Bucky Dent played in parts of six seasons for the New York Yankees, hitting .239 with 27 home runs. Aaron Boone was a Yankee for less than a season, joining the team at the 2003 trading deadline and hitting .254 with six homers in 54 games.
On the brink of elimination, these are the legends the Yankees will call upon Wednesday afternoon.
The duo, famous for slaying the Red Sox in October, will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitches of Game 5 of the ALCS.
It kind of makes you scratch your head.
Sure, Dent's rare home run at Fenway Park on Oct. 2, 1978 was a seminal moment in Yankee history, as they went on to win the World Series a few weeks later. Boone's extra-inning, ALCS-winning home run off Tim Wakefield in 2003 was likewise a great moment, but that year's team couldn't beat the Marlins in the World Series.
The homers of Dent and Boone are certainly happy ones for Yankee fans, but what do they really have to do with the present situation, which has the Yankees a game away from elimination at the hands of a powerful Texas Rangers team?
They don't, but with the way the last two games in the Bronx have ended, at least the fans are guaranteed to have something to cheer about before Game 5 gets under way.
Is having Boone and Dent show up on Wednesday a good thing for the Yankees, or is it a sign of desperation? Share your thoughts below.