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From Worst to First: The Minnesota Twins rebound to win the 1991 World Series (with guest Jon Lawrence) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:07
OK, welcome to Hanging Out with Bob, podcast
0:10
hosted by me, Bob Edholm. Thanks for joining
0:16
us. Let's get started. Well, I'm really looking
0:21
forward to this podcast. My guest today is John
0:24
Lawrence, my friend from Northeast Minneapolis.
0:27
John has been a guest of mine on a few other
0:28
podcasts. Both he and I share a love for Minnesota
0:31
sports teams and today our focus will be on the
0:34
Minnesota Twins and their run to a World Series
0:37
Championship in 1991. John, welcome back for
0:40
another podcast episode of Hanging Out with Bob.
0:46
Thanks. Good morning. First of all, John, where
0:49
were you in 1991? Were you working, going to
0:52
school? I was finishing up college and I, yeah,
0:58
I was working, I kind of worked pretty much full
1:00
-time while I went to college, worked my way
1:03
through. But summers were off, and big twins
1:08
fan. Yep, yep. Well, in 1991, I was working at
1:11
Prudential. Um, I was celebrating my 12th anniversary
1:14
with the company in September of that year. Now,
1:17
earlier in 1991, if you recall, the Minnesota
1:20
North stars had reached the Stanley cup finals.
1:23
Right. Yeah, they did that a great year. Unfortunately,
1:26
they lost to the penguins, the Pittsburgh penguins
1:28
in six games. And also in 1991, local interest,
1:32
the U S open was held at Hazel team national
1:35
golf club in Chaska, Minnesota. Here's a trivia
1:37
question, John, do you remember who won that
1:40
U S open? 1991, was that Payne Stewart? Exactly,
1:44
very good. Yep, it was actually an 18 -hole playoff.
1:47
He went against a guy named Scott Simpson. Right.
1:50
And it was memorable because Stewart actually
1:53
overcame a two -stroke deficit to win on the
1:56
final holes. Payne Stewart was the one who wore
1:59
the golf knickers and the Argyle socks, kind
2:01
of a throwback to way back when, so very good.
2:05
And 1991 was also the year my daughter turned
2:08
three years old. Now she's married and my son
2:11
-in -law have a daughter who started first grade
2:13
in September of 2025. So wow. Well, John, our
2:19
listeners know from some of our previous podcasts
2:21
that you're a huge Twins fan like me and a fan
2:24
of Major League Baseball in general. But what
2:26
were you expecting of the Twins going into that
2:29
1991 season? Well, the previous year had been
2:33
pretty disappointing. But they had signed Jack
2:36
Morris. We had seen glimpses of Scott Erickson
2:41
in September of the prior year. And, you know,
2:45
he really looked good. So I was optimistic. I
2:48
certainly didn't expect a World Series, but you
2:52
know, I was optimistic that they would have a
2:54
good year. Yeah, yeah. You know, it had just
2:57
been four years prior to 91 that the Twins won
2:59
the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals
3:01
in 87. And you know, it's funny, that 87 championship
3:05
team, the next year, they actually had a much
3:07
better record in 88. They were... 91 and 71,
3:11
there were 20 games above 500, but they still
3:14
finished 13 games behind Oakland, which just
3:16
had an incredible regular season. Although they
3:19
lost to the Dodgers, right, in the World Series?
3:21
That's when Kirk Gibson hit that home run with
3:23
the bad leg and everything. So even with their
3:25
hundred -some wins, they didn't win the World
3:27
Series that year. It happens. Yeah, it does.
3:29
It does. And then in 1989, the Twins went 80
3:34
and 82. They finished fifth in the American League
3:37
West. And then in 1990, saying they were disappointing
3:40
74 and 88. They finished seventh, in other words,
3:45
last in the division. The Twins drew 1 .75 million
3:48
fans to their then home, the Hubert H. Humphrey
3:51
Metrodome in 1990, which is actually quite a
3:53
dip from the over three million fans the year
3:55
after the World Series. The year they drew three
3:58
million, it was always packed. Baseball was very
4:02
popular for several years. And then came 1991.
4:06
Thanks to some strong pitching, lots of offensive
4:09
firepower, effective coaching, a home field advantage
4:13
at the Metrodome, and a blend of good team chemistry
4:16
and resilience, the Twins put it all together
4:19
in 1991 and went on to win the World Series.
4:26
They beat the Atlanta Braves four games to three,
4:29
and all four of those Twins wins came at home
4:31
at the Metrodome. It was the 31st season for
4:34
the Twins franchise in Minnesota. their 10th
4:36
season at the Metrodome, and their 91st season
4:39
overall in the American League. They were the
4:41
senators, of course, before then. And, of course,
4:43
it was their second World Series championship
4:45
in five seasons. Now, in this podcast, John and
4:48
I will talk about some of the moves the twins
4:50
made to build their roster in 1991. So we'll
4:53
talk about how the team performed in the regular
4:56
season, how they fared in the American League
4:58
Championship Series, and then finally, the twins'
5:01
memorable moments in that World Series itself.
5:05
John, how many games did you attend at the Metrodome
5:08
during that 91 season, do you think? I would
5:10
say probably five, maybe, probably not quite
5:15
ten, but somewhere in the five to eight somewhere.
5:18
Not as many as you went in 87. In a previous
5:21
podcast, you talked about you almost lived there
5:22
in 87. Yeah, I mean I was going to college in
5:27
Mankato, so early season wasn't going to happen.
5:34
You know again in the fall so I had to be in
5:38
those few months in between and I was working
5:41
and and so right I got away when I could sure
5:44
but but Not not quite as many. Okay. Now before
5:48
we talk about the twins season in 1991 both the
5:51
regular season and the postseason Let me test
5:53
your memory about some of the key players who
5:55
made up this team. Okay Well, first of all, there
5:59
was a considerable reshaping of the twins roster
6:01
in January and February of 1991 It began when
6:05
a certain Twins third baseman left as a free
6:08
agent on January 25th in 1991 to sign with which
6:11
team, John? Who was it, Boston? Well, who was
6:14
the player first? Oh, Gary Gaiati. Do you remember
6:16
where he went? Thinking Boston, or at least he
6:19
played in Boston at some point, I think. It was
6:21
the California Angels. Angels, okay. But less
6:25
than 12 hours after Gaiati's departure, the Twins
6:29
signed which free agent as a new third baseman?
6:32
must have been Pickley or a little yep yep from
6:35
the New York Yankees his nickname was simply
6:38
pegs it's a hard name to pronounce fast and after
6:43
pegs was signed two more key free agent signings
6:46
followed one player was a designated hitter whose
6:49
first name is also a topping that some people
6:51
like to put on their hot dogs and the other player
6:54
was a pitcher from st paul Who were those two
6:56
guys, John? Chilly Davis and Jack Morris. Do
6:59
you remember where Davis was playing before he
7:01
came to the Twins? Well, he bounced around a
7:03
lot. San Francisco, maybe? He played in San Francisco.
7:08
He played in California Angels. Boston Red Sox.
7:13
It was the Angels. That's where he came from.
7:15
And then, of course, the other player that they
7:17
signed. Jack Morris from St. Paul. He was with
7:21
the Tigers. And he signed on February 5th. So
7:25
Chile was signed on January 30th of 91, and then
7:27
Morris was just a week later. Okay, now you remember
7:31
that blockbuster trade in July of 1989. That's
7:34
when they sent Frank Viola to the Mets. Do you
7:37
remember who they got in the trade? There were
7:40
not one, two, but three pitchers in that trade.
7:43
What's that? So they would have gotten Rick Aguilera,
7:48
David West, and Reliever. I'll give you a hint.
7:53
He's from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Yeah,
7:56
I can't think of his name. Well, it's been 37
7:59
years. Yeah, exactly. As soon as I tell you the
8:01
name, you go, oh yeah. Well, his first name is
8:03
Kevin. Oh, Kevin Tappan. Kevin Tappan. That's
8:06
right. Oh, yeah, that was a that was actually
8:08
I think there might have been five guys all together.
8:10
Well, these three were really pivotal. Those
8:12
are instrumental. Yeah, yeah. That's right. And
8:15
here's another interesting one. And I got this
8:17
from my research, of course. But in 1991, there
8:21
were only seven players that were still on the
8:23
Twins roster from that 87 World Series Championship.
8:26
And none of them were pitchers. You want to take
8:29
a guess at who those seven might have been? All
8:32
right. Well, Kirby and Herbie for sure. Yep.
8:35
And Gladden. Gladden was on both teams. Yep.
8:39
Newman. Yep. Yep. Al Newman. Larkin. Gene Larkin.
8:43
Very good. Yep. Randy Bush. Yep. I think you've
8:49
got them all. Randy Bush was, he was primarily
8:51
an outfielder and pinch hitter. And then Greg
8:54
Gagney was the shortstop. And we've talked about
8:57
Gagney before, but I remember you said that he
8:59
was probably one of the most underrated shortstops
9:01
in baseball. I mean, just amazing glove and fast
9:04
and good hitter. Right. When you were talking
9:08
about what made the 91 team good. You didn't
9:12
mention defense, but I think defense, you know,
9:16
Gagney had huge range. And so he allowed for
9:21
average fielding third baseman next to him. The
9:25
outfield range was excellent as well. Puckett
9:27
and Shane Mack, you know, those guys could cover
9:31
some grounds. So there wasn't a lot of green
9:33
space. Yeah. And I think that was very underrated
9:37
about that team. Yep. Yep. No, good point. Yeah.
9:40
Like I said, there was Randy Bush. Greg Agney,
9:43
Dan Gladden in left field, Kent Herbeck at first.
9:46
You said Herbie, but everybody knows it's Kent
9:48
Herbeck. And then Gene Larkin, also a DH and
9:51
utility player. Al Newman was a utility infielder
9:54
who actually really was always really good when
9:56
he filled in. I never saw him, you know, like.
9:58
mess up on a bunch of grown balls. No, it was
10:00
a great field. Yeah. And then of course, Kirby
10:02
Pockets. So, okay, one more to test your memory
10:05
of those 91 twins. There were four other young
10:08
stars, we'll call them, who blended successfully
10:11
with the twins. First player, John, he platooned
10:14
with Pags at third base. Remember his name? Scott
10:16
Leish. Scott Leish. Yep. Second player, he played
10:19
in right field and came to the twins via the
10:22
rule five draft. Shane Mack and that was his
10:26
second year with the twins. Oh right. They got
10:30
him at either 89 or 90. So he had been with the
10:33
twins for a year or two. Do you remember what
10:35
the rule five draft actually meant? Yeah. So
10:39
teams can protect 40 men for 40 -man roster.
10:43
And any player that has been in their system
10:46
for X number of years and at the time, I think
10:49
it might've been five years. If they're a minor
10:52
leaguer that's spent five years and they're not
10:54
on the 40 man roster, they're eligible to be
10:57
drafted in the rule of five draft. and uh yeah
11:01
that was a very good thanks for explaining that
11:03
that was a very good pickup they got out of that
11:06
deal yep that's a that's like trying to explain
11:08
the infield fly rule right but you nailed it
11:11
you nailed it okay the third player that i have
11:14
mentioned here he was uh he was he was a pitcher
11:17
but not just any pitcher he uh was a 20 game
11:19
winner with a 12 game winning streak yeah scott
11:22
erickson yeah yeah he was uh he was electric
11:25
yep he was especially that season before his
11:28
arm injuries yep I remember he had that, he'd
11:31
hide his face behind the glove when he pitched,
11:33
you know, he'd hold it up and you couldn't, you
11:34
can only see his eyes. Right. And then the fourth
11:36
player rookie who played second base. Chuck Knobloch.
11:39
Chuck Knobloch. Yep. Yep. A perfect Tom Kelly
11:42
guy. Yep. Just a, you know, gritty guy, you know,
11:46
notwithstanding his personality and what he later
11:49
became, but he was a really good glue guy for
11:53
that team. Yeah, he was a great fit. And only,
11:56
like I said, a rookie. I mean, he was really
11:58
played well. Just covered in. So with manager
12:03
Tom Kelly, who was in his sixth year at the helm,
12:06
the 1991 Twins regular season was highlighted
12:09
by a remarkable turnaround from a last place
12:11
finish in 1990. And one of the key regular season
12:14
moments was their club record 15 game winning
12:17
streak in June of 1991. That streak moved him
12:21
the first place in the American League, and they
12:23
stayed there for the rest of the season. Well,
12:27
only a genius would have to be having a list.
12:29
Do you remember how that streak actually went?
12:32
It was a combination of road and home wins. I
12:37
had to look it up, but see if this just rings
12:39
a bell. It started with they won two games at
12:43
Kansas City on the road. Then they came home
12:46
and they won 10 straight. I know Baltimore was.
12:49
Yep, they swept Baltimore and there were two
12:52
other teams. It counted up for 10 wins. It was
12:55
three against Baltimore, four wins over Cleveland,
12:58
and then three over the Yankees. And then they
13:03
won three more on the road to Cleveland before
13:05
they finally lost at Baltimore. It was a 10 inning
13:08
game, six to five, but 15. That's still a record.
13:10
That's still their longest winning streak. Even
13:12
this past season, they won 13, but they didn't
13:14
catch that. And they'd been pretty mediocre before
13:18
that streak. I think they started out maybe 8,
13:21
10 games below 500 into May. And then the streak
13:28
kicked in probably early June. Yep. Yep. Yeah.
13:31
Well, for the month of June, this was interesting.
13:33
They went 22 and 6. They were 12 and 4 at home
13:36
and 10 and 2 on the road. That's a winning percentage
13:39
of 786. Just during the regular season, John,
13:42
can you think of a highlight? of that season,
13:44
a particular game, for example, that sticks out
13:46
most for you. Do you have any memories, Matt?
13:48
It's OK if you don't, but I've got one that my
13:51
brother helped me remember. Yeah. Well, personally,
13:57
I was at that in that era, I would make a trip
13:59
to Milwaukee every year and I drove and it was
14:06
a lot like the Met Stadium. They had a parking
14:08
lot right outside the building. You drove up
14:11
to the ticket office. when they weren't playing,
14:15
when the parking lot was empty. And me and my
14:19
dad, who was a baseball fan, drove up to try
14:24
to buy tickets for the day. And this was in July,
14:27
I think. As we got out of the car, here came
14:31
the twins' team bus. First off the bus is Tom
14:35
Kelly. And right away, hey, Tom, how's it going?
14:38
And all the players file off and whatnot. Tom
14:42
Kelly comes over and says hi to us. Oh, wow.
14:46
And that made made my day. It made my dad's day.
14:50
Oh, absolutely. This all happened about 10 yards
14:54
from the ticket office window, which was empty
14:56
other than other than the the clerk. Yeah. Me
15:00
being opportunistic. As soon as the twins left,
15:02
I walked over to the window and said to the lady,
15:05
Mr. Kelly said, you have a special ticket for
15:08
us. And and we got front row tickets right behind
15:14
home plate. Oh, Scott Erickson was pitching and
15:18
It's one thing to watch him on TV TV, but from
15:21
the viewpoint I had You could see the movement
15:25
on his pitches You could see it cross the plate
15:28
and never cross the middle of the plate. It would
15:31
always cross either the front corner either either
15:35
corner of the front of the plate and by the time
15:37
it got halfway deep into the plate it was off
15:40
the plate so um you know really more remarkable
15:44
memorable experience fun time oh yeah that's
15:47
great yeah that was a good day and ericson he
15:50
said that's that's that's control if you pictures
15:52
like that nothing's over the middle right well
15:55
and and you know he's throwing a slider 93 miles
15:58
an hour which at the time most Pitchers didn't
16:01
throw a 93 mile an hour fastball I've got a memory
16:05
that it's fun. I didn't even go to this game
16:07
It was an afternoon game and I had come home
16:10
from work and I think I was out in the yard I
16:12
don't get ready to mow or something like that
16:14
in and my brother pulls up in his car He had
16:17
just come from the game. It was the last of an
16:19
11 game homestand at the Metricome They played
16:22
Seattle. Okay, and they were losing that game
16:24
four to one in the bottom of the ninth inning
16:27
and there was one out I had to research this
16:31
to get this right, but I just remember the outcome
16:33
was amazing. They had one out Al Newman, he drew
16:37
a walk, so there's one out, one on. Chuck Knobloch,
16:41
single to center field, which meant the tying
16:43
run was at the plate. I guess it's four to one.
16:45
So with runners at first and second, one out,
16:47
up to the plate step, Randy Bush. He tied the
16:50
game with a ninth inning homer, made it four
16:53
to four. Then with two outs in the bottom of
16:55
the 10th inning, Scott Elias came up. He had
16:58
a solo home run and that gave the twins a 5 -4
17:00
win. I gave them a 74 -49 record and a five and
17:04
a half game lead over second place White Sox
17:06
at the time. But I remember when my brother was
17:09
talking, I said, you know, there's something
17:10
special about this team. They'd had a 15 game
17:12
winning streak and they were playing good ball.
17:14
And I thought this might be a special season.
17:16
I really hope it is. And it was. It was. They
17:19
went on to win the American League West. And
17:22
as you'll recall, John, back then there was only
17:23
East and West divisions. There was no Central.
17:26
But they won that. They finished with a record
17:28
of 95 wins and 67 losses, eight full games ahead
17:32
of the second place White Sox. And that meant
17:35
the 91 Twins were going to the postseason for
17:37
the first time in four seasons. Right. directly
17:41
to the American league championship series, the
17:44
ALCS, they didn't have multiple rounds. ALCS
17:48
and then World Series at the time. You know,
17:52
speaking of the standings there, that Western
17:55
division, there were no teams in that division
17:58
below 500. The worst team finished 17 games out,
18:04
the second place team finished eight out and
18:06
the worst team finished 17 games out at With
18:10
an exactly 8181 record that was American Lee
18:13
West. Yeah, and and actually there were only
18:17
two or three Ale East teams that finished below
18:21
500 and they really finished below 500 Yankees
18:24
were one of them actually Wow, Cleveland Indians
18:27
had the worst record they were they were terrible
18:31
at the time Wow, but but it's really funny Cleveland
18:35
they only won 59 games, but 12 of them were against
18:39
AL East power Toronto there were 12 and one against
18:43
Toronto and 47 and you know, whatever against
18:47
the rest of the league Well speaking of Toronto
18:53
that was the team the twins played in the ALCS,
18:56
right? They'd won the division in the East by
18:58
seven games over the Red Sox and the Detroit
19:00
Tigers And what I forgot though John was the
19:03
twins and Blue Jays had played their final regular
19:06
season series against each other at the Metrodome
19:08
After both teams had clinched their respective
19:10
divisions and they were actually resting their
19:12
starters. Yeah, it was the B teams Yep, the Blue
19:14
Jays had won two of those last three games And
19:17
while the consensus among baseball writers and
19:20
analysts at that time, uh, was that the twins
19:22
seemed to have a slightly stronger team. The
19:25
Blue Jays have actually won the season series
19:26
between the twins and days eight to four. So
19:29
I thought, Oh, okay. What, what were your thoughts
19:32
about them playing Toronto? I was kind of, I
19:35
was kind of scared. Yeah. Well, I was very scared
19:39
of Detroit when the twins beat them in five games
19:42
in 87. So at that point I knew. Anything was
19:46
possible again. They were playing really good
19:50
baseball. So You were optimistic then yeah, I
19:54
would say I would was you know Not necessarily
19:57
expecting a win or a handy win or anything like
20:00
that But I figured they had at least a 50 -50
20:02
shot of winning it Okay, let's look at each game
20:07
of the American League Championship Series between
20:09
the twins and the Blue Jays Game one It was a
20:13
Tuesday evening, October 8th, 1991 at the Metrodome.
20:18
Jack Morris started on the mound for the Twins.
20:20
Tom Candiotti for the Blue Jays. Knuckleballer.
20:24
Yep. The Twins won five to four. Now, were you
20:26
at any of the games in the postseason? No, not
20:30
in 91. I was in college. Okay. In Mankato. Okay.
20:34
There just wasn't time to get there. Okay. Well,
20:39
to recap, Chilly Davis, the Twins D .H., jump
20:43
-started the Twins in the bottom of the first
20:44
inning with two out, two on. He singled to left
20:47
field to score two runs. They added two more
20:49
runs in the second inning and another in the
20:52
third to make it five to nothing. Toronto's Candiotti,
20:55
the knuckleball he said, didn't even make it
20:58
out of third inning after giving up five runs
21:00
and eight hits. It wasn't all smooth sailing
21:03
for the Twins in game one. Morris had been cruising,
21:07
but then came the top of the sixth inning. With
21:09
one out and a runner on first, Toronto second
21:12
baseman Roberto Alomar hit a pop -up that the
21:16
Twins fielders couldn't find in the Metrodome's
21:18
Teflon roof. That was only supposed to happen
21:21
to the visiting teams who played in the Metrodome,
21:24
right? Anyway, that pop -up from Alomar fell
21:28
in for a single and three more hits followed.
21:31
Suddenly the score was 5 -4 and the game had
21:34
turned into a nail -biter. But, fortunately for
21:37
the Twins, they put in reliever Carl Willis.
21:40
Remember Carl Willis' nickname? Big train. Big
21:42
train, yep. He faced seven batters and retired
21:45
them all. Morris still got the win and then closer
21:48
Rick Aguilera got the save to give the Twins
21:51
the one -run victory in a 1 -0 lead in the series.
21:56
On to Game 2. It was played on a Wednesday afternoon,
21:59
October 9th, 1991 at the Metrodome. Kevin Tappany
22:03
started on the mound for the Twins. Juan Guzman
22:06
for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays won this one
22:09
5 -2 to even the series at a game apiece. And
22:12
the big play of Game 2 came in the top of the
22:14
third inning. Toronto had scored a run in the
22:16
first inning to lead 1 -0. But in the third inning,
22:20
with two outs and runners as second and third,
22:22
Toronto third baseman Kelly Gruber. He hit a
22:26
broken bat single that brought home those two
22:28
baserunners and gave the Blue Jays a 3 -0 lead.
22:31
The Twins answered with a run in the bottom of
22:33
the third inning on a 2 -out single by Kirby
22:36
Pocket, which scored Chuck Knobloch to make 3
22:38
-1. The Twins cut the lead to 3 -2 in the bottom
22:41
of the sixth when catcher Brian Harper hit a
22:44
2 -out single to bring home Knobloch. Actually,
22:47
Knobloch scored both the runs in that game, it
22:48
turns out. But that was it for the Twins. The
22:51
Blue Jays added two more runs in the top of the
22:53
seventh to make it five to two, which turned
22:55
out to be the final score. Tappany, he took the
22:59
loss. He went six in the third innings, gave
23:01
up four runs on eight hits. The Twins had just
23:04
five hits in game two, including two singles
23:06
by Knobloch. And the probably the most worrying
23:10
thing about that game was that Ken Herbeck Chilly
23:14
Davis and Shane Mack went 0 for 10 in that game.
23:17
Not one of them got a hit, so... And John, here's
23:19
a quirky factoid for you regarding game two of
23:22
this series. Now, do you remember watching that
23:23
game? It was an afternoon game, which they seldom
23:25
do anymore. Well, maybe they do in the... They
23:28
never do in the World Series anymore, but it
23:30
was an afternoon game. No, don't worry. Even
23:30
the ALCS. Yeah. But there was... It was a kind
23:33
of quirky thing. In the top of the third inning...
23:36
The Blue Jays, Roberto Alomar, he slid into first
23:39
base for an infield single. I mean, most guys
23:42
don't slide, it must have been a real close place.
23:43
So he slid in third base, then he slid into second
23:47
for a stolen base, and then he slid home to score
23:50
a run. All head -first slides. So imagine that
23:53
jersey must have been pretty dirty by the end
23:55
of the game. Three head -first slides all in
23:58
the same inning, so. Well, I don't know about
24:01
you, John, but the game two loss, even though
24:03
I wasn't able to see it, it's an entirety because
24:05
of an afternoon game. That one kind of worried
24:07
me because the twins had won all of their home
24:09
playoff games in 87, both the ALCS and the World
24:13
Series. And if that, oh, they're, they're not
24:15
invincible at home. Were you concerned at all
24:18
as they were, as they were about to go on the
24:20
road in Toronto or were you still pretty confident?
24:23
Certainly they, it looked like a good. Even match
24:27
up with with Toronto. So yeah, I wasn't like
24:30
pessimistic. Let's put it that way. Yeah Okay
24:35
game three Friday evening October 11th 1991 at
24:39
Sky Dome in Toronto Scott Erickson started on
24:42
the mound for the twins Jimmy Key for the Blue
24:45
Jays It's funny researching this these names
24:48
are coming back to me now decades the Blue Jays
24:51
still play their home games at the same stadium,
24:53
but You remember what they call it today? The
24:56
recent world series. They don't call it sky dome
24:58
anymore. They got an official name for it. I'll
25:01
explain why in a second. Roger center is very
25:04
good. Yep. And they spell it C E N T R E. It's
25:09
had that name since 2005 because Rogers communications
25:13
is the parent company of the Blue Jays. So they're
25:15
going to name the stadium after their, their
25:17
owners. So anyway, game three was a thriller.
25:20
The Twins bounced back from a game 2 loss at
25:23
home to beat the Blue Jays 3 -2 in 10 innings.
25:26
The big play of the game came in the top of the
25:28
10th inning when Twins pinch hitter Mike Pagliarulo
25:31
crushed a fastball over the right field fence
25:34
catapulting the Twins to victory and a 2 -1 lead
25:37
in the series. Okay John, here's a genius level
25:41
baseball question for you. Who was the Toronto
25:43
pitcher that gave up that home run to Pags? Hmm
25:47
you guess this one you got to go in jeopardy.
25:49
I mean, it's just I'll go with Dave Steve Good
25:54
guess good guess he was a starter, but I thought
25:56
maybe I throw him in an extra. The picture was
25:59
Mike Timlin Oh, yeah, does the name ring a bell?
26:02
Yeah, okay. He actually he was a rookie that
26:04
year But he would go on to pitch for 18 seasons
26:08
and he played on four World Series champions
26:10
Okay, two with the Blue Jays and then two with
26:13
the Red Sox Okay, but I mentioned that only because
26:15
the fact that he had a pretty successful baseball
26:17
career But he's the one that gave up that homer
26:19
into pegs the twin starter in game three Scott
26:22
Erickson wasn't exactly great in the four innings
26:24
He pitched he gave up two runs on three hits
26:27
and he also walked five batters But fortunately
26:30
though, the Twins relievers, David West, Big
26:33
Train, Carl Willis, Mark Guthrie, and Aguilera
26:37
were great. They held the Blue Jays scoreless
26:40
over six innings. Now, before Peg's game -winning
26:43
homer in the top of the 10th inning, the other
26:45
big hit for the Twins in game three came in the
26:47
top of the sixth inning. While they were trailing
26:49
two to one, Chuck Knobloch hit a one -out triple,
26:52
and Kirby Puckett followed with a single to short
26:54
right field to score Knobloch. which tied the
26:57
score at two. And it remained two to two through
26:59
the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. And here
27:02
are two fun facts about game three, John. In
27:04
1991, Pegs' game -winning homer was only the
27:08
fourth extra inning homer in 23 years of the
27:11
playoffs at that point. And it was also the Twins'
27:14
first home run of the series. You know, all those
27:16
games that nobody hit a home run until Pegs did,
27:20
so. On to game four. Saturday evening, October
27:24
12th, 1991 at Sky Dome. Jack Morris started on
27:28
the mound for the twins. Todd Stottlemeyer. Was
27:32
his dad Mel Stottlemeyer? Yes. Okay. Okay. He
27:35
pitched for the Blue Jays and I love this game
27:37
or at least the way it turned out. The twins
27:39
were actually trailing one to nothing after three
27:41
innings, but then they rallied for four runs
27:43
in the top of the fourth and added five more
27:46
runs over the last four innings to win convincingly
27:48
nine to three. I was feeling really good about
27:51
that game after that happened. And big plays
27:53
in that game. In the fourth inning, Kirby Puckett
27:55
led off with a homer to deep center field. Chilly
27:58
Davis hit a one out double down right field line,
28:01
later scored on a two out single to center field
28:03
by Mike Pagliarulo. But the twins weren't done.
28:06
With two outs and the bases loaded, Dan Gladden
28:09
hit a broken bad bloop single to right field
28:11
that scored two more runs and put the twins up
28:14
four to one. Four runs and four hits. Then Morris
28:17
on the mound he went eight innings through 110
28:20
pitches scattered nine hits and gave up two runs
28:23
to go to know in the series Okay, here's another
28:26
good question for you. We haven't mentioned his
28:29
name yet So if you know this one, I'll be impressed,
28:31
you know They had that big lead nine to two lead
28:33
after eight innings and then the bottom of the
28:36
ninth who came in to pitch for Morris Do you
28:38
remember what the reliever was remember this
28:40
wasn't a safe situation? Yeah, it's not gonna
28:42
be at Eulera. No I'll just throw out a name,
28:47
Ken Schramm. Oh, okay. I'm impressed that you're
28:50
throwing out these names. His name is Steve Bedrosian.
28:53
Oh, Bedrock. Yeah, yeah. Who later became a really
28:56
good relief pitcher. Yeah, yeah. He must have
28:59
been almost like a rookie or pretty young in
29:01
baseball at that time. Yeah, he had been one
29:04
other. With one other team, I think, before.
29:06
Yeah, Bedrosian, he gave up a run on two hits,
29:09
but he also struck out two, and the Twins went
29:11
on to win and took a 3 -1 lead in the series.
29:14
And for the second time in his many nights, Pags
29:17
really stepped up. Yeah. In game four, he racked
29:20
up two RBI. Plus, and I'd forgotten about this,
29:23
Pags made a beautiful play with his glove at
29:25
third base in the bottom of the fifth inning.
29:27
He made this diving backhanded stab of a sinking
29:31
potential double off the bat of Roberto Alomar.
29:34
I've mentioned Roberto Alomar's name a lot. He
29:36
was a Pepperpot. I mean, second baseman. Good
29:39
ball player, though. He was very good. So were
29:41
you feeling pretty good after that 9 -3 win?
29:43
Yeah, for sure. Two games in a row. I said, let's
29:45
just get this over with tomorrow. Let's just
29:47
end it, so. OK, game five. Sunday afternoon.
29:52
Another afternoon game. October 13th, 1991. Again,
29:56
at Sky Dome. Kevin Tappany started on the mound
29:58
for the Twins. Tom Candiotti for the Blue Jays.
30:02
The twins won 8 -5 to win the American League
30:04
Championship Series four games to one. And one
30:11
of the bright spots in that fifth and final game
30:13
of the ALCS came off Ken Herbeck's, what they
30:16
were calling, a sleeping bat. He hadn't been
30:18
hitting all that well. He woke up in the top
30:20
of the eighth inning. He hit this two -out single
30:22
to left center field that drove in the final
30:24
two runs to secure the victory. And another bright
30:27
spot with Chuck Knobach's two run double in the
30:30
sixth that pushed the twins to a come from behind
30:32
five to five tie. And just before Herbeck's two
30:35
run single in the eighth inning, Kirby Puckett
30:37
had put the twins ahead six to five with the
30:39
single to right field. Kevin Tappany starting
30:42
on the mound for the twins went four innings
30:44
and gave up all five of the Blue Jays runs. But
30:47
relievers David West, who threw three innings
30:49
and actually got the win. Big train Willis. and
30:53
Rick Aguilera combined to keep the Blue Jays
30:55
scoreless the rest of the way. And then it was
30:57
a little bit of drama, and this this might be
30:59
obscure now because it's been 30 some years ago,
31:01
but in the bottom of the ninth inning, game five,
31:04
the game clinching win, Dan Gladden playing left
31:07
field, he squeezed a long fly ball off the bat
31:11
of Roberto Alomar to wrap up the series. He made
31:14
a really nice catch. That was like the last play
31:15
of the game. And then of course, after he did
31:17
that, then the twins celebrated like crazy on
31:20
the field because they had won it and they were
31:22
they won the pennant and they were going back
31:23
to the back to the World Series. And can you
31:26
guess who was the ALCS MVP? I mean, it could
31:31
have been Pegs. Could have been Jack Morris.
31:36
I'll say Pegs. OK, that's a good guess, because
31:39
he he really came through. I mean, that was probably
31:42
his best series as a major leaguer. But actually,
31:45
this guy. He went three for five, including a
31:48
lead -off homer in the first inning, had two
31:50
singles and two RBIs, and he hit 429 for the
31:55
series. This included two home runs and five
31:58
RBI for the ALCS. He played center field for
32:02
the twins. Ah, yeah, Mr. Parker. Yep, Kirby got
32:05
the MVP for that, so. And Kirby was just getting
32:07
warmed up because then came the World Series,
32:11
so. Here's an interesting fact about that ALCS,
32:14
John. Did you know that when the Twins beat the
32:16
Blue Jays in game five to win the ALCS, they
32:19
were also the first and still the only playoff
32:21
team to ever win three games on the road in a
32:25
league championship series? Well, yeah, I didn't
32:28
know that. That was impressive. It's fun looking
32:31
through these archives. You see these things
32:33
like, wow, okay. And John, before we get to the
32:37
1991 World Series, Do you know how home field
32:40
advantage for the series is determined or how
32:42
it was determined at that time in 91? Uh, it
32:46
was just a rotation. So the, every division took
32:51
turns as being the, you know, it went league
32:53
to league and yeah, it was, yeah. So it was the
32:58
American league's turn to be the home team. It
32:59
was, it was literally odd years and even years.
33:02
The American league would host in odd years.
33:04
which was both 87 and 91 were odd years, so Twins
33:07
got to have home field then. Had nothing to do
33:09
with the record. It was just strictly, that was
33:12
until 2002. And then from 2003 to 2016, do you
33:17
remember how they determined home field? That
33:19
would have been record. Or was it the all -star
33:22
game thing? One of the, it was crazy because,
33:26
well what happened was, I think, the reason they
33:28
remember I think there was a tie all -star game
33:30
they ran out of players yeah and they said you
33:33
have to have that all -star game means something
33:35
right so they said okay the whoever wins the
33:37
all -star game yeah we'll get the world series
33:39
well that still didn't seem to work people were
33:41
complaining because it's an all -star game right
33:43
right yeah The leagues would only, their best
33:47
players would only play a couple innings. Yeah.
33:50
Yeah. So we can't determine home field advantage
33:52
over an all -star game. So what they finally
33:54
did, and that was until 2016. They were doing
33:57
that for that was like 14 seasons. But then in
34:00
2017, then they just said, okay, the team with
34:03
the best record. Well, it makes sense. They do
34:06
that in the NFL. They do it in the NBA. Whoever
34:08
has the best record is going to get home field
34:10
advantage for, you know, playoffs. And that's
34:14
the way it's been. Okay, and now let's look at
34:18
each game of the 1991 World Series between the
34:21
Twins and the Atlanta Braves. And because it
34:24
was 91, the Twins had home field advantage. This
34:27
was the 88th edition of the World Series. It
34:29
was also one of the most unlikely World Series
34:31
matchups ever because both the Twins and Braves
34:35
became the first two teams in Major League Baseball
34:37
history to go from last place to first place
34:40
in the space of one season. Let's go to game
34:44
one. It was a Saturday evening, October 19th,
34:47
1991 at the Metrodome. Jack Morris started on
34:51
the mound for the twins, Charlie Lebran for the
34:54
Braves. In game one, the twins cruised behind
34:57
Morris and won the game 5 -2. At the plate, Chuck
35:01
Knobloch opened the scoring in the bottom of
35:03
the third inning with a two -out single. But
35:05
the key hit was Greg Gagne's three -run homer
35:08
off Lebran in the bottom of the fifth inning.
35:11
Ken Herbeck also homered a solo shot. the bottom
35:13
of the sixth. What were your thoughts after game
35:17
one over the over the Braves? What did you think?
35:20
I was hoping they'd pitch Charlie Lebrant against
35:23
the twins in every game. They had good pitching
35:28
and that wouldn't have been my choice as the
35:30
first game starter. Yeah Yeah, I I was I was
35:34
glad to see him get off to a good start Yeah,
35:36
you know, oh for sure get that home, you know
35:37
get that home win like that get things up We
35:40
branded pitched in the World Series for Kansas
35:42
City. He were happy and 85 Um, but I don't know
35:47
if he went, but he wasn't not a young guy. So
35:50
no, no, right, right. Maybe that was the thought.
35:53
Yeah. He had World Series experience. That's
35:55
right. That's what you said. And I completely
35:57
forgot about this and this was a ceremonial thing
35:59
and maybe you weren't even watching it on TV
36:00
when it happened, but do you remember who threw
36:02
out the first pitch of game one? It was pretty
36:04
emotional. Oh, um, yes, uh, the umpire Steve
36:09
Palermo. Very good. Yep. Yep. Who had gotten
36:11
shot. Yes. He had suffered a spinal injury that
36:15
July in Dallas. He was actually, um, trying to
36:17
stop a robbery. Right. Right. He got shot. And
36:19
so obviously he was done umping, but he came
36:22
out there on crutches and threw out the pitch
36:25
and then all the umpires hugged him afterwards.
36:27
I mean that was a shame because that guy was
36:29
a really good umpire too. I'd put him up there
36:31
with Tim Cheetah's two of the better umpires
36:34
that the league has ever seen. Yeah, he tried
36:36
to help somebody and he got shot for it. Exactly.
36:38
Yeah, but that was quite an emotional first pitch
36:42
of that game. No doubt. Okay, on to game two.
36:47
That was a Sunday, October 20th, 1991 at the
36:50
Metrodome. Kevin Tappany started in the mound
36:53
for the Twins. Tom Glavin for the Braves. Oh
36:55
yeah. Okay, well game two was closer, but again
36:58
the twins prevailed and won 3 -2. Chilly Davis
37:02
smacked a two -run homer in the bottom of the
37:04
first inning, and then Scottie Lais broke a 2
37:07
-2 deadlock with a solo shot in the bottom of
37:09
the eighth. And then good old Rick Aguilera.
37:11
gained his second save in as many nights. Tappany
37:15
got the win. He won eight innings and scattered
37:17
seven hits. Gave up both of the Braves two runs.
37:21
But okay, this is game two. This is a fun one.
37:23
I look back on this. It brought back a memory.
37:25
If there was one play in that game that stands
37:27
out the most to you, what was it? No, it would
37:29
have been Herbeck throwing the guy off the base.
37:33
Yes. Do you remember who the player was? Was
37:37
it Pendleton? Oh, it was Ron Gant. Ron Gant.
37:41
That's right. That's right. Let me set this up
37:43
for you. It'll bring back. It was the top of
37:45
the third inning. There were two outs. The Braves'
37:47
Lonnie Smith was on first when Ron Gant ripped
37:50
a single to left. Smith, he was running on the
37:53
pitch. He had slid in third base. Dan Gladden
37:56
in left field. He made a throw to third, but
37:59
it ricocheted off Scott Elias. Tappany, being
38:02
the good pitcher he was, was backing up Leia.
38:04
So he got the ball. He retrieved the ball. Gantt
38:07
had made a wide turn at first base. And Tappany
38:10
threw it back to first. Herbeck caught it. And
38:13
just about the time that he caught it, Gantt
38:16
got back to first and he was... He used his right
38:19
foot, so he's kind of leaning toward the outfield
38:21
and he's got his foot on the bag. But then Herbeck,
38:23
who was about 70 pounds heavier than Gant, used
38:26
his left arm, his glove hand, to kind of pick
38:29
up Gant's leg. He leaned in to Gant and picked
38:32
up his leg. And so his foot was off the bag and
38:35
he's got the ball. Right. Do you remember who
38:37
the umpire was? No. Well, he called him out.
38:43
He said that Gantt had, his momentum caused him
38:46
to lose contact. And it kind of did. I mean,
38:48
he wasn't, he was going in standing up. Right.
38:52
Which was a big mistake. Yeah. And so, yeah,
38:56
he had momentum to go past the bass. Right, right.
39:02
And, you know, Hurbeck put his glove on him in
39:05
a very firm manner. And they said he was much
39:08
bigger than Gainer Jr. Weighed him by about 70
39:10
pounds. The Empire's name was Drew Cobel. Drew
39:14
Cobel, that's right. I think he got some hate
39:16
mail after that. I'm sure. Well, yeah, I mean,
39:20
right. Well, anyway, after that... They suddenly
39:25
had a two game lead in the series. I thought,
39:27
okay, this is great. And I said to myself, okay,
39:29
this time when you go on the road, win at least
39:31
one game. Don't get swept in the road. I mean,
39:33
we can't keep tempting fate like this, but they
39:37
still had to go down and play the game. So were
39:39
you feeling pretty good though? I mean, I'd rather
39:41
be up two nothing than down two nothing. All
39:44
right, on to game three. That was on a Tuesday
39:49
evening, October 22nd, 1991, at Atlanta Fulton
39:53
County Stadium. I wonder if that stadium is still
39:55
there. Probably tore down the shopping center
39:58
there. Probably. Scott Erickson started on the
40:02
mound for the Twins. Steve Avery for the Braves.
40:05
It's fun hearing these names again. It began
40:08
on a promising note for the Twins. Dan Gladden
40:11
led off the game with a triple and later scored
40:13
on a sacrifice fly by Chuck Knobloch. But the
40:16
Braves scored four unanswered runs and led 4
40:19
-1 after six innings. The twins battled back
40:22
though and tied the game in the top of the eighth
40:25
inning. Chilly Davis, the usual D .H., who is
40:29
relegated to pinch -hitting duty because of National
40:31
League rules, he had a two -run homer to not
40:34
to score at 4 -4. In the top of the 12th inning,
40:38
with the score still 4 -4, Brave second baseman
40:41
Mark Lemke, remember that? Mark Lemke, oh, that
40:44
pesky guy. He had botched a tailor -made double
40:47
play in the top of the 12th inning. They put
40:49
runners at first and third with one out, but
40:51
unfortunately the twins couldn't score. So it's
40:54
still four to four. And then literally minutes
40:57
later, that same pesky Lemke singled off Aguilera,
41:01
Ric Aguilera in the bottom of the 12th. to score
41:03
David Justice, which gave the Braves a five to
41:06
four victory. So that was a tough loss. I do
41:11
think now that you mentioned the National League
41:13
rules, I do think that lent itself to the twins
41:17
having an advantage at home and the National
41:20
League team, be it the Cardinals, be it the Braves.
41:24
Because they were built more for that National
41:26
League style and there was a big difference back
41:29
then. Yeah, it was. The Twins went through seven
41:32
pitchers in that game. Erickson pitched four
41:34
and two -thirds. David West walked both batters
41:37
he faced in the bottom of the fifth inning. Terry
41:40
Leach, we haven't mentioned him yet. He pitched
41:42
a third of an inning. He came over in that trade.
41:44
Oh, okay. He was from the Mets. Steve Bedrosian,
41:50
Big Train Willis, Mark Guthrie. They each threw
41:54
two innings. And because the game went into extra
41:57
innings, lots of substitutes were made. And in
42:00
1991, of course, World Series games played in
42:03
the National League parks did not allow the use
42:05
of DH. The Twins closer actually pinch hit in
42:09
the 12th inning. Do you remember? Do you remember
42:12
that? I do remember that because it's like he's
42:15
not supposed to bat. Yeah, they ran out of position
42:18
players. But you know what? He actually hit a
42:20
fly ball. I mean, he didn't just say three. lame
42:24
swing, he actually hit a fly ball. Right, and
42:26
he had been a starter, so he probably had a lot
42:29
of, you know, at bats in the National League
42:32
over the first part of his career. And at least
42:37
until the 90s and 2000s, every guy that played
42:40
Major League Baseball knew how to bat. Even the
42:43
pitchers, they all know how to swing a bat. And
42:45
it's funny, every twin on that roster every twin
42:49
in that dugout played except for two guys jack
42:51
morris and kevin tapney right every other previous
42:53
starters every other guy on the roster got in
42:55
that game somehow so yeah okay on to game four
43:01
that was a wednesday evening october 23rd 1991
43:04
at atlanta falton county stadium jack morris
43:08
was back in the mound for the twins and john
43:11
smoltz for the braves okay another nail biter
43:14
a preview of things to come exactly yeah But
43:17
Atlanta evened the series with a dramatic 3 -2
43:20
victory. And this is how this one went. The twins'
43:24
two runs came off the bat of Mike Pagliarulo,
43:27
Pags. His one -out single in the top of the second
43:29
inning scored Brian Harper from second base.
43:33
Atlanta tied it at 1 -1 on a homer by Terry Pendleton
43:36
in the bottom of the third inning. Pags then
43:40
hit a solo homer in the top of the seventh that
43:42
put the twins up 2 -1. But that lead was short
43:45
-lived. Lonnie Smith tied the game in the bottom
43:48
of the seventh with his solo homer. In the bottom
43:51
of the ninth inning, with runners at first and
43:53
third, pinch hitter Jerry Willard's sacrifice
43:56
fly barely scored Mark Lemke with the winning
43:59
run when Lemke eluded catcher Brian Harper's
44:02
tag with a fadeaway slide. Yeah, that was a great
44:05
that was a great shot or great play. So what
44:08
were your thoughts after that game? It suddenly
44:09
tied two to two. It's like, oh man. Here we go
44:12
again. Same old thing as 87. Can't do it the
44:15
easy way. So I thought, okay, maybe game five
44:19
will be the difference. We'll see. On to game
44:23
five. Thursday, October 24th, 1991. Again, at
44:27
Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The third and
44:30
last game of the series to be played in Atlanta.
44:33
Kevin Tappany started on the mound for the twins.
44:36
Tom Clavin for the Braves. But game five was
44:39
no contest, really. The first three innings were
44:41
scoreless, but then the Braves hammered five
44:44
twins pitchers for 14 runs on their way to a
44:47
14 -5 rout and a 3 -2 edge in the series. This
44:51
was really the only lopsided game of that series.
44:54
And in that game five loss, the Washington slash
44:58
Minnesota franchise had lost 14 straight World
45:02
Series road games, dating back to 1925. And that's
45:06
a streak that remains active in the Twins. It's
45:10
still 14 straight. But that was really the only
45:15
blow -up game of the series. What were you thinking
45:18
after that game? Well, all the other games were
45:22
close and a lot of extra inning games, a lot
45:27
of nail biters. And we had experienced what happened
45:32
in 87, where the twins also were down 32. We're
45:36
going back home. I don't know. I wasn't depressed
45:40
or anything, but you know, I was certainly anxious.
45:44
Yeah. Yeah. I was the same way. In fact, I was,
45:46
I was almost pessimistic. I remember going to
45:49
work that Friday morning telling people, Oh,
45:51
they're done. There's no way they're going to
45:52
be able to do this again. You know, it was hard
45:54
enough in 87. I just, it's just too much. Okay,
45:59
on to Game 6. Saturday night, October 26, 1991,
46:04
at the Metrodome, back to the good old Metrodome,
46:06
Scott Erickson started on the mound for the Twins
46:08
and Steve Avery for the Braves. With the score
46:11
tied 3 -3, Kirby Puckett led off the bottom of
46:15
the 11th inning and walloped Charlie Lee Brant's
46:17
4th pitch over the left field fence to give the
46:20
Twins a 4 -3 win and extend the series to 7 games.
46:24
Right. That was the famous conversation where
46:27
Kirby said to Chilly Davis in the Yundex Circle,
46:30
he's going to throw me a change up and I'm going
46:31
to hit it out in the ballpark and we're going
46:33
to leave. And then he did it. Yeah. Call this
46:37
shot. That was an amazing, amazing performance
46:39
by Puckett in that game. The Braves had scored
46:41
a run in the top of the seventh inning to tie
46:43
the game at three to three. It remained tied
46:46
until that 11th inning. Braves manager, Bobby
46:49
Cox. then sent his Game 1 starter, Charlie Lebrant,
46:54
in a highly unfamiliar role as a reliever late
46:57
in a next -to -name game and very late at night
47:00
to the mound of face pocket. Cox endured some
47:03
criticism for that move because the Braves still
47:05
had several relievers at their disposal. They
47:08
had a lefty and two right -handers, but the move
47:10
made sense on another level because, like you'd
47:13
mentioned before, John, Lebrant was the only
47:15
pitcher on their roster, left on their roster,
47:17
who had previous World Series experience. And
47:20
even though Lebrant had been subpar in his game
47:23
one start, The three hitters scheduled to bat
47:25
for the twins in the 11th had a combined 0 for
47:28
6 against Lee Brand in game one. In fact, Puckett
47:32
had struck out twice against Lee Brand in game
47:34
one. But in the bottom of the 11th inning, with
47:37
a count of two balls and one strike, Puckett
47:39
smashed the next pitch into left center field
47:41
for the game -winning home run to tie the series
47:44
at three games apiece. And for all of us... And
47:46
we'll see you tomorrow night. What did Jack or
47:49
Jack Buck say at the end of the game? Yeah, we'll
47:51
see you tomorrow night. that was yeah that was
47:54
great that's the line right any twins fan will
47:56
remember you know saw that game so in fact john
48:00
this game had to be one of the brightest moments
48:02
in Kirby Pockets career um you know he had some
48:05
six hit games and he's in hall of fame that game
48:07
six of the 91 world series had to be one of his
48:10
most memorable with the great catch too yeah
48:13
i'm just going to say he made that catch in the
48:16
top of the third inning remember who the batter
48:18
was Oh, I don't know. I'm gonna guess Justice.
48:21
It was Ron Gantz again. Ron Gantz, okay. He had
48:23
to play with Herbeck at first and he's the one
48:25
that hit that ball and Puckett robbed him of
48:27
at least a double, maybe a triple, you know.
48:29
Right up against the plexiglass. Yep. Didn't
48:32
they take down that plexiglass? I thought so
48:34
toward the end. They did for Joe Mauer to hit
48:37
all those moments. Yeah, right. Barely over the
48:40
fence. He would he would have had a higher batting
48:44
average maybe but far less home runs Yeah, if
48:48
that glass was still there, what do you how are
48:50
you feeling after game six then? I was feeling
48:52
a lot better than yeah was after game five. Yeah
48:55
Yeah, and yeah, you know Jack Morris coming back
48:59
and and yeah, I mean and what a game I mean,
49:02
holy cow that you know, very dramatic win Puckett,
49:07
you know the best he's ever been and and he's
49:10
was a good one. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, that was
49:13
that was great. Let's go on to game seven then
49:17
it was a Sunday night, October 27 1991 at the
49:21
Metrodome. This one was for all the marbles,
49:23
so to speak. Jack Morris started in the mound
49:26
for the twins, John Smoltz for the Braves, and
49:29
dramatic finale. The score was tied nothing to
49:32
nothing through nine innings before the twins
49:35
scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th
49:37
inning. To win the game, one to nothing, and
49:39
the World Series Championship, four games to
49:41
three. I'm going to list my, what I call, four
49:48
big plays in that game. There might be more,
49:50
but these are the ones that I discovered as I
49:53
was reminiscing. The first big play was in the
49:56
top of the fifth inning with two outs, full count.
50:00
Braves had runners at first and third. Morris
50:02
whizzed a fastball in the outside corner by Ron
50:05
Gant. Second big play. In the top of the eighth
50:08
inning, one out, Braves had the bases loaded.
50:11
Their first baseman, Sid Bream, he hit a ground
50:14
ball to Ken Herbeck, who shrew it home to Harper.
50:17
And Harper then threw it back to Herbeck. So
50:20
they got a double play and got out of that ending.
50:23
Otherwise they would have given up a run. The
50:25
third big play, it was in the bottom of the eighth
50:28
inning. Bases loaded, one out, then the irate
50:31
twins go. Herbeck's at the plate. Ducks on the
50:34
pond. Find a place, hit it. Unfortunately...
50:38
Herbeck hit a line drive, not a real hard line
50:40
drive, but it was a line drive, and it went to
50:43
second baseman Mark Lempke, that pesky Mark Lempke
50:45
again, who then stepped on second in the inning.
50:49
So it's still no score. And then the fourth and
50:51
best big play, bottom of the 10th inning. Dan
50:55
Gladden led off with a double, the center field,
50:57
and advanced the third on a bunt by Chuck Knobloch.
51:01
Kirby Pocket and Kent Herbeck. both received
51:03
intentional walks to load the bases. So with
51:06
the bases loaded and one out, both the Atlanta
51:09
infield and outfield were playing in just to
51:13
have a shorter throw and a better chance of throwing
51:15
out a runner at home if it went to the outfield.
51:18
Gene Larkin then hit a fly ball to center field
51:21
that no one could catch because they were playing
51:23
so short. Gladden easily scored from third. I
51:26
remember him kind of jumping on home plate when
51:28
you're out there everybody mobbing him and the
51:31
twins won the game seven of a world series for
51:34
the ages I mean that would have been a sacrifice
51:40
flight even if somebody was playing deep or he
51:42
hit it deep enough that that was going to get
51:44
the run in either way um but yeah that was that
51:47
was that was big special moment it was so gene
51:50
larkin i don't think we'd mentioned his name
51:52
once while we talked about the american league
51:54
championship series or the World Series for that
51:56
matter. He got the game winning hit, maybe an
51:59
unlikely hero of the years, but still a hero.
52:02
And I didn't hear any twins fans complaining
52:04
about him getting that hit afterwards. So Tom
52:09
Kelly loved Jean Larkin the switch hitter. He
52:12
was a good professional hitter. Yeah. And, and,
52:16
you know, Kelly loved using him late in laden
52:19
games in the right spot. And hey, what better,
52:24
what better spot? Oh, that was just amazing.
52:27
Just amazing. I remember that game, too. It was
52:28
an extra inning game. It started like at 740
52:31
Central Time. It was almost 11 o 'clock before
52:34
the game ended. And I remember I was watching
52:36
it in my home. Uh, and my daughter was only three
52:39
years old at the time and she was sound asleep
52:41
and I'm in the living room watching this game
52:43
and I couldn't yell at all because, you know,
52:45
I didn't want to wake her up. Uh, but I remember
52:47
when Larkin got that hit and they scored the
52:49
run. I remember I was whisper hollering jumping
52:54
up and down because it didn't want the thing.
52:56
So I remember, um, Going back to, I had, you
52:59
know, I went into work the next morning, even
53:01
though I was tired. I was going on about five
53:03
hours of sleep, but everybody was in just too
53:05
good a mood. You know, everybody was happy about
53:07
that. So, and what can you say about Jack Morris
53:09
in game seven? Pitched all 10 innings, three
53:13
days rest, gave up seven hits and no runs, struck
53:16
out eight. It was and still is the longest pitching
53:20
performance in the seventh game of the world
53:22
series. And while Kirby Pocket was outstanding
53:25
in game six, we were just talking about that,
53:28
Morris was awarded the World Series MVP for his
53:30
efforts. He won three of the four games for the
53:32
twins after all. Right. Right. And, you know,
53:34
with the game seven, you know, jack the horse,
53:38
you know, ride my back boys. That was legendary.
53:42
I think that. that game alone. I mean, he was
53:45
a good Major League pitcher, but I think that
53:47
game is really would put him in the Hall of Fame.
53:49
It should. I mean, yeah, just just amazing. Just
53:53
amazing. I've got something fun to show you,
53:57
John. I was looking at the Star Tribune archives
53:59
in the morning paper the day after the twins
54:01
had won the World Series, the headline on the
54:03
front page, not the sports page, but page one
54:06
of the Star Tribune. It was twin credible. One
54:10
for the storybooks. And look, John, what I've
54:13
got here, this is from the Pioneer Press. This
54:16
is the front page, not the sports page. Twice,
54:20
World Champs, Morris and Ceres, both are classics.
54:24
And there's a big picture of Morris on the front
54:26
page. And then in the sports section itself,
54:28
it just says, good night, St. Jack. And it's
54:31
got Morris becomes the world beater. So it's
54:35
fun. I'm glad I kept this. I thought I had the
54:39
Star Tribune, an actual copy of that, but I saw
54:41
it online. So that's why I read about it. But
54:43
pretty exciting stuff. And just like when they
54:46
won the World Series in 87, the twins had a parade
54:48
after winning the 91 series. Did you go to any
54:51
of the festivities for that one? I did not. Like
54:54
I said, I was away at college. And so I mean,
54:57
I did. I was home to watch the. Weekend games
55:01
right but then you know off to college for the
55:04
week and they did have a celebration in the dome
55:06
after that series and I remember both mayors
55:08
in Minneapolis and Paul was Coleman Norm Coleman
55:11
from st. Paul and then Don Fraser was there but
55:15
they were on the field with the team and everybody
55:17
was excited and all that was fun and that's all
55:20
great I mean the 91 series is wonderful and no
55:23
one can take that away from us But just for those
55:27
listeners who may have forgotten or would like
55:29
to forget or were too young to remember or weren't
55:31
even born in 91 What happened in the Twin Cities
55:34
just four days after the twins won the World
55:37
Series? It has to do with 27 inches Yep, the
55:42
1991 Halloween blizzard is how they called it
55:45
an extreme Record -shattering storm in the Twin
55:48
Cities considered one of the worst snow events
55:50
in Minnesota history Brought the region to a
55:52
standstill with a record setting they're saying
55:55
here 28 .4 inches, well 27, that's a lot of snow.
56:01
High winds, dangerous conditions that resulted
56:03
in significant damage and even some loss of life.
56:06
Now the 28 .4 inches, that was at the airport.
56:09
That's what they recorded there. On Halloween
56:11
night alone, 8 .2 inches fell. That's when it
56:14
started. I remember it was Halloween and there
56:17
were kids coming to our door for trick or treats.
56:19
And the snow was like, you know, I think it was
56:22
more eight inches. And these kids had their costumes
56:24
and the snow was up. to their knees, you know.
56:26
And I'm going, you poor kids. My daughter didn't
56:29
even go out for trick -or -treating. She was
56:30
wearing a Minnesota Gophers cheerleading outfit
56:33
for a three -year -old. And she was watching
56:35
people come out the doors, but we weren't even
56:36
going to go out that night. We just stayed there.
56:38
Good call. Yeah. But I mean, 900 schools and
56:42
several businesses in Minnesota were closed that
56:44
next day. In fact, Prudential was closed. That
56:46
was the only time I recall that I got a call
56:49
from my manager saying, you know, the office
56:52
is closed. I don't think we ever had another
56:54
closed day, the rest of the time I worked there
56:57
until 2003, it was just, it was nuts. It was
56:59
just a, and it's not even a week after that World
57:03
Series. What would happen if that had happened?
57:06
You know, they would probably had to find an
57:08
alternate locale, like go to Milwaukee or someplace
57:11
close by. Well, it's like when the Vikings had
57:14
that, when the metro collapsed, they had to play
57:16
some home games like at Detroit, I think. For
57:20
a couple of weeks and they played it up there.
57:22
Bank. Yes, right. Crazy, crazy. John, of all
57:29
the years you followed Major League Baseball,
57:31
do you think the 1991 World Series between the
57:33
Twins and Braves was one of the best ever? Oh,
57:36
yeah. As far as just competitive, dramatic, you
57:42
know, lots of extra innings and even the ones
57:45
that weren't extra innings you know a lot of
57:49
one -run type games yeah yeah I mean it was if
57:54
you were a neutral observer that had to be a
57:58
very entertaining World Series. And I'm asking
58:01
this question for the benefit of our listeners.
58:04
It was only a short time ago as we were recording
58:06
this that the Dodgers and Blue Jays had a dramatic
58:10
World Series. Very similar in a lot of ways.
58:13
Yeah, just very great baseball, great baseball.
58:16
No matter, even if you don't have a dog in the
58:19
fight, it's like, man, this is some great stuff.
58:22
But two more improbable teams. Right, two, worse
58:28
to first, right? And yeah, like teams that weren't
58:32
traditional. This wasn't the Yankees against
58:35
the Dodgers or storied franchises. This was two
58:39
teams that would become, well, the Twins had
58:43
become a good team over several years, and Atlanta
58:48
was becoming a good team. Right, yeah, they actually
58:52
won a lot of division championships, didn't they?
58:54
It was a good run. 12 out of the next 15 or something
58:58
like that. Yeah, they really went on a run. Sadly
59:03
for the Twins though, 1991 was the last time
59:06
the Twins played in the World Series. They played
59:08
in the American League Championship Series against
59:10
the Angels in 2002, but after winning the first
59:13
game of that series, the then Anaheim Angels
59:16
took the next four games to win the American
59:18
League pennant, and they also went on to beat
59:20
the Giants in the World Series in 2002. So, I
59:23
mean, it's not like the Twins have had just terrible
59:25
baseball since then. They've won six division
59:28
titles. between 2003 and 2019, but they lost
59:32
each time in the first round. In 2017, they lost
59:35
a wild card game to the Yankees, I remember.
59:38
They lost a wild card series to the Astros in
59:41
2020, two games to none. They did beat the Blue
59:45
Jays in the wild card series in 2023, just a
59:47
couple years ago, but then they lost the Astros
59:50
in the ALDS. Do you think the twins will advance
59:55
the World Series anytime soon, John? Not in the
59:59
very near future. But I will say, after 1990,
1:00:05
we thought the same way. True. Good point. Good
1:00:08
point. The core was there, but it was not an
1:00:12
optimistic time. If the Twins go out and sign
1:00:15
the equivalent of Jack Morris and Chilly Davis
1:00:18
now, this off -season, that changes the game
1:00:22
a lot. I didn't think it happened. enough to
1:00:26
be a total debbie downer john but that uh 1991
1:00:29
twins team is still the most recent appearance
1:00:32
and win by a minnesota -based uh big four team
1:00:36
including the vikings twins the wild and the
1:00:39
timberwolves no one's gotten to the finals of
1:00:43
whatever since then so right we're due yes we
1:00:46
are we're due for something so all right john
1:00:50
i'm going to give you the last word What would
1:00:53
be your favorite takeaways about the 1991 twin
1:00:57
season when they won the World Series? Yeah,
1:00:59
well, if I had to describe that team, it was
1:01:02
professional. Those guys were ballplayers. They
1:01:07
were very they played the game right. They were
1:01:09
very smooth, exciting, dramatic. It's actually
1:01:13
no surprise that they won a lot of close games
1:01:16
because they didn't beat themselves and very
1:01:19
entertaining season. in a different way than
1:01:22
87. You know, 87 was, you know, out of nowhere
1:01:27
here came this, you know, fun team and they had
1:01:31
a lot of fun whereas the 91 team was more, you
1:01:34
know, punch the clock and get it done. Yeah.
1:01:37
Very, very business -like, but they, yeah, they
1:01:39
were good. They were competent. They were. They
1:01:42
played well when they had to, so, yeah. Well,
1:01:46
this has been fun, John. It was great to get
1:01:47
together again with you to share memories of
1:01:49
the 1991 Twins in the World Series Championship,
1:01:52
just like we did in other podcasts about 87.
1:01:55
But it's always fun to talk about championships.
1:01:57
So thanks again for joining me on this podcast,
1:01:59
John. Great. Thanks, Bob. Thanks for having me.
1:02:05
And again, to our listeners, thanks for hanging
1:02:07
out with me, Bob Edholm and John Lawrence, my
1:02:09
friend from Northeast Minneapolis. We hope you'll
1:02:12
join us for the next episode of Hanging Out with
1:02:14
Bob wherever you listen to your podcasts. Until
1:02:17
then, bye.