Will the Yankees experience another “golden moment” like the one depicted here? We all hope so, but the bar has been set extremely high. If you want to warm the soul of a Yankee fan over the age of 35, just mention the tiebreaking “play-off” game of 1978. Although it wasn’t technically a postseason game—all tiebreakers are considered extensions of the regular season—it had all the feel of an October playoff game, perhaps even a World Series game, with the highest imaginable stakes on the table. Win the game, and you earn the Amercan League East crown, along with a ticket to the League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals. Lose the game, and you get—nothing. No division title, no consolation prize, not even a runner-up trophy. Nothing.

With the Yankees and Red Sox deadlocked at 99 wins and 63 losses through 162 games, the rules mandated a one-game tiebreaker between the two rivals. Since the Red Sox had won an earlier coin flip determining home field advantage, they enjoyed the luxury of playing the game at a place most unfriendly to the Yankees, Fenway Park. In a coincidental twist, Red Sox manager Don Zimmer selected Mike Torrez, a former Yankee, to start the game. Just 12 months earlier, Torrez had won the clinching game of the 1977 World Series for the Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now Zimmer was asking Torrez, a 16-game winner, to reverse the situation on the Yankees and place them on the losing end of a clinching October celebration.

Yankee manager Bob Lemon had an easier decision to make in selecting his starting pitcher for the tiebreaker. Even though he would be pitching on only three days rest, the choice of starters was obvious. Lemon handed the ball to rail-thin left-hander Ron Guidry, who had been unhittable for much of the summer on the way to winning an astonishing 24 of 27 decisions and clamping American League opponents to an ERA of under 1.8 runs per nine innings.

Thanks to a lineup loaded with right-handed power hitters like Jim Rice, Carlton “Pudge” Fisk, Butch Hobson, and George “Boomer” Scott, the Red Sox posed a formidable match for the letter-high fastballs and tilting sliders thrown by the Yankees’ southpaw. Yet, it was Boston’s premier left-handed hitter, the venerable Carl Yastrzemski, who started the scoring by driving one of Guidry’s pitches down the right-field line. The ball, though not hit particularly far, was well directed, staying just to the left of the famed “Pesky Pole.” Yaz’ drive landed in the right-field stands, giving the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.

In the meantime, the Yankees did little against Torrez, who kept New York scoreless over the first six innings. The Sox then added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leading off the inning, Red Sox shortstop Rick Burleson pounded out a double and moved up to third on Jerry Remy’s sacrifice bunt. Rice—who would win the American League’s MVP Award over Guidry in a controversial decision—followed with a line-drive single to center field. Rice’s 139th RBI of the season gave the Sox a tidy 2-0 lead, with only three innings remaining.

In opening the top of the seventh, Torrez showed no signs of tiring. He retired Graig Nettles, putting the Red Sox within eight outs of the AL East title. Then, without warning, Torrez weakened. He allowed back-to-back singles to Chris Chambliss and Roy White. Presented with the Yankees’ first real scoring opportunity of the afternoon, Lemon made his first move. He sent up Jim Spencer, always a tough out against right-handed pitching, as a pinch hitter for Brian Doyle, a light-hitting second baseman who was playing only because of a season-ending injury to Willie Randolph. Rather than opt for a left-hander (such as Tom Burgmeier or Andy Hassler) from his bullpen, Zimmer stayed with Torrez. The veteran right-hander fulfilled his manager’s confidence, retiring Spencer on a harmless fly ball. Now, with two on and two out, No. 9 hitter Bucky Dent stepped to the plate.

A few Yankee fans must have shouted profanities at their radios and televisions, wondering aloud why Lemon didn’t send up a pinch-hitter for Dent, by far the Yankees’ weakest hitting regular player. The 1978 Yankees had a very good bench, loaded with capable veteran bats like the free-spirited Jay Johnstone, the underrated Gary Thomasson, and the intimidating Cliff Johnson.

But there were two problems. First, the rules of the day mandated the Yankees and Red Sox play the tiebreaker with 25-man rosters, not the expanded rosters allowed in September. Second, while the Yankees had depth in the outfield and at catcher, they had little in terms of the middle infield. With Randolph hurt and Doyle already removed for a pinch-hitter, Lemon would have to bring in Fred “Chicken” Stanley to play second base. If he now pinch-hit for Dent, he would have no one available to play shortstop. (Perhaps Lemon could have done something radical and played his gifted backup outfielder Paul Blair at second base, but that would have been a gamble of radical proportions.) So Dent, the starting shortstop, would have to hit for himself.

Torrez delivered his second pitch, which Dent fouled off his left foot. Dent hopped several times near home plate, stung by the force of the foul tip. He hobbled back to the on-deck circle, where Mickey Rivers offered to loan him his bat. Taking his teammate up on the offer, Dent returned to continue his at-bat against Torrez.

On the next pitch, Dent lifted a high fly ball toward left field. The ball had only moderate depth, making it nothing more than a routine fly ball in most major league ballparks. But this was Fenway Park. The ball had plenty of depth to reach the park’s famed left-field wall. There was just one question: did the ball have enough height to clear the wall, or would it hit the top of the wall and remain in the field of play?

Yankee fans watching the game on television struggled to see the ball against the October background of late afternoon sun and shadows. “Deep to left,” cried Bill White, announcing the game on WPIX-TV in New York. “Yastrzemski will not get it… it’s a home run!! A three-run home run by Bucky Dent…” White’s words provided Yankee fans with confirmation of something they could not believe they had seen—a home run by the Yankees’ weakest hitter, a man who had managed all of four home runs during the first 162 games.

As we can see on the accompanying Topps card, many of the Yankees began to stream out of their dugout to greet Dent, the newly crowned conquering hero. We can pick out at least some of the “happy Yankees,” as they were described by Bill White. The first Yankee to emerge from the dugout to greet Dent is Cliff Johnson, one of the potential pinch-hitters that Lemon bypassed because of the shortage of middle infielders. Then there is Lemon himself, who looks as relieved as he is happy. Behind Lemon is Jay Johnstone, another one of the would-be pinch-hitters. To the far left of Johnstone is Gene Monahan, the longtime trainer who still works for the Yankees today. Directly behind Monahan we see the injured Willie Randolph. That leaves one Yankee that I’m unable to identify, the muscular player to the right of Randolph. Whoever he is, he is as thrilled as any of the Yankees, all of whom have just witnessed a singular baseball moment.

As we all know, the Yankees went on to win the game, 5-4, though the final two and a half innings provided their share of frightening moments for Yankee faithful. The dramatic victory, as tense as any game as I’ve witnessed, proved to be the first step on the Yankees’ path toward a successful repeat as world champions.

So will a member of the 2009 Yankees take on the role of Bucky Dent and produce a “golden moment” this postseason? Will the current No. 9 hitter, Melky Cabrera, supply the heroics for a lineup featuring the more heralded likes of Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez? Or will it be someone like Jose Molina, who could be called on to catch A.J. Burnett at times this postseason? Who knows?

We’ll begin to receive our first answers later this week.

Bruce Markusen, who writes for The Hardball Times, can be reached via e-mail at bmarkusen@stny.rr.com.