: And so those those young kids are growing, you know.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: And so, you know, the big thing is going to
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: be for them is, you know, playing defense and coaching.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: not making big mistakes in certain situations.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: All right, Bucky, last one. It's so great to talk
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: to you. You really are terrific. You know that you're
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: such a great guy. Take me to tomorrow night. First
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: pitch Yankees, Red Sox in the Bronx. Where is Bucky Dent?
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: What's he wearing? Where's he sitting? What does Bucky Dent
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: do tomorrow night?
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: I'm sitting right in front of my TV with my
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: wife and my grandson with our Yankee uniforms on. And
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: we're going to be rooting for the Yankees all the way.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: We're going to be screaming and yelling and having a
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: glass of wine.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: I love it. That sounds like a fun time, man.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: And when the Yankees move forward, if they get to
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the World Series, I'm sure you'll be here. Make sure
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: you come at the studio. And say hello. Bucky Dent,
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: I love it. You've been a good friend for a long,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: long time. You're a classy guy. Great ball player. Good
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: luck to you, Yankees. We'll talk and see each other
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: again very soon. Thank you, pal.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Sid. And wear that number 20 in pride tomorrow, buddy.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: You know I will. That's the only jersey I wear
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: to Yankee Stadium. Bucky Dent. Thank you, Bucky. Thank you,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: my man. Take care. Bucky, actually, you got it. You
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: actually signed a hat for me, too. A Yankee hat
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: signed by Bucky Dent. Number 20. I love that guy.
• 12:57
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• 13:00
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• 13:03
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• 13:06
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• 13:24
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• 13:26
  Speaker 1: What the heck is going on here?