Aug 19, 2011; Kirby Lee-US Presswire

The 1991 World Series was named the #1 Fall Classic of all time by ESPN.  Relive the memories this postseason by celebrating the anniversary of the ’91 World Series games.

It started in Game 6 after Puckett’s homerun, just goin’ up into the clubhouse.  The celebration that we had, and then just seeing Jack Morris, knowing that he was gonna start that Game 7.  And the calmness that he had.  He started to put his game face on that night. –Dan Gladden

The only reason the Minnesota Twins made it to Game 7 was because Kirby Puckett finished out Game 6.  The seventh game was a rematch of Game 4, with Atlanta Braves starter John Smoltz facing his childhood hero Jack Morris for a second and decisive time.  It wasn’t just any game.  It was Game 7:

We’re playing for the ultimate goal of every player.  It was just a fantastic battle.  –Mike Pagliarulo

Both starting pitchers threw absolute gems.  At times, they pitched out of jams.  At other times, each was lights out against the opposite team.  The starting pitchers each went deep into the game, and the Twins put together some theatrics that may have prevented the game from getting beyond their control.  In the top half of the eighth inning, with Lonnie Smith on first base, Mike Pendleton doubled to deep left field.  The Twins second baseman Chuck Knoblauch faked a throw to second, and short stop Greg Gagne faked the relay to first, imitating a double play.  The fake play flustered Smith long enough to prevent him from scoring, and the Twins eventually retired the Braves while keeping the game scoreless.

The Twins batted in the bottom half of the inning, and they also had an opportunity to put runs on the board.  Smoltz was finally pulled for a reliever after 8 1/3 innings, with runners on a first and third.  Mike Stanton replaced Smoltz.  He walked the previous evening’s hero, Kirby Puckett, to load the bases and then induced an inning-ending double play from Kent Hrbek.  The Braves could not put any runs on the board during their half of the ninth, and they ended a possible Twins rally when Braves manager Bobby Cox called for an intentional walk of Pagliarulo to put runners on the corners.  Twins pinch hitter Paul Sorrento promptly hit into an inning-ending double play.  As Dan Gladden said of the tenth:

Everybody that played in that game had a chance to be a hero at some point during the game.

But instead of providing an offensive hero, the two teams went into extra innings for the third time, a Major League Baseball record.  Morris insisted he would return for the tenth inning.  As manager Tom Kelly said:

That’s the definition of a workhorse, the guy that gets the job done, the guy that carries the load, a Hall of Fame type guy.  And that was Jack Morris on that night.

Morris did, indeed walk back onto the mound in the 10^th inning.  When Kelly thought Morris needed to be relieved, he walked to the mound and tried to take the ball from Morris.  Morris refused to give it up.  After a few moments’ deliberation, Kelly realized he’d never get his way.  Instead of changing pitchers, he gave Morris back the ball, stating to Morris,

What the hell, it’s just a game.

The fans roared as Morris stayed on the mound, and he finished another scoreless inning.  In the Twins’ half of the tenth, leadoff hitter Gladden stretched a well-hit single into a double, barely beating the throw.  Knoblauch bunted Gladden to third, and Cox decided to walk Puckett and Hrbek to load the bases.  With one out, Gene Larkin was called on to pinch hit.  Larkin singled to deep left center, and Gladden started jumping in celebration at third base before he even began running home to score the only run of the game.

That day is etched in the collective memory of Minnesota Twins fans:  the “worst to first” season, the seesaw World Series, and the second time earning the title of Word Series Champions.  Twins fans hope it will soon be time to christen their new home field with a championship title, but they will always remember the Greatest Fall Classic of All Time.

Watch MLB’s Game 7 video here.

Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE 8/19/11

The 1991 World Series was named the #1 Fall Classic of all time by ESPN.  Relive the memories this postseason by celebrating the anniversary of the ’91 World Series games.

I told the guys, I said, ‘Jump on, I’m gonna carry us today.’  And they musta jumped on.  And I delivered. -Kirby Puckett

It’s impossible for me to remember Game 6 without nostalgia.  I was nine years old.  Game 7 is the only game I actually remember watching in real time, but the memories of Kirby Puckett in Game 6 are the first things that come to mind when I think of the Minnesota Twins of my childhood.  I remember that leaping grab.  And that eleventh inning homerun trot is etched in my memory, probably from the many, many replays over the years.  But I’m getting ahead of myself…

The Twins returned home after Game 5, happy to leave the city of Atlanta and return home to the Metrodome.  They took an early lead in the first when Puckett tripled home Chuck Knoblauch and Shane Mack hit a single that scored Puckett, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Twins starter Scott Erickson cruised through the first four innings, helped in no small part by Puckett’s third inning leaping grab that Radio announcer John Gordan called “the defensive play of the series”.   However, Erickson hit a snag when the Atlanta Braves came up to bat in the top of the fifth.  Erickson allowed a game-tying two-run homer off the bat of Terry Pendleton.  But, Twins centerfielder Puckett came through with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning that put the Twins ahead once again, 3-2.

The Braves tied the game up in the top of the seventh, and the game went into extra innings.  The Braves entered the bottom of the eleventh inning by sending in a starting pitcher as a reliever.  Charlie Leibrandt took the mound while Puckett prepared to walk to the plate.  Chili Davis, the next scheduled batter, was waiting in the on-deck circle.  Puckett and Davis had one of the most fateful conversations in World Series history.  They retell the story on the video “Magic in Minnesota“, which recounts the Twins 1991 World Series Victory.

Puckett did not think he would get anything he could hit off of Leibrandt, but he was sure he could bunt for a hit.  He told Davis as much, and Davis recounted his reaction:

I said this is Kirby Puckett, we’re here in Minnesota, the opportunity to be the hero, and he IS the hero.  So, I went up to him and I said ‘Puck, I gotta better game plan.’

As Puckett explained on “Magic in Minnesota”, Davis did not want to see Puckett bunt.  Instead, Puckett recalled Davis’s words:

‘Bunt!  Bunt my “you know what”?  You get a change-up, a good hanging change-up, hit it out, let’s go home.’ And I said ‘Okay, I’ll do that.’

Puckett’s at bat inspired one of the most memorable calls of all time, Jack Buck’s famous “We’ll see you tomorrow night!” as Puckett’s bomb sailed over the plexiglas and his homerun trot became an instant legend.  Watch the video.  No matter how many times you see it, it will send chills down your spine.

The finish was fit for a victory, but it was only Game 6.  The Twins needed one more win to be the World Champions, and Game 7 was do-or-die for both teams.  It lived up to the hype.

And it’s a storybook World Series.  What’s gonna happen tomorrow in Game 7, chapter 7, oh my God, I can’t wait.  It’s gonna be something.  Can you imagine this?  Goin’ on like this?  Unbelievable. -Tom Kelly

Check back at lunchtime on Saturday for a Game 7 recap, as the Twins taste victory again.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The 1991 World Series was named the #1 Fall Classic of all time by ESPN.  Relive the memories this postseason by celebrating the anniversary of the ’91 World Series games.

After losing Game 4 to a frustrating ending, Game 5 of the 1991 World Series started out quietly.  But the Atlanta Braves were not about to let the Minnesota Twins walk away with a win in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  The Braves decisively broke open the game in the fourth inning, scoring four runs off of Twins starter Kevin Tapani, who did not return in the fifth.  Instead, reliever Terry Leach gave up another run, with the fifth inning ending 5-0 Atlanta.

Atlanta starter Tom Glavine struggled in the sixth, however, and walked in two runs.  Reliever Kent Mercker allowed one more run, bringing the Twins to within two of the Braves.  The tight game did not last long.  In the seventh inning, the Braves scored six runs off of Twins relievers David West and Steve Bedrosian.  The ugly game ended with the Braves over the Twins 14-5, giving them a sweep at home.

Though frustrated by the three losses, the Twins knew they were not done yet.  So far, the record matched their 1987 World Champion year.  Check back at lunchtime on Friday for a recap of Game 6, including one of the most famous home runs in World Series history.