Bucky Dent headlines Pioneers Hot Stove Dinner
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – One New York Yankees great helped the Elmira Pioneers kick off their season, with a special event.
The 6th Annual Pioneers Hot Stove Dinner took over Elmira’s Clarion Inn with a baseball legend, on Friday. World Series MVP and 2-time champion Bucky Dent, served as the special guest for the annual Pios kick off event. The Yankees great signed autographs, met with fans, helped the team auction off memorabilia.
18 Sports caught up with the former New York player and manager, who was originally scheduled to be the event’s special guest in 2020, as he shared his excitement about meeting local fans.
“It’s great to come to Upstate New York, said Dent. There are a lot of Yankee fans and it’s always fun. There are so many good fans here. They tell stories and remember the years that I played and that makes it a lot of fun.”
18 Sports’ full interview with Bucky Dent can be viewed below:
As for Pioneers owner Robbie Nichols, the event serves as a perfect way to celebrate the team, the fans, and local sponsors.
“It’s awesome to have a New York Yankees great in house, said Nichols. This event is really about creating buzz for the Pios. It’s made possible by all the great people and all the great sponsors that you see here tonight. All of those sponsors come together to make this happen. It’s just the buzz and we’re excited to have a great season.”
For Dent, it was an outstanding baseball career that led to all of the support garnered on Friday night. Originally drafted in 1969 by the St. Louis Cardinals, Dent would be taken in the 1970 secondary MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. The standout shortstop began his MLB career in 1973 with Chicago, playing 4 seasons with the White Sox. Dent earned an All-Star selection in 1975 and played alongside another future Yankee great, Rich “Goose” Gossage in his time with the team.
In 1977, the career .247 hitter would join the Yankees for the 1st of 6 playing seasons. Dent made a major impact in his time in pinstripes, hitting the famous 1978 A.L. tiebreaker home run in Boston, winning World Series titles in 1977 and 1978, and the World Series MVP in 1978. In the years to follow, Dent earned 2 more All-Star selections in 1980 and 1981. In 1982, the 2-time World Series champ would move to the Texas Rangers. In 1 and a half seasons with the Rangers, Dent posted 48 RBI on 131 hits and helped the team to a 3rd and 6th place finish in the A.L. West. In the 1982 season, Texas was managed by Don Zimmer, who was famously married at Dunn Field in 1951.
For his final season on the diamond, Dent helped the Kansas City Royals to an appearance in the 1984 American League Championship Series (ALCS). Recording 3 hits and 1 RBI, Dent closed out his playing career as 1999 Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett continued to cement his legacy in the league.
Five years after his playing career ended, the World Series MVP brought his baseball knowledge back to New York. In 1989, Dent returned to the Yankees as a manager. Over the 1989 and 1990 season, the 3-time All-Star managed legendary names like Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson, Deion Sanders, and more.
In addition to 2 World Series titles, a World Series MVP, and 3 All-Star selections; Dent earned the Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award in 2003, and an induction into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Elmira Pioneers are fresh off of a PGCBL West title and a runner up finish in the league. The team will open their season, hosting Batavia on Friday, May 31 at 6:35 PM with fireworks to follow after the game.
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