1991 World Series

1991 World Series
Team (Wins) Manager Season
Minnesota Twins (4) Tom Kelly 95–67, .586, GA: 8
Atlanta Braves (3) Bobby Cox 94–68, .580, GA: 1
Dates: October 19 – 27
MVP: Jack Morris (Minnesota)
Television: CBS
TV announcers: Jack Buck and Tim McCarver
Radio: CBS
Radio announcers: Vin Scully and Johnny Bench
Umpires: Don Denkinger (AL), Harry Wendelstedt (NL), Drew Coble (AL), Terry Tata (NL), Rick Reed (AL), Ed Montague (NL)
Hall of Famers: Twins: Kirby Puckett.
Braves: Bobby Cox (mgr.) Tom Glavine, John Smoltz.
ALCS: Minnesota Twins over Toronto Blue Jays (4–1)
NLCS: Atlanta Braves over Pittsburgh Pirates (4–3)

The 1991 World Series pitted the Minnesota Twins (95–67) of the American League against the Atlanta Braves (94–68) of the National League. The Minnesota Twins won in seven games.[1][2][3][4] ESPN selected it as the "Greatest of All Time" in their "World Series 100th Anniversary" countdown, with five of its games being decided by a single run, four games decided in the final at-bat and three games going into extra innings.[5]

In addition to the suspense of the outcome of many of its games, the Series had other highlights. For example, the series-deciding seventh game was a scoreless tie (0–0) through the regular nine innings, and went into extra innings; Minnesota won the seventh game by a score of 1-0 in the 10th inning, with their starting pitcher, Jack Morris, pitching all ten innings (Morris was named Most Valuable Player for the Series).

With 69 innings in total, the 1991 World Series holds the record for longest seven-game World Series ever (some of the early years had nine-game Series, extending longer).

The series was played from Saturday, October 19 to Sunday, October 27.

Summary

The 1991 World Series was notable for several grueling contests, with five of its games being decided by one run and three games in extra innings (including the third game, a twelve-inning marathon which saw Twins manager Tom Kelly run out of hitters).

AL Minnesota Twins (4) vs. NL Atlanta Braves (3)

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 19Atlanta Braves – 2, Minnesota Twins – 5Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome3:0055,108[6] 
2October 20Atlanta Braves – 2, Minnesota Twins – 3Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome2:3755,145[7] 
3October 22Minnesota Twins – 4, Atlanta Braves – 5 (12 innings)Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium4:0450,878[8] 
4October 23Minnesota Twins – 2, Atlanta Braves – 3Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium2:5750,878[9] 
5October 24Minnesota Twins – 5, Atlanta Braves – 14Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium2:5950,878[10] 
6October 26Atlanta Braves – 3, Minnesota Twins – 4 (11 innings)Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome3:4655,155[11] 
7October 27Atlanta Braves – 0, Minnesota Twins – 1 (10 innings)Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome3:2355,118[12]

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 19, 1991 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 6 1
Minnesota 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 X 5 9 1
WP: Jack Morris (1–0)   LP: Charlie Leibrandt (0–1)   Sv: Rick Aguilera (1)
Home runs:
ATL: None
MIN: Greg Gagne (1), Kent Hrbek (1)

The ceremonial first pitch of the World Series prior to Game 1 was thrown by retired AL umpire Steve Palermo. Palermo had been forced into early retirement when he was seriously injured by gunshot while coming to the aid of a robbery victim in Dallas on July 7, 1991. After the pitch, the Series umpires jogged to the mound to exchange well wishes.

The Twins started their ace, Minnesota native Jack Morris, while the Braves countered with Charlie Leibrandt. Both pitchers had pitched on World Series teams, with Morris winning a World Series ring with the 1984 Detroit Tigers and Leibrandt winning one with the 1985 Kansas City Royals. Leibrandt was the only Braves starter who had World Series experience.

Minnesota scored first in the bottom of the third. With two out, leadoff hitter Dan Gladden walked and then stole second. Rookie second baseman Chuck Knoblauch then singled to drive him in, but was caught in a rundown in between first and second and tagged out to end the inning. Manager Tom Kelly explained later that he wanted Knoblauch to take the turn around first to draw the throw away from the plate and allow the run to score.[13] The Twins added three more runs in the fifth, as shortstop Greg Gagne hit a home run with Kent Hrbek and Scott Leius on base. Leibrandt was pulled from the game following the home run, and reliever Jim Clancy promptly allowed Gladden and Knoblauch to reach base on an error and a walk. Gladden reached third on a fly ball by Kirby Puckett for the first out, and after Knoblauch stole second Chili Davis was put on intentionally. Twins catcher Brian Harper then lifted a fly ball to left field that was caught for the second out. Gladden tagged again and tried to score, running over Atlanta catcher Greg Olson in the process, but Olson held onto the ball for the third out even though he was flipped so hard by Gladden that he momentarily stood on his head.[14]

The Braves broke through against Morris in the top of the sixth, as Jeff Treadway and David Justice reached base with two out. Ron Gant then followed with a single that Gladden misplayed, which scored Treadway and left runners at second and third. Morris got out of the jam by striking out Sid Bream to end the inning, and the Twins added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning as Hrbek homered off Clancy.

After walking the first two batters to lead off the eighth, Morris was pulled from the game in favor of Mark Guthrie, who induced a double play off the bat of Terry Pendleton. After Guthrie walked Justice, Twins closer Rick Aguilera came into the game and gave up a hit to Gant. The hit drove in Lonnie Smith from third base, and the run was charged to Morris. It was the last run scored for either team, as the Twins won the game 5–2 with Aguilera picking up the four-out save.

Morris' win was his third World Series win in as many starts, as he won Games 1 and 4 of the 1984 Series. Leibrandt's poor performance resulted in his being removed from the World Series rotation, although he did pitch in Game 6, facing just one batter and giving up the game-winning home run to Kirby Puckett.

During the game, a Kent Hrbek foul pop hit Commissioner Fay Vincent's daughter Anne in the head.

Game 2

Sunday, October 20, 1991 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 8 1
Minnesota 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 3 4 1
WP: Kevin Tapani (1–0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0–1)   Sv: Rick Aguilera (2)
Home runs:
ATL: None
MIN: Chili Davis (1), Scott Leius (1)

The pitching match-up featured 1991 National League Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine against the Twins' sixteen-game winner and number two starter, Kevin Tapani.

Leading off the bottom of the first, Dan Gladden lifted a seemingly routine pop-up toward second base. Atlanta fielders Mark Lemke and David Justice miscommunicated and collided with one another as the ball fell from Lemke's glove and Gladden reached second on a two-base error. After a walk to Chuck Knoblauch, Glavine induced Kirby Puckett to ground to third, where Terry Pendleton stepped on the bag to retire Gladden and threw across to Sid Bream to retire Puckett for the double play. But the next batter, Chili Davis, then homered off Glavine and gave the Twins an early 2–0 lead.

The Braves got a run back in the top of the second when Justice singled, was doubled to third by Sid Bream, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Greg Olson. Controversy occurred the next inning when Lonnie Smith reached first on an error by Scott Leius. With two outs, Ron Gant ripped a single to left. Smith, playing for a record fourth team in World Series play, tried to beat the throw to third from Gladden. Gladden's throw was wild and Smith was able to take third, but Gant was caught between bases trying to advance on the throw. Tapani caught Gladden's throw and threw back to first. Gant headed back to the base standing up, and in the process he became tangled with Kent Hrbek, who appeared to grab onto his leg and pull him off the base. Hrbek kept the glove tagging the leg[15] and first base umpire Drew Coble called Gant out. A furious Gant and first base coach Pat Corrales argued to no avail. Coble said (during an interview conducted for the home video recap of the series) that in his view, Gant was not in control of his body when he returned to the base, that his own momentum caused him to get tangled with Hrbek, and that he fell off the base. For his part, Hrbek stated that Gant fell on him and pushed him.[16] This call was ranked as one of the top ten worst baseball calls by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated.[17][18] Hrbek became a hated figure in Atlanta, was booed lustfully, and would even receive a death threat.[19] In 2011, the Twins celebrated the 20th anniversary of the controversial play by commissioning a bobblehead doll of Hrbek and Gant entangled, a promotion that proved popular with the Minnesota Twins fans.[20]

The Braves tied the game in the fifth when Olson doubled, advanced to third on a groundout by Lemke, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Belliard. The game stayed tied into the eighth. In the top half, Belliard got a leadoff hit on a bunt single, and after a sacrifice, Pendleton beat out an infield hit. But Tapani got Gant out on a foul popup and Justice on a fly out to end the threat. Kelly remembered seeing a tape of the game that showed Glavine in disbelief that Atlanta was unable to score, and felt that Glavine's emotions took over. Immediately in the bottom half, the unheralded Leius drilled Glavine's first pitch into the left-field seats for what proved to be the game-winning home run.[21]

Both starting pitchers stayed in the game through eight innings and were quite effective, giving up just five runs combined (three earned). Rick Aguilera earned the save for the Twins, and the Series headed to Atlanta with the Twins leading two games to none.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 22, 1991 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Minnesota 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 4 10 1
Atlanta 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 8 2
WP: Jim Clancy (1–0)   LP: Rick Aguilera (0–1)
Home runs:
MIN: Kirby Puckett (1), Chili Davis (2)
ATL: David Justice (1), Lonnie Smith (1)

The Braves outlasted the Twins in a thrilling twelve-inning battle, the first World Series game ever played in the Deep South. This game matched Minnesota's twenty-game winner Scott Erickson against Atlanta's late-season hero and NLCS MVP, Steve Avery. In the NLCS, Avery had not allowed a run to the Pirates in sixteen-and-a-third innings.

Twins manager Tom Kelly said going into the three games in Atlanta that managing without the designated-hitter rule was "right up there with rocket science."

Reminiscent of Game 2, Dan Gladden hit another ball toward David Justice. This time, Justice and Ron Gant miscommunicated, and Gladden wound up at third with a gift triple with nobody out in the top of the first. Gladden then scored on Chuck Knoblauch's sacrifice fly to Justice, ending Avery's shutout streak.

The Braves, meanwhile, got the run back in the second when Olson scored on Belliard's single. Justice led off the fourth with his first World Series home run, and the Braves led for the first time in the Series, 2–1. In the fifth, the Braves scored again when Smith homered. Erickson was pulled from the game after allowing Terry Pendleton and Justice to reach base. David West entered the game and allowed an unearned run without recording an out, leaving the bases loaded for Terry Leach who struck out Mark Lemke to end the inning. With the score 4–1, the Braves looked to close it out. As it turned out, the game was just beginning.

Except for the run that resulted from the first-inning misplay between Gant and Justice, Avery had been quite effective. But after Kirby Puckett homered in the seventh to make it 4–2 and two other fly outs made it to the warning track, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox reluctantly sent Avery out for the eighth inning. Brian Harper, who had not started the game at catcher (instead Kelly started Junior Ortiz), pinch hit to start the top half of the inning and reached on an error. Avery went to the showers in favor of the Braves' regular-season closer, Alejandro Peña. Peña had been 13 for 13 in save opportunities since joining the Braves in a late-season trade with the Mets, but he had not pitched since the prior Wednesday. The first batter that he faced, pinch-hitter Chili Davis, tied the game with a monstrous home run to left, leaving Avery with nothing to show for a great pitching effort.

At this point, the game got bizarre. Substitutions and double switches were used by both teams into the twelfth, when Minnesota manager Tom Kelly used up his entire bench and faced a conundrum in the top of the twelfth inning. After Mark Wohlers retired Randy Bush to lead off the inning, Gladden singled. Knoblauch followed with a double play grounder to second that Lemke misplayed, allowing Gladden to advance to third. With the middle of the Twins' order to follow Cox brought in Kent Mercker to pitch to Kent Hrbek. As he came into the game Tim McCarver theorized on the CBS broadcast that the Twins might be forced to use one of their pitchers as a pinch hitter. McCarver's reasoning came from the fact that the pitcher's spot was due up two batters after Hrbek, with Mark Guthrie still in the game for Minnesota having pitched the tenth and the eleventh innings. Kelly's last reliever, closer Rick Aguilera, was warming in the bullpen, and Kelly had used his last bench player, utility man Al Newman, to pinch hit for third baseman Mike Pagliarulo in the top of the eleventh.

On the fourth pitch of the at bat, with Knoblauch running to avoid a potential double play, Hrbek struck out looking. With Puckett now at the plate, Cox brought in Jim Clancy and called for an intentional walk with the pitcher's spot due next. With the bases now loaded Kelly had no choice but to send Aguilera to the plate, although Aguilera did have some success as a hitter and was in fact a converted infielder. On the third pitch of the at-bat Aguilera flied out to deep center field, leaving the bases loaded and the game deadlocked. Kelly said in an interview that if the game had gone on longer, since he had used up all his relief pitchers (and his only other two pitchers were slated to start game four (Jack Morris) and five (Kevin Tapani) if necessary), he would have put left fielder Gladden on the mound and put Aguilera in the outfield. In the bottom of the twelfth, Justice singled to right and after Brian Hunter popped out, Justice stole second. With two outs, Mark Lemke entered the pantheon of World Series heroes by hitting a single to left that enabled Justice to just beat the throw home from Gladden. His score gave the Braves a 5–4 win and cut the Twins lead in the Series to two games to one. Clancy took the win while Aguilera received the loss.

The game lasted a then record four hours, four minutes, until broken in 2005 in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series with a time of five hours, forty-one minutes. It was the first of four games in this Series to end with the winning team scoring the deciding run in the ninth inning or later. It was also the first World Series game to be played in the state of Georgia.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 23, 1991 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 0
Atlanta 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 8 0
WP: Mike Stanton (1–0)   LP: Mark Guthrie (0–1)
Home runs:
MIN: Mike Pagliarulo (1)
ATL: Terry Pendleton (1), Lonnie Smith (2)

Game 4 matched up Jack Morris against Atlanta starter John Smoltz, a former Detroit prospect and Michigan native who idolized Morris while a youngster. As they had done in Game 3, the Braves won by scoring a run in their final at-bat. Because Game 3 ended after midnight, some credited Mark Lemke with winning two World Series games in one day.

As was the custom in the first three games, the Twins scored first. In the second inning, catcher Brian Harper scored on Mike Pagliarulo's double. The Braves tied it in the third when Terry Pendleton hit his first ever post-season home run. The Braves appeared ready to take a lead in the fifth when Lonnie Smith singled and stole second. Pendleton then followed with a deep fly ball to center field. As Kirby Puckett went back to catch it Smith went back to second to tag up as it looked like Puckett was going to catch the ball. However, Puckett had misjudged the ball slightly and it went over his outstretched glove. Thus, Smith got a late break from second and Puckett was able to retrieve the ball and throw it back into the infield. Smith headed to third and was waved around to try to score as the ball came into the infield. The throw reached Harper just as Smith was headed to the plate and he bowled over Harper in an attempt to dislodge the ball. The collision sent both sprawling, but Harper held onto the ball and got up to ensure Pendleton, who had gone to third, did not score. The Braves now had a runner at third with one out. A few moments later, Morris unleashed a wild pitch and Pendleton sped toward home. But Harper retrieved it and tagged the sliding Pendleton for the second out of the inning. Justice popped out and Morris was out of the jam.

In the top of the seventh, Pagliarulo homered to give the Twins the lead, 2–1. But the Braves got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Smith homered off Twins reliever Carl Willis to tie the game. The game entered the bottom of the ninth still tied at 2. With one out and Mark Guthrie pitching, Lemke drilled a triple off the left-center field wall. Jeff Blauser was walked intentionally to set up a possible double play to force extra innings. After a series of moves by both managers, former Brave Steve Bedrosian took the mound to face veteran minor leaguer Jerry Willard. Willard hit a fly ball to Shane Mack in right field. Lemke tagged and broke for the plate as soon as Mack caught the ball. Mack fired to Harper, who caught the throw and had the ball as Lemke reached the plate. Lemke slid around Harper and was called safe with the winning run.

After the call Harper leapt up with the ball and vociferously protested, as did Bedrosian, but umpire Terry Tata stood by the call and the replay showed he was correct. The video showed that the ball got to Harper before Lemke got to the plate, but Harper did not make a move to tag Lemke by either touching him with his glove or pulling the ball out to tag him. CBS announcer Tim McCarver then read from the Major League Baseball rule book explaining why Tata had made the correct call. McCarver later narrated the play as "An arm's width; an elbows length: the difference between out...and safe." The win tied the Series at two games apiece and ensured a return to Minnesota.

Game 5

Thursday, October 24, 1991 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 5 7 1
Atlanta 0 0 0 4 1 0 6 3 X 14 17 1
WP: Tom Glavine (1–1)   LP: Kevin Tapani (1–1)
Home runs:
MIN: None
ATL: David Justice (2), Lonnie Smith (3), Brian Hunter (1)

In Game 5, it was Glavine vs. Tapani in a Game 2 rematch. And despite the final score, this contest was still close until after the seventh inning stretch. For three innings, the pitchers matched zeroes, but in the fourth, Gant singled to left and Justice homered off the top of the left-field wall for a 2–0 Braves lead. Bream followed up with a walk, and Olson then hit what appeared to be a double play grounder to second. But the ball hit Bream's leg, resulting in Bream being called out for runner interference but Olson being safe at first. Lemke, the hero of Games 3 and 4, drilled a triple that scored Olson, and Lemke himself then scored on light-hitting Rafael Belliard's double. At this point, the Braves led 4–0, their biggest lead in any game in the Series.

In the fifth, Pendleton and Gant singled, with Pendleton moving to third. Then Justice hit into a fielder's choice that scored Pendleton and gave the Braves a 5–0 lead. With Glavine working on a two-hitter, the game seemed in hand for the Braves. But Glavine was not sharp in the sixth inning and wound up getting pulled from the game. Knoblauch reached on a one-out walk and then went to third on Puckett's single. A walk to Davis loaded the bases, and Glavine suddenly had difficulty pitching into the strike zone. He walked in two runs by giving bases-loaded walks to Harper and Leius. Kent Mercker came on to get out of the jam and he got the final two outs with only one additional run scoring. The game entered the seventh with the Braves leading, 5–3.

Tom Kelly sent David West out to begin the bottom of the seventh. West had failed to retire a batter in Game 3, facing two batters and giving up two walks (while one of these walks did force a run home, this run was an unearned run charged to starter Scott Erickson). Smith hit his third home run in three nights, all solo shots, to give the Braves a 6–3 lead. And then the floodgates opened. Pendleton and Gant walked, Justice singled to score Pendleton, and West was again taken out without retiring a batter; in this game, he would be charged with four earned runs without retiring a batter, for an ERA of infinity (West would retire his first World Series hitter in the 1993 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies). Hunter singled to score Gant and put two on with nobody out and an 8–3 Braves lead. After Olson popped out, Lemke hit his third triple in his last four at bats, driving home Justice and Hunter, and scoring when Belliard singled to center. The Braves ended the seventh with an 11–3 lead and the announcers began talking about the chances of the two teams in Game 6.

However, there were still two innings to be played. Davis, playing this game in right field in place of Mack, who was 0-for-15, singled. He moved to second on a ground out and scored on Al Newman's triple. In the bottom of the eighth, Pendleton doubled and Gant tripled, scoring Pendleton. Justice grounded out to the pitcher, scoring Gant, and Hunter then ended the Braves' offensive barrage with a home run.

Both managers emptied their benches to give playing time to non-starters. Randy St. Claire gave up a run when Gladden tripled (the fifth triple of the game between the two teams) and scored on a fielder's choice, but the game ended in a 14–5 Braves rout, the only lopsided game in the Series. The Braves scored just under half of total runs for the series in these eight innings. The Braves now had their first lead in Series games, three to two, and only needed one win to clinch their first World Series since 1957. In fact, the marquee wall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium read "Three at home and one at the Dome." The Washington/Minnesota franchise had now lost fourteen straight World Series road games dating back to 1925, a streak that remains active as the Twins have not advanced to a World Series since 1991.

Game 6

Saturday, October 26, 1991 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 9 1
Minnesota 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 0
WP: Rick Aguilera (1–1)   LP: Charlie Leibrandt (0–2)
Home runs:
ATL: Terry Pendleton (2)
MIN: Kirby Puckett (2)

Both teams had each other in their palms. The Braves were one win away from their first world championship since 1957 while the Twins were returning to the Metrodome where they had a 9–1 postseason record (including 6–0 in the World Series) entering the do-or-die Game 6. After the reshuffling of the Braves' rotation following Game 1, Steve Avery would start for Atlanta on three days' rest. The Twins kept their three-man rotation with Scott Erickson, who had been batted around in Game 3, getting the start for Minnesota.

In the top of the first, the Braves got two baserunners on, but they would eventually be stranded. In the bottom of the first, Knoblauch singled and Puckett tripled, scoring Knoblauch and setting the tone for the rest of the evening. After retiring Davis for the second out of the inning, Avery faced Shane Mack. Mack was 0-for-15 in the series and had sat Game 5 in favor of the bat of Chili Davis, the Twins normal DH. Mack finally broke the hitless streak with a broken-bat single to score Puckett. Leius then singled, advancing Mack to third base, but Avery got Hrbek out to keep the score 2–0.

The Braves hit Erickson hard, but failed to score against him. No better example can be cited than Gant's deep fly to the fence in the top of the third with Pendleton on first. Kirby Puckett leaped and made a sensational catch against the thirteen-foot Plexiglas upper part of the fence, sending Pendleton back to first (where Puckett nearly doubled him off) instead of around the bases for Atlanta's first run. Erickson got out of the inning by getting a ground out from Justice.

In the fourth, the Twins appeared ready to increase their lead, putting runners at second and third with one out. But Avery buckled down and retired the side to keep the game close. Another critical play occurred in the fifth when Belliard kept the Twins from completing a double play with a fierce slide. His hustle enabled Lonnie Smith to reach first. This became important when Pendleton golfed Erickson's next pitch into the seats to tie the game at 2. With two outs, Justice lifted what appeared to be a go-ahead home run for the Braves to right, but at the last instant, the ball hooked foul by about two feet. Erickson retired Justice and the Twins came to bat with the score tied.

Gladden responded with a walk and a steal of second. He moved to third on Knoblauch's liner to right and scored on Puckett's center field sacrifice fly and the Twins led 3–2. The Twins kept their one-run lead into the seventh. Lemke singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch by reliever Guthrie. After a strikeout, Smith walked and Pendleton then reached on an infield single. The Braves now had the bases loaded and one out as CBS commentator Jack Buck said the World Series was on the line right there. Gant hit what seemed to be a sure double play ground ball off the Twins' Carl Willis. The ground ball retired Pendleton, but Gant beat the relay to first and Lemke scored with the tying run. Willis, however, got out of the jam by striking out Justice to end the inning with the score tied at three.

The game remained tied at three until the eleventh. Bobby Cox sent Game 1 starter Charlie Leibrandt to the mound to face Kirby Puckett. Puckett recalled telling Chili Davis that he planned to attempt to bunt for a base hit, to which Davis responded "Bunt my ass. Hit it out and let's go home!"[22] Puckett replied that he would take a few pitches first. After taking three pitches from Leibrandt and with a two-ball, one-strike count on him, Puckett launched the next pitch into the left-center-field seats for a dramatic game-winning home run that tied the Series at three games apiece. Jack Buck famously called the home run with the line "And we'll see you tomorrow night!"[23]

This moment is captured in statue of Puckett just outside Gate 34 at the Twins' new home, Target Field. The statue is of Puckett rounding second base, pumping his fists after hitting the dramatic walk-off home run.

Puckett's home run forced the first Game 7 since the 1987 World Series, which was also played at the Metrodome. With his walk-off home run, Puckett completed the game a double shy of hitting for the cycle.

Rick Aguilera took the decision for the Twins after pitching the 10th and 11th innings, while Leibrandt earned his second loss of the series.

Game 7

Sunday, October 27, 1991 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 10 0
WP: Jack Morris (2–0)   LP: Alejandro Peña (0–1)

The first World Series Game 7 in four seasons saw a rematch of the Game 4 starters. Jack Morris returned to the mound for his third start of the Series for the Twins while John Smoltz made his second for the Braves. Going into the game, this Series had been regarded as one of the best ever. The seventh game would reinforce that point. A symbolic moment for the Series occurred on the first at-bat when Braves leadoff hitter Lonnie Smith shook hands with Twins catcher Brian Harper just before stepping up to the plate.[24]

Neither team was able to score a run early on. The Twins had their first opportunity in the bottom of the third inning, when Dan Gladden doubled and advanced to third on a flyout by Chuck Knoblauch. But Smoltz struck out Puckett to end the inning. The Braves put a runner into scoring position with one out in the top of the fifth, as Mark Lemke reached third on a sacrifice bunt by Rafael Belliard and a bunt single by Smith. But Morris got Terry Pendleton to pop out and then struck out Ron Gant to end the threat.

Neither team threatened again until the eighth inning. The top of the inning included a critical defensive play, with Smith on first and nobody out. Braves manager Bobby Cox called for a hit and run with Pendleton at the plate. Pendleton responded by lacing a double into the left-center field gap, but Smith only advanced to third. Logically, Smith could have scored on the play, but after Pendleton made contact, Twins infielders Greg Gagne (shortstop) and Knoblauch (second base) feigned starting a double play by pretending to force out Smith at second. Smith hesitated, then ran to third as Pendleton headed for second. Smith claimed he hadn't been fooled by the decoy and was waiting to see if Puckett or Gladden would catch the ball. Morris later claimed the play should never have taken place. On the pitch before, with a 1–2 count on him, Pendleton appeared to swing and miss for strike three (which Morris believed Pendleton did). Pendleton appealed to home plate umpire Don Denkinger, saying that he'd foul-tipped the pitch at the plate. Denkinger turned to third base umpire Terry Tata, who confirmed the call.[25] Nevertheless, the attempt at a rally was quashed. Morris got Gant to ground out to first baseman Kent Hrbek for the first out, which didn't permit Smith to score. David Justice was then walked intentionally, loading the bases, so Morris could pitch to the struggling Sid Bream, who only had three hits in the series. Bream also had the reputation of being one of the league's slowest runners, a fact the Twins were able to take advantage of. Morris induced Bream to ground to first. Hrbek threw home to get Smith, and catcher Brian Harper relayed the throw to first in enough time to get Bream to retire the side. Had Smith not made his baserunning error, he would not have still been on base and the Braves would have taken at least a 1–0 lead into the bottom of the eighth. As it stood, however, the teams were scoreless and the Braves would not have another baserunner in the game.

In the bottom of the eighth, Randy Bush pinch hit for Gagne to lead off for the Twins, and he singled off Smoltz, then was promptly removed from the game in favor of the faster Al Newman to pinch run. Smoltz then retired Gladden but gave up a single to Knoblauch, his eighth hit of the Series. With one out, runners on the corners, and Puckett coming to the plate, Bobby Cox elected to remove his pitcher from the game. Mike Stanton entered and was ordered to intentionally walk Puckett to load the bases. The next batter was Hrbek, who had not had a hit in quite some time and whom Stanton had struck out three times in a row. This time, Stanton got Hrbek to hit a relatively soft line drive to Mark Lemke, who then stepped on second to double-up Knoblauch. The game continued with no score.

The Braves went down in order in the top of the ninth, as Morris retired Brian Hunter, Greg Olson, and Lemke. The Twins, with a chance to win the game in their final at bat, led off with a Chili Davis single. After Jarvis Brown came in to run for Davis, Harper attempted to move him over with a bunt down the first base line. Stanton misstepped coming to play the bunt, allowing Harper to reach base without a play. To make matters worse for Atlanta, Stanton's misstep caused him to strain a muscle in his back, and he had to be removed from the game. Cox was forced to bring in Alejandro Peña to pitch to Shane Mack. Despite his earlier struggles, Peña induced a ground ball double play to record the first two outs. He then gave an intentional walk to Mike Pagliarulo and struck out pinch hitter Paul Sorrento to send the game into extra innings.

Refusing to come out of the game, Morris took to the hill for the top of the tenth. A Twin Cities sports writer wrote that on that night, "[Morris] could have outlasted Methuselah." He successfully rebuffed several attempts by manager Tom Kelly to remove him during the game, and was also supported by pitching coach Dick Such,[26] as he remained on the mound from the first pitch to the last. This led to one of the more memorable quotes of the '91 Series and, arguably, of any deciding game in World Series history: confronted with Morris' insistence on pitching the 10th, Tom Kelly is purported to have said, "Oh hell. It's only a game." [27] And as he had been for most of the night, Morris was effective, retiring Blauser, Smith, and Pendleton in order. Morris threw 126 pitches in the game.[28]

Peña faced Gladden to start the bottom half of the inning, and the Twins' leadoff hitter lifted a fly ball to left field after breaking his bat upon the impact. The ball landed in front of the charging Hunter for a bloop hit, and the ball then took a high bounce that Hunter was unable to field. Gant backed up the play and caught the hop, but Gladden dashed to second and beat Gant's throw to the bag. Kelly then called for a sacrifice bunt, and Knoblauch executed to put the winning run on third with one out. As he'd done in the eighth, Cox called for an intentional walk to the resurgent Puckett. Hrbek, who had not gotten a hit in his last sixteen at-bats dating back to his single in the eighth inning of Game 3, was next up, and Brown would be scheduled after Hrbek since Brown had pinch-run for the power-hitting Davis. Despite Hrbek's .115 average in the Series and lack of baserunning speed, and despite the fact that the Braves had left-hander Kent Mercker and another pitcher warming up in the bullpen, Cox decided to call a second consecutive intentional walk, loading the bases to set up a force play at home plate.

This left Kelly with a tough decision, as Brown did not hit well and had not yet gotten a hit in the Series. Entering the 10th inning, Kelly had already used four of the seven players on his bench. Then in the top half of the inning, he had inserted Scott Leius, who was normally a third baseman, into the game to play shortstop in place of pinch hitter Sorrento. This left Kelly with backup catcher Junior Ortiz and utility man Gene Larkin. Larkin was nursing an injured knee, but had one hit in three pinch hit at bats in Games 3–5. Kelly went with Larkin, who would have been the designated hitter had the game continued and would not have had to take the field. On the first pitch he saw, Larkin drove a single into deep left-center over the drawn-in outfield, scoring Gladden with the series-winning run and giving the Twins their second world championship since moving to Minnesota. Morris was the first player to embrace Gladden at the plate, followed by others. At the same time, Larkin was mobbed at first base. The two jubilant groups eventually merged in the middle of the diamond. The victorious players were soon joined by their families on the field, including Morris by his two sons. Later, the Twins players did a victory lap around the perimeter of the Metrodome field.[29]

For the first time since 1962, a seventh game of the World Series ended with a 1–0 verdict.[30] This Series was also the first since 1924 to end with an extra-inning seventh-game, when the home team, the Washington Senators (who would become the Twins franchise in 1961) won it in their last at-bat. The same thing would also happen in the 1997 World Series when the Florida Marlins would beat the Cleveland Indians in the eleventh inning of Game 7. This game set a World Series record for the longest scoreless tie in Game 7. Only one other World Series game went longer without a run being scored (Game 6 of the 1956 World Series went to two outs in the bottom of the 10th before the winning run was scored).

The 1991 World Series was the second in five seasons in which the home team won all seven games in the Series. The other time this happened was in 1987, which was also won by the Twins. Game 7 of this series was the last World Series game played at the Metrodome before the Twins moved out at the end of the 2009 season, and would be the last postseason baseball game played at the venue until 2002.

Aftermath

In one respect this series was similar to the 1987 World Series also played by the Minnesota Twins (against the St. Louis Cardinals), in that the home team won all seven games. The pattern of the home team winning each game did not occur again until the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. Seven Twins players appeared in both the 1987 and 1991 Series, playing for the Twins both times: Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Greg Gagne, Dan Gladden, Gene Larkin, Randy Bush and Al Newman. In addition, the Braves' Terry Pendleton also played in the 1987 Series, as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The series was also unique because of the standings of the two participating teams in the prior season: both finished the 1990 season in last place; before 1991, no league champion had ever finished the previous season in last place, yet this was the case with both the Twins and the Braves. The Twins also won the AL West Division in 1991 with every team in the division having a .500 or better record, a feat the Braves themselves would achieve when they won the National League East in 2005.

After the Twins' triumph, the 1993 Phillies, 1998 Padres, 2007 Rockies and the 2008 Rays followed previous season's last-place finishes with a World Series appearance, but fell short. However the 2013 Red Sox would join the 1991 Twins as the only teams to win the World Series a year after finishing in last place.

Following the game, CBS Sports analyst Tim McCarver consoled Atlanta fans by stating that this was an excellent team and that he expected they would "be around" for some time to come. The Braves would, in fact, go on to win an unprecedented fourteen consecutive division titles not counting the strike-aborted 1994 season. They returned to the World Series the following year, but lost in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Braves made three additional trips to the World Series before the decade ended, winning in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians, but falling in 1996 and 1999 to the New York Yankees.

The Twins would contend for the 1992 American League Western Division title for much of the season but finished six games behind the Oakland Athletics, who won the division for the fourth time in five seasons. The Twins' 90-72 record would be their last winning campaign until 2001, which was Tom Kelly's last season as the team's manager. Over the next several seasons, the players that made up the core of the 1987 and 1991 Twins slowly began to leave. Dan Gladden, the Twins' left fielder, departed in the offseason for Detroit. Jack Morris, the pitching hero of the series, signed with Toronto and returned to the World Series the next year. Greg Gagne and Chili Davis departed following the 1992 season, with Brian Harper leaving at the end of the 1993 season. Kent Hrbek's production began falling due to injuries that kept him off the field for much of the next two seasons, and he retired in 1994. The Twins then traded away both Scott Erickson and Kevin Tapani (neither ever regained their 1991 form) in the 1995 season, as well as Kirby Puckett to retirement due to a loss of vision in his right eye caused by glaucoma. Chuck Knoblauch was the last hitter of the 1991 team to remain in Minnesota, eventually forcing a trade following the 1997 season to the Yankees, with whom he won three additional World Series titles. After being traded to the playoff-bound Boston Red Sox in 1995, Aguilera would return to the Twins through the 1999 season, the last remaining player from the 1991 championship team.

This was the last World Series that Fay Vincent presided over as commissioner, as he was forced to resign near the end of the 1992 season by the owners.

The Twins and the Braves have met four times in Interleague play since the 1991 World Series. In 2002 the Braves finally experienced a Metrodome win by taking two games from the Twins in a three game series,[31] only for the Twins to sweep a three game series from the Braves at the Metrodome in 2007.[32] The Braves ultimately finished with an all-time record of 2–8 in the stadium before it closed as a baseball venue in 2009. In 2010, the teams played a three game series at the new Target Field, in which the Braves won two out of three games. After the 1991 Series, the Twins did not play in Atlanta again until 2011 for two pre-season exhibition games at Turner Field. The Braves and Twins split the series 1–1. Then, as part of the new season-long interleague schedule, the Twins played their first regular season series against the Braves at Turner Field in May 2013; the Braves swept the three-game set.

Composite line score

1991 World Series (4–3): Minnesota Twins (A.L.) over Atlanta Braves (N.L.)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Minnesota Twins 5 1 1 0 4 4 2 4 1 1 1 0 24 56 4
Atlanta Braves 0 2 1 5 6 1 8 4 1 0 0 1 29 63 6
Total attendance: 373,160   Average attendance: 53,309
Winning player's share: $119,580   Losing player's share: $73,323[33]

Broadcasting

This year, CBS used three field reporters, which were Jim Kaat (both teams as well as covering the trophy presentation), Lesley Visser (Twins' dugout) and Andrea Joyce (Braves' dugout). This was also the last World Series to be broadcast by Jack Buck (who would be replaced by Sean McDonough on the CBS telecasts in the role of lead play-by-play man).

The Series telecast drew an overall national Nielsen rating of 24.0 and a 39 share for CBS; Game 7 drew a 32.2 rating and 49 share. As of 2015, no subsequent World Series has approached either number in national TV ratings.

Notes

  1. ↑ Murphy, Brian (April 2001). "Twins' `Overachiever' Kirby Puckett Gets Call to Glory". Baseball Digest. It was his play in Game 6 of the '91 Series against Atlanta that cemented his legacy in Twin Cities sports history. After robbing the Braves' Ron Gant of a home run in the field, Puckett hit an 11th-inning homer off Charlie Leibrandt to force a seventh game that the Twins eventually won in what some baseball historians consider the greatest World Series ever.
  2. ↑ Hurst, Matt (October 28, 2011). "World Series 2011: The 5 Best Fall Classic Game 6's Ever". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 21, 2012. The 1991 World Series is easily the best World Series ever played, with three games being won in the final at-bat and four coming down to the final pitch. Kirby Puckett's heroics in Game 6 allowed the Twins to stay alive and eventually win Game 7.
  3. ↑ Yellon, Al (October 28, 2011). "The Top 10 World Series Games, Including (Of Course) 2011 Game 6". Baseball Nation. Retrieved October 21, 2012. No. 10: 1991 World Series, Game 6: This is the game where Jack Buck exclaimed "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" In addition to Puckett's extra-inning heroics, the Twins' bullpen held the Braves scoreless for the last four innings of the game, allowing just three singles, two of which were erased by double plays.
  4. ↑ Yellon, Al (October 28, 2011). "The Top 10 World Series Games, Including (Of Course) 2011 Game 6". Baseball Nation. Retrieved October 21, 2012. No. 6: 1991 World Series, Game 7: The Senators franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961; 30 years later, the team played two of the most excruciatingly exciting World Series games on consecutive nights. It's the only Series I'm honoring here with a pair of games. This one featured a 10-inning shutout thrown by Minnesota's Jack Morris while the Twins were leaving 12 men on base, finally scoring the game-winner on Gene Larkin's bases-loaded single with one out in the bottom of the 10th.
  5. ↑ "The World Series 100th Anniversary - #1 1991 Minnesota Twins 4, Atlanta Braves 3". Page 2. ESPN. 2003.
  6. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 1 - Atlanta Braves vs. Minnesota Twins". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  7. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 2 - Atlanta Braves vs. Minnesota Twins". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  8. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 3 - Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  9. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 4 - Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  10. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 5 - Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  11. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 6 - Atlanta Braves vs. Minnesota Twins". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  12. ↑ "1991 World Series Game 7 - Atlanta Braves vs. Minnesota Twins". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  14. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  15. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  16. ↑ smith, Claire (October 21, 1991). "BASEBALL; Who's On First? Not Gant". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2012. He fell on top of me. He pushed me over. That's the end of the story.
  17. ↑ "The Readers' List: Worst calls in history". ESPN. August 28, 2001. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Drew Coble - 1991 World Series". CNN. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  19. ↑ Caple, Jim (November 19, 2003). "1991 World Series had it all". ESPN. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  20. ↑ Mason, Tyler (August 5, 2011). "Hrbek bobblehead is a hit with fans". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  21. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. pp. 257–258. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  22. ↑ Pucket, Kirby. "MLB.Com Highlights". BB Moments: Kirby Forces Game 7. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  23. ↑ This was echoed twenty years one day later by his son Joe at the end of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series on Fox, when the Cardinals' David Freese hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning against the Rangers.
  24. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  25. ↑ "Metrodome Moments No. 25". Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  26. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. p. 284. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  27. ↑ Wendel, Tim (2014). Down to the last pitch: How the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves gave us the best World Series of All Time. Da Capo Press, p.189. ISBN 978-0-306822766.
  28. ↑ Christensen, Joe (April 4, 2009). "Baseball Preview 2009: Pitchers are down for the count". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  29. ↑ Kelly, Tom; Robinson, Ted (1992). Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins' Drive to the 1991 World Championship. Voyageur Pr. pp. 286–287. ISBN 978-0-89658-209-5.
  30. ↑ Nemec, David; Flatow, Scott. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures (2008 ed.). New York, NY: Penguin Group. p. 367. ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0.
  31. ↑ "2002 Minnesota Twins Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  32. ↑ "2007 Minnesota Twins Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  33. ↑ "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.

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