Top 25 MLB pennant races of all time

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(Original Caption) Bucky Dent is a happy fellow as he jumps on home plate and is greeted by Roy White and Chris Chambliss after he hit a three-run home run in the 7th inning at Fenway Park. /

1. Bucky Effin’ Dent, 1978

The AL East title came down to a tiebreaker between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 1978. The division title had to be decided by a 163rd game after the Red Sox choked away a double-digit lead on the Yankees. The battle to the finish was one of the best back-and-forth affairs in MLB history.

The Yankees went 53-21 over their final 74 games while the Red Sox went a mere 38-36. Highlighting the Red Sox collapse was a 42-9 drubbing at the hands of the Yankees in a crucial four-game series sweep at Fenway Park in early September. New York briefly took the division lead and carried it into the final week of the season, but the Red Sox pulled out a seven-game win streak to end the year tied for first place.

New York and Boston were then set for the first one-off tiebreaker since MLB introduced divisional play. Ron Guidry, a 24-game winner, took the ball for the Yankees, while the Red Sox countered with Opening Day starter Mike Torrez.

This game will always be remembered for the heroics of light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent (forever after known as Bucky F—ing Dent in and around the Fens). Dent hit only five home runs in 1978 and finished the year with an OPS of .603, but none of that mattered after he hit the tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning.

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After winning the playoff with the Red Sox, the Yankees won the World Series 4-2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Who was the MVP of that Fall Classic, you ask? None other than Mr. Dent, who hit .417/.440/.458 with seven RBI.

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