1978 AL East Tiebreaker
The 1978 tiebreaker gave the Yankees the AL East crown, but not the pennant.
The 1978 AL East tiebreaker was a one-game playoff between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox to decide the division winner. The site was determined by a coin flip, not head-to-head record.
- Date
- October 2, 1978
- Location
- Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
- Opponent
- Boston Red Sox
- Yankees Manager
- Billy Martin
- Deciding Moment
- Bucky Dent three-run home run
- Final Score
- Yankees 5, Red Sox 4
Lore & Background
The Yankees won the game 5–4 on a three-run home run by Bucky Dent. The victory gave the Yankees the AL East title, not the pennant.
In Their Own Story
The air in Boston was thick with humidity and disbelief. Reggie Jackson stood in the on-deck circle, watching as Bucky Dent, a man who had barely hit a home run all season, took his stance against Mike Torrez. The count wound down. A high toss arced toward the left-field corner, climbing higher than anyone expected. It cleared the Green Monster by a foot. For a split second, silence reigned over Fenway, followed immediately by the eruption of the New York dugout and the stunned, hollow gasps of the Red Sox faithful. The game was effectively over; the dynasty had survived its greatest near-death experience.
Reader's Guide
It does not confirm that Reggie Jackson made any prediction to Dent before the game.
Did You Know?
- The tiebreaker site was decided by a coin flip, not by head-to-head record.
- The game decided only the AL East division title, not the American League pennant.
More in Iconic Games & Moments
Elsewhere in the New York Yankees universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record