20 years ago today, this game happened. It was awesome.

Jack Morris was a grizzled veteran, one of the most succesful pitchers in the game. He faced off against a green youngster named John Smoltz, who would one day have an even better career than Morris. But neither pitcher was ever more brilliant than they were that night. They matched zeroes through seven innings, knowing full well that the World Series would be lost by whichever team blinked first.

Of course, the first seven innings were just a warmup act for the 8th. Baseball fans talk about greatest players, greatest games, greatest World Series, and greatest home runs, but I’ve never seen a list of greatest innings before. If there was (and my hat is off to anyone who attempts to compile such a list), that 8th inning might be at the very top. Both teams loaded the bases with less than two outs, and both teams failed to score. But Morris survived the 8th, and Smoltz didn’t. (more…)

I hereby proclaim that Kirby Puckett’s Game 6 home run was the greatest home run in the history of the World Series.

Now, since this site is dedicated to the Twins, and since I’m a lifelong Twins fan, you may dismiss that as simple homer bias. And I’ll admit that I am very biased toward Puckett’s homer! But I am fully prepared to defend this argument. But before I do, please take a moment to watch the home run here. Note the delirious joy of the Metrodome crowd. And the sheer exhuberance Puckett showed while rounding the bases. And take a moment to feel sorry for Charlie Liebrandt as he walks off the mound with his head down. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more depressing picture of a pro athlete.

Okay, now for my argument. For a starting point, let’s use this list, compiled by ESPN, of the 100 greatest homers of all time. Puckett is number 11 on the list. We’re not going to concern ourselves with the regular season homers here, so let’s not worry about Bobby Thompson or Hank Aaron for now. We’re looking only at the World Series homers, and there are five ahead of Puckett: Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Joe Carter, and Bill Mazeroski. Lower on ESPN’s list, but worthy of consideration, are Scott Brosius’s 2001 homer, Babe Ruth’s Called Shot, and Reggie Jackson’s 3 homer game. Let’s go through these one-by-one and see why they aren’t as amazing as the Puckett shot: (more…)

Chuck Knoblauch opened the scoring in the third inning with a single off the crafty lefty that scored radio announcer Dan Gladden. In the fifth inning, the Twins added to the lead when, of all people, Greg Gagne socked a three run homer. The next inning, in a much more likely scenario, Kent Hrbek added a solo homer.

Morris cruised through seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He got the victory, but this wasn’t the one that earned him MVP honors. Morris ended up winning another game later in the Series. Liebrant took the loss, and he would also go on to lose another game (more on that in a few days).

The 1991 World Series started well for the hometown Twins. If you remember the game (and any self-respecting Twins fan over the age of 25 should), take some time to think back on it and smile a little bit.