October 27, 1991: Twins Win the Greatest World Series Ever

A perfect 10! Twins capture classic Series
Morris outduels Smoltz to win MVP
The Associated Press
October 28, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — Pinch hitter Gene Larkin hit a game-winning single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Sunday night as the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 to win one of the most exciting World Series in history.

Series MVP Jack Morris pitched a 7-hitter over 10 innings and won only the third decisive seventh game in World Series history to go into extra innings. The series had a record three extra-inning games and five 1-run games.

The deadlock finally was broken in the 10th. Dan Gladden led off with a bloop double to center off Alejandro Pena and Chuck Knoblauch sacrificed him to third.

Kirby Puckett, who won Game 6 with an 11th-inning homer, and Kent Hrbek were walked intentionally to load the bases.

Larkin, the first player from Columbia University in the majors since Lou Gehrig, then hit a single to left-center, only the second game-ending hit in a seventh game. The other was Bill Mazeroski's homer in 1960.

It was the second Series title in five seasons for the Twins, who once again swept all four Series games in their high-decibel Metrodome. In 1987, the Twins beat St. Louis at home in Games 1 and 2, lost three straight on the road and then came home and swept Games 6 and 7.

The last seventh game to go extra innings was in 1924, when the Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in 12 innings. The other was in 1912, when the Boston Red Sox rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th to beat the New York Giants 4-3. That actually was Game 8 because of a tie.

Morris and Atlanta's John Smoltz pitched a dandy of a duel, and these turnaround teams went into extra innings for a record third time.

Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980s, allowed 7 hits through 9 innings and kept getting out of jams. Smoltz allowed 6 hits in 7 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked one.

Both teams were trying for successful completions of their worst-to-first seasons. Atlanta was at the bottom of baseball in 1990 at 65-97, then went 94-68 this season to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West title.

Minnesota went from 74-88 to 95-67, dethroning the three-time AL champion Oakland Athletics. Then the Twins won the AL playoffs from Toronto in five games.

Just like they did in 1987 against St. Louis, the Twins won the opening two games of the Series at home in their dome, lost three straight on the road, then came back to the Metrodome and forced Game 7.

Morris retired the Braves in order in the first, then gave up a leadoff single to David Justice in the second. Justice, running on the pitch, went to second on Sid Bream's groundout, but was stranded when Brian Hunter struck out and Greg Olson popped out.

Smoltz retired the first five Twins, then allowed consecutive singles to Brian Harper and Shane Mack. Mike Pagliarulo ended the second with a grounder to first.

Atlanta threatened again in the third as Rafael Belliard singled with one out and Morris walked Lonnie Smith. But Terry Pendleton flied to short left and Ron Gant grounded into a forceout.

Greg Gagne doubled down the leftfield line with one out in the bottom of the inning on a 2-2 pitch after falling behind 0-2. Gagne went to third on Chuck Knoblauch's fly to right, but Kirby Puckett, whose 11th-inning homer won Saturday night's game, struck out after Smoltz fell behind 2-0.

Morris once again pitched out of trouble in the eighth. Smith led off with a check-swing single to right. Pendleton doubled to the gap in left-center, but Smith — decoyed by second baseman Knoblauch at shortstop — slowed at second and only made it to third. Two innings earlier, Smith failed to run from first on a 3-2 pitch with two outs.

Gant hit a slow roller to Hrbek at first and was tagged for the first out. Twins manager Tom Kelly visited the mound and Justice was walked intentionally.

Then, with the count at 1-2, Bream bounced to Hrbek at first. Hrbek threw home for the forceout and Harper relayed to first for an inning-ending double play.

Then in the eighth, the Braves got out of a big jam. Pinch hitter Randy Bush led off with a single. Gladden flied to center and Knoblauch singled sharply to right, moving pinch runner Al Newman to third.

Mike Stanton relieved and intentionally walked Puckett, loading the bases. Hrbek then lined to second. Lemke caught the ball and doubled up Knoblauch for the third out.

Stanton got in trouble in the ninth when Davis singled to right after fouling off four two-strike pitches. Harper reached on a bunt single between the mound and first as pinch runner Jarvis Brown took second.

Stanton pulled a back muscle trying to make a play, and Alejandro Pena relieved. Mack grounded to first as Bream started a 3-6-3 double play, with Brown going to third.

Pagliarulo was intentionally walked, but Paul Sorrento hit for Al Newman and struck out.



WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK
Braves may be hurt by free agency
The Associated Press
October 28, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — Free agency is casting a lengthening shadow over the future success of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and one top Atlanta team official is afraid it could spell eventual doom for the Braves, too.

Hank Aaron, a Braves senior vice president, says the same economic forces that probably will drive sluggers Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds out of Pittsburgh could take away such emerging Atlanta stars as Tom Glavine and David Justice once they become eligible for free agency in the mid-1990s.

Smaller markets, such as Pittsburgh and Atlanta, lack the local television money to match the resources of big-city franchises like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

"I see what's happening to a city like Pittsburgh, and it doesn't deserve it." Aaron said Sunday before the Braves played Minnesota in Game 7 of the World Series. "Some cities just aren't going to be able to make it.''

The big vs. small discrepancies are among the economic problems being studied by a baseball management-player commission headed by former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Voelker. Revenue sharing is among the steps that the commission may consider.

• Mark Lemke's emergence as the star for the Braves in the Series has thrust him into the spotlight He was the focus of narrower but just as intense interest earlier this year.

According to Atlanta manager Bobby Cox, several teams approached the Braves last spring about the availability of Lemke, who then was listed as one of the last infielders on the Atlanta roster. The answer to all such inquiries: A firm "No."

"We had no interest in trading him." Cox said. "We felt he'd be a valuable part of the team, although we weren't sure how."

• Lemke, batting over .400 and a key in each of the Braves' three home wins last week, was a leading contender for the Series MVP. A rather unusual trophy would accompany that award.

The first Atlanta player to be named Series MVP gets a 300-pound, life-size statue of an American Indian.

• How loud does it get in the Metrodome when the Twins' fans start rocking?

So loud that bullpen coaches can't hear the phones ring when the dugout calls to get a relief pitcher ready.

To make sure they don't miss any important calls, the coaches keep their feet on the phone's handset. That way, they can feel the vibration.



Series big $$$ winner is CBS
The Associated Press
October 28, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — The biggest winner at the World Series may be CBS. The network reported it will make about $40 million extra because Minnesota and Atlanta needed seven games to decide the title.

“It's a major impact," CBS Sports president Neal Pilson said Sunday.

The extra games mean anything from $35 million to $45 million extra.

CBS had plenty of bad luck in 1990, the first season of its four-year, $1.06 billion baseball deal. There was a rain delay during the All-Star Game that pushed its finish past prime time in most of the country. Oakland swept Boston in the AL playoffs and Cincinnati swept the A's in the World Series. Only 14 of a possible 21 postseason games were played.

But this year the audience is up, with an average rating of 22 8 and an average share of 36 for the first five games. That's up 5 percent from last year.

The NL playoffs went to seven games this year and the AL went to five, giving CBS 19 of a possible 21 games.

"We budget for somewhere between five and six games a series," Pilson said/

Pilson and CBS chairman Laurence Tisch have been criticized in the television industry for the baseball deal. Officials from other networks said it raised the prices for rights fees in other sports.

That makes this year's Series especially pleasing for Pilson.

"It's very exciting for us," he said. "I think all of baseball is rejoicing. Our guys are pleased. We were obviously disappointed last year. But we realize no one controls the length of the Series."

The exact amount CBS will earn from the Series depends on the rates of Game 7 ads. Since no one knew the game would exist, it wasn't sold early.

"We were selling Game 7 last week," Pilson said. "There are a number of factors going against each other. You have the lure of Game 7. You know you're going to get a good rating. But advertisers know you have a limited time to sell out."

CBS's rating in the seventh game will be hurt because the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins played opposite on ESPN. The NFL game began an hour before the World Series game.

October 26, 1991: Game 6 of the Greatest World Series Ever

For those of you looking to satisfy your Series jones after last night's rainout, you've come to the right place. The RVS Machine is still dialed back to 1991, when 15 years ago today the Twins and Braves hooked up for Game 6.

This game had it all: great individual performances, defense, pitching, base running, Charlie Liebrandt ... everything.

Be sure to scroll down for video of Kirby's Game 6 highlights (and a bizarre rendition of "Take Me out to the Ball Game.")

Puckett, Twins have a blast
HR in 11th pushes Series to Game 7
The Associated Press
October 27, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — Kirby Puckett was just the difference the Minnesota Twins needed to make one of the closest World Series even closer.

Puckett, already a hero for a leaping, run-saving catch and 2 hits and 2 RBI, led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a home run Saturday night to give the Twins a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves and force a decisive seventh game.

Puckett sent Charlie Leibrandt's 2-1 changeup on a line over the left-center field fence.

"They've been throwing me a lot of changeups the whole Series," Puckett said. "I'm such an aggressive-type hitter—I just go up there and hack. I just wanted to make him get the ball up.

"He got it up and I got it out."

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox gambled in bringing in Leibrandt, who started and lost Game 1. Leibrandt was making his first relief appearance in two years and defying baseball odds as a left-hander facing the righty-hitting Puckett.

It was the second extra-inning game of the Series — the first time that's happened since 1975 — and the fourth of six to be decided by 1 run on the winning team's last at-bat.

"I feel like I've been in a 15-round fight," Puckett said. "I'm so drained you can't believe it."

The Twins returned home after three straight losses in Atlanta and improved to 7-0 in Series games at the Metrodome. Jack Morris, among baseball's best big-game pitchers, will start for Minnesota tonight against John Smoltz, who shut out Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the NL playoffs.

The Braves hoped to clinch it behind 21-year-old Steve Avery. He had been winless in 4 starts this season on three days' rest, and the playoff MVP was not able to close it out, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings.

Puckett, the MVP of the AL playoffs, began this game in a 3-for-l8 slump. He changed his luck, and that of the Twins, with a run-scoring triple in the first inning and a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth. He also kept Minnesota ahead with a leaping catch at the fence in the third inning that robbed Ron Gant of extra bases.

Puckett, however, saved his best for last. Leibrandt, who started and lost the opener, made his first relief appearance in two years to start the 11th and Puckett met him with a line drive into the crowd. Rick Aguilera worked around leadoff singles in the 10th and 11th innings for the victory. Twins relievers were shellacked in Atlanta, but shut out the Braves in the final 5 innings.

The World Series has not gone seven games since 1987. That year, the Twins beat St. Louis in the only Series in which the home team won every game, the same scenario this one has followed.

Mark Lemke keyed the Braves' three victories at home, and sparked Atlanta's rally in the seventh inning that tied it 3-3. Lemke led off with a single, making him 9-for-19 in the Series, and Mark Guthrie relieved Scott Erickson. Guthrie struck out pinch hitter Jeff Blauser, but a walk and Terry Pendleton's squib single to the right side of the mound loaded the bases.

Carl Willis replaced Guthrie and got Gant to hit the grounder the Twins needed. But the ball was hit too slowly for Minnesota to turn a double play, and Gant waved safe as he crossed first a shade ahead of the relay as Lemke scored.

Puckett again was at the center of things in the fifth inning, hitting a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.

Dan Gladden fouled off several tough 3-2 pitches before drawing a leadoff walk, and then stole second on the first pitch to Chuck Knoblauch.

Knoblauch tried to hit the other way and succeeded with a flyball to right that sent Gladden to third. Puckett put Minnesota ahead with a fly shy of the warning track in center.

Pendleton hit one much farther to center in the top half of the inning, tying it 2-2.

Pendleton's second homer of the Series was set up by sloppy play on a potential double-play bouncer. Rafael Belliard opened with an infield single off the spongy turf and Lonnie Smith followed with a hard grounder to Scott Leius at third. Leius' throw to second almost pulled Knoblauch off the base, and he was unable to make a smooth relay.

Puckett put the Twins ahead with a triple in the first inning and preserved a 2-0 lead with a great grab in the third.

With one out and a runner on first, Gant hit a long drive to left-center field, and Puckett was off at the crack of the bat.

At the last instant, the 5-foot-8 Puckett leaped at the 13-foot fence and plucked the ball off the Plexiglas.






Morris is exactly who Twins want on the mound in Game 7
The Associated Press
October 27, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins will have the man they want on the mound for Game 7: Jack Morris.

And the Atlanta Braves will have a pitcher with Game 7 experience: John Smoltz.

A veteran and a youngster. With the World Series championship at stake.

Morris said he cherishes the big games. Smoltz said Morris was his idol growing up.

"What I remember most is his competitiveness," Smoltz said earlier in the week. "He went after each batter with 100 percent no matter what the score was."

And 100 percent is Morris' record in the World Series: 3-0 with a no-decision in Game 4 this year.

His World Series ERA is 2.03 in 31 innings. His next victory will make him just the 31st pitcher to win four or more games in the Series.

He's 6-1 in postseason games, and he hasn't lost this year in his last 7 starts. Plus, he's 23-5 in the Metrodome.

"I've learned to appreciate the dome for its environment being climate-controlled," Morris said. "There's no wind and that's more important than cold. At least you don't get stiff and achey without wind and I feel as strong at the end of a game as I did in the beginning."

Smoltz's Game 7 start in the NL playoffs was in the cold at Three Rivers Stadium. But Smoltz was hot, pitching a 6-hitter as Atlanta beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 for the pennant.

"To me, there can't be any greater pressure than I felt in Game 7 of the playoffs," he said.

Smoltz, the only right-hander in Atlanta's starting rotation, was 14-13 during the season with a 3.80 ERA while Morris was 18-12 with a 3.43 ERA.

And he may have one more start left, his team's most important game of the season.

"What could be more exciting that, pitching in two Game 7s in one season," Smoltz said.

Before Game 3, when the Braves were trailing 2-0, Smoltz made a remark that seems rather prescient now.

"I'd much rather not pitch in Game 7," he said, "and have us win in six."



Minnesota's Puckett saves his best performance for last
The Associated Press
October 27, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — Through nine innings, Kirby Puckett did everything but win the game for the Minnesota Twins. He saved that for the 11th.

Puckett tripled in a run in the first. Drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. And saved a run with a leaping catch against the wall in the third.

Then, in the 11th, Puckett homered off Charlie Leibrandt to give the Twins a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves and send the World Series to a seventh game.

"I feel like I just went 15 rounds," Puckett said. "I'm completely drained."

Puckett entered the game 3-for-l8 in the Series after slumping in Atlanta. In Game 1, he struck out twice against Leibrandt.

"He's one of the impact players in the game," Twins manager Tom Kelly said of his 5-foot-8, 216-pound center fielder. "He can just take over a game offensively and defensively."

After Chuck Knoblauch singled in the first inning, Puckett tripled him home to put the Twins ahead 1-0 against Steve Avery. Puckett scored on Shane Mack's single.

"This was an amazing game," Puckett said. "This whole Series has been that way."

Puckett also saved the Twins with his glove in the third inning on Ron Gant's drive to center with a runner on first. Puckett timed his leap perfectly and plucked the ball just as it was about to hit the Plexiglas fence.

But he wasn't finished.

The Twins and Braves went to extra innings for the second time of the Series and Puckett knew what he wanted from Leibrandt.

"I wanted to lay off the low changeup," Puckett said. "I wanted to get a pitch I could drive."

Leibrandt threw a change and Puckett hit the ball over the left-center field fence to set off a frenzy of Homer Hankies.

"I was pointing to my family as I rounded the bases," Puckett said. "This is a game I will never forget."

October 25, 1991: Second Off Day of the Greatest World Series Ever

Braves out to solve Twins' Dome magic
The Associated Press
October 26, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — A day after one of the bigger routs ever in the World Series, the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins dismissed the mismatch and said it meant nothing.

At least, that's what they said.

"I really believe my players, after five to seven minutes, forget about the games," said Twins manager Tom Kelly during Friday's off-day.

"You ask them what the score was and they don't know. I even lost count."

Well, in case he needs reminding, here's what happened: Thursday night the Braves set a record for most runs by an NL team in a World Series game and established another mark with 34 total bases in blasting Minnesota 14-5.

The Braves rolled up the biggest Series score since the New York Yankees trounced Pittsburgh 16-3 in 1960 and, more importantly, took a 3-2 edge in games.

"Whenever we lose, we try to forget about it, too," said David Justice, who homered and drove in 5 runs for Atlanta. "I think that's a good thing to do. But we hope the game carries over."

Steve Avery, the NL playoff MVP, will try to win Atlanta's first World Series championship when he faces Scott Erickson tonight in Game 6 (Ch 2, 7:30 p.m. ).

Avery and Erickson pitched against each other in Game 3 and neither got a decision in Atlanta's 5-4 victory in 12 innings. Avery gave up 4 hits in 7 innings, while Erickson was knocked out in the fifth.

"These people have pitched an awful lot of innings," Kelly said. "You can't be surprised when they get tired."

Kelly's bullpen is also a little fatigued. Since Rick Aguilera gave up the winning run in Game 3, ending a streak of 27 2/3 Series innings without an earned run given up by Twins relievers dating back to 1987, Minnesota's bullpen has allowed 13 earned runs and 15 hits in 7 1/3 innings.

To win this weekend, the Braves will need to overcome Twin peaks – they'll be playing at the Metrodome and against history.

The Twins are 6-0 in World Series games in the dome, including two victories last week.

"I think we improved a lot over the first game we played there," Avery said.

Justice agreed, saying some of the horror stones the Braves had heard simply weren't so.

"When we first came here, we were told that you can't take your eye off the ball and that you can't hear," Justice said. "It's true, you can't hear. But you can take your eye off the ball for a moment when it's on the way down. Just don't do it when the ball is going up."

Justice and second baseman Mark Lemke botched the first ball of Game 2 when Lemke couldn't see it, then couldn't hear Justice calling for it.

But the teams seemed to reverse roles in Atlanta, where the Braves won two close games before ending their home season with Thursday night's bash.

Both the Braves and the Twins are aware that this is the same scenario as in the 1987 World Series. That time, Minnesota won the first two at home, lost three at St Louis and took the last two at the Metrodome.

"It's the only thing I've got to fall back on," Kelly said.

Justice said he had talked earlier in the day with Terry Pendleton, who played for St. Louis in that World Series, about what happened.

"He mentioned it," Justice said. "But to me, that's a negative focus.

"I think the Twins are a better team at home. We know that. But I think, no, I know we can win one of the last two."

Besides, the Braves have been through this before, sort of. Last week, they went into Pittsburgh facing a 3-2 deficit in the NL playoffs. Avery won Game 6 and John Smoltz shut out the Pirates in Game 7 to bring Atlanta its first pennant.



Team nicknames and logos receiving increased criticism
Braves fans' 'tomahawk chop' is focal point
The Associated Press
October 26, 1991
MINNEAPOLIS — Persuading sports teams to stop using Indians as mascots may be the second most difficult task for some American Indian groups. First, they must agree among themselves.

World Series protests over the Atlanta fans' "tomahawk chop," which attracted hundreds of people as well as national media attention, are the most visible episode in the debate. Bui Indians say the practice of naming teams after them has been a matter of contention for some time.

• In baseball, the issue came to the fore when the Braves reached the World Series, bringing 50,000 "tomahawk-chopping" fans along. Actress Jane Fonda, who once was arrested at an Indian rights protest, chopped. Former President Jimmy Carter said he didn't think the antics were insulting.

• A spokesman for the Seminole tribe said many tribal members aren't offended by the rituals of Florida State Seminoles fans, who originated the "tomahawk chop” cheer.

• The Kansas City Chiefs say the team's name pays homage to Indians. "I don't believe that it is the intention of any professional football organization to mock Native Americans," spokesman Bob Moore said. "It's not something we take lightly."

• The Washington Redskins and Chicago Blackhawks have taken no action on protests. "Over the long history of the Washington Redskins, the name has reflected positive attributes of the American Indian, such as dedication, courage and pride," the team said in a recent statement.

• Despite growing student opposition, Chief Illiniwek continues to appear at University of Illinois games. Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson and U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon defended the mascot, a student who dresses as an Indian, and the State House passed a resolution describing him as a "revered" and "esteemed" symbol of the university.

• An Indian group in Cleveland sued the Cleveland Indians during the 1970s over the team's logo — a red-faced, long-toothed man with a feather in his cap. The team was named after Louis "Chief" Sockalexis, a Cleveland first baseman who was the first Indian to play major league baseball.

"There are some it bothers and some it doesn't. Me, it doesn't," said Ruby Sam of Cleveland's American Indian Center. "I see both sides.

"It wasn't the name, it was the logo, the smiling Indian with the big nose and the big teeth. That part bothers me."

Other Indians don't mind seeing their culture adopted by whites — even the "tomahawk chop" and war chanting of Braves fans.

"I think it's the greatest thing that ever happened," said Richard Welch, editor of a Cherokee newspaper and a tribal council member.

At the College of William and Mary, a 1989 letter to the editor of a student newspaper questioned the propriety of the school's nickname, "Tribe." Editors contacted Indian chiefs in the Williamsburg, Va., area.

"You tell them that I want to keep the Indian symbol at William and Mary," Earl Bass, chief of the Nansemond Indians, told The Remnant. "I'll stand behind this symbol."

Other teams, however, have responded to Indian concerns.

• Stanford University dropped the nickname "Indians" in 1972. Dartmouth and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse also have changed their names.

• The Minnesota Board of Education requested in 1989 that high schools with Indian nicknames change them — 20 of 50 did. At Mahnomen, where about half the students are Indian, they decided to keep the nickname "Indians."

"I think you're going to find we all don't agree on everything 100 percent," said Tim Giago, publisher of the Rapid City, S.D.-based Lakota Times, the nation's largest Indian-owned weekly newspaper.

"There are some people who stopped being Indians some time ago and are willing to bend over backwards to fit in whenever possible. But you'll find very few people who have maintained ties with their heritage who will disagree that the actions of Braves fans are repugnant."

October 24, 1991: Game 5 of the Greatest World Series Ever

Braves on verge of Series celebration
Justice powers Atlanta to 14-5 rout of Minnesota
The Associated Press
October 25, 1991
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves made it look easy for a change. Now comes the hardest part.

The Braves breezed within one game of the World Series championship Thursday night, blowing away Minnesota 14-5 when Lonnie Smith and David Justice homered again and Mark Lemke hit 2 more triples.

Justice drove in 5 runs, Smith became the first player since Reggie Jackson in 1977 to homer in three straight Series games, and Brian Hunter also homered as Atlanta ripped 17 hits in taking a 3-2 edge in games.

It was the third-highest score in Series history and the biggest offensive show in 31 years, since the New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 16-3 in Game 2 of 1960. It followed two straight games in which the Braves won in their final at-bat on close plays at the plate, and it gave the 50,878 fans one last chance to chop, chant and cheer. They did it all night in a three-hour celebration.

But to win their first Series ever the Braves will need to leave the Southern comfort for Minnesota's great indoors. Minnesota is 0-9 in Series road games and the Twins have lost 14 straight dating to the 1925 Series, but they are 6-0 at home in the Metrodome, including two wins last week.

The Braves became the eighth World Series team to win three in a row after dropping the first two. Six of those previous seven teams went on to win the title — the glaring exception being the 1987 Twins, who went home and stung St. Louis twice.

Steve Avery, the NL playoff MVP, will face Scott Erickson in Game 6 Saturday night. They were the starters in Game 3, and neither got a decision on a day the Braves won 5-4 in 12 innings.

The Braves led 5-0 after five innings before the Twins chased a suddenly wild Tom Glavine with 3 runs in the sixth.

Atlanta broke it open with a 6-run seventh triggered by Smith's leadoff homer, and added 3 more in the eighth with Hunter's homer putting an exclamation point on the evening.

Justice's homer, off the top of the left-field fence and just beyond Dan Gladden's leap, touched off a 4-run burst in the fourth that saw the Braves hit for the cycle in a span of only five batters. The spurt featured a single that hit a runner, a triple off Chili Davis' glove in right field and Rafael Belliard's rally-capping RBI double.

Atlanta added a run in the fifth on Justice's RBI grounder, giving Glavine 2 more runs than he got in his previous 3 postseason starts combined.

But Glavine, after pitching like a 20-game winner for five innings, suddenly fell apart in the sixth. And it was Glavine, not the Twins' hitters, who was the biggest culprit — he walked four batters, including two with the bases loaded.

Kent Mercker relieved with the bases still loaded, one out and Atlanta ahead 5-2. He got an RBI groundout from Kent Hrbek, now 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the Series, but the Braves escaped further damage when Lemke made a nifty pickup of Greg Gagne's hard one hopper to second and softly tossed to Sid Bream for the last out.

Kevin Tapani, who outpitched Glavine in Game 2, stopped Atlanta on a lone single until the fourth, when the game began to come apart.

Ron Gant opened with a sharp single that got the fans cheering, and they stayed up when Justice followed with his second home run of the Series. Only 2 of his 21 homers this year went to the opposite field, and this one made it when it hit the top of the 10-foot fence inches past Gladden's reach, and bounced out.

Tapani, one of the best control pitchers in baseball, then threw four straight balls to Bream, and the Braves tried to put on more pressure with a hit-and-run play. Greg Olson did everything perfectly — almost — as his grounder to the right side nipped Bream for an out.

That brought up the left handed Lemke and he looked out toward right field, where Davis was standing. Davis did not start in the out field all season, but with right fielder Shane Mack in an 0-for-15 skid and because Davis homered as the DH off Glavine in Game 2, Twins manager Tom Kelly started him.

Davis, who has led the AL in errors and tied for the NL lead, had not gotten a ball all evening and had spent the whole night pounding his glove in anticipation when Lemke sent a long drive his way.

Davis got a late jump and reached the ball in the right center field gap, right near the wall. Davis made a backhanded try and the ball glanced off his glove for a triple and a 3-0 lead.

Belliard, the Braves' No 8 hitter, pulled a double into the left field corner to finish the inning. Singles by Terry Pendleton and Gant and Justice's grounder made it 5-0 in the fifth.

Glavine gave back 2 runs in the sixth when, with one out, he walked Chuck Knoblauch, allowed a single to Kirby Puckett, and walked Davis, Brian Harper and Scott Leius in order.


WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK
Tickets for Game 5 a hot commodity
The Associated Press
October 25, 1991
ATLANTA — World Series tickets have been as scarce as Minnesota Twins fans in Atlanta this week, but scalpers prices soared even higher Thursday for the Braves final home game of the year.

Some were asking as much as $700 per ticket for field level seats inside the baselines.

Snaring a ticket for Thursday's game could be "one of the toughest tickets of any sporting event ever" predicted a scalper working out of a parking lot near Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.

“It’s because this city's never had a championship, and also there's a lot of yuppie money here,” said the scalper, who identified himself only as Ronnie. He said the asking price for a ticket to Game 5 was at least $300 per seat.

Getting tickets wasn’t the only problem. At least 15 fans reported their tickets stolen before Wednesday night’s game. "Most of us were hit at the gate right behind the Hank Aaron statue,” said Janet Daniel, who drove in from Nashville, Tenn.

• In this up and down Series, the Twins Kent Hrbek has soared the highest and fallen the furthest. Going into Thursday's Game 5, he was in the absolute pits.

After a 2-for-3 game with a home run, a double and 2 runs scored in the opener, Hrbek was 1 for 12 in Games 2-4. His lone hit was a one out single with Chuck Knoblauch on first in the eighth inning of Game 3, which the Twins lost 5-4 in 12 innings.

• If the series goes seven games, Jack Morris will pitch the finale Sunday for the Twins. And that "distinct possibility' was one reason Morris was lifted at a key spot in Game 4.

Manager Tom Kelly relieved Morris after six innings Wednesday night, with the Twins leading 2-1. The third baiter his replacement, Carl Willis, faced in the bottom of the seventh was Lonnie Smith, who homered to center to tie it at 2-2.

A pitcher of Morns' experience and Series record (career 3-0 with a 2 00 ERA entering the game) might expect to stay in for the late innings of a tight game. But Kelly said Morris already had made too many pitches (89) while pitching on three days' rest instead of the usual four.

October 23, 1991: Game 4 of the Greatest World Series Ever

Braves tie Series in another thriller
Lemke is hero again vs. Twins
The Associated Press
October 24, 1991
ATLANTA — Finally, Brian Harper missed a tag and the Atlanta Braves were safe at home. After two sensational run-saving plays at the plate, the Braves got past Harper and beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 Wednesday night to even the World Series at two games apiece.

Until the bottom of the ninth, the only way the Braves could reach home was on home runs by Terry Pendleton and Lonnie Smith. Then, with the game tied at 2-2, Game 3 hero Mark Lemke tripled to the base of the wall in left-center field and, after an intentional walk, scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Jerry Willard.

Harper took right-fielder Shane Mack's throw just up the third-base line and hit Lemke with his elbow but just missed him with the glove.

The Braves have led for only six of the 39 innings in the Series so far, but evened it on a play the Twins vehemently protested.

Television replays, though, seemed to show Lemke twisting past Harper just enough to win his second World Series game in the same day. He singled home the winning run in the 12th inning at 12:42 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday.

"I kind of bumped him on the shoulder and went around him," said Lemke. "I was able to get around him and touch the plate with my hand."

After Lemke's one-out triple, Mark Guthrie intentionally walked Jeff Blauser, Steve Bedrosian relieved, and Willard, a 12-year journeyman, stepped up and hit a high fly to right field that pushed the drawn-in Mack back. The ball seemed to hang and blow toward the infield, and Mack got a running start and made a strong throw a few feet up the line.

Harper, who tagged out two runners in the fifth inning, tried to block Lemke with his left hip while catching the ball. He caught a piece of the runner with his body, but home-plate-umpire Terry Tata said he missed with his mitt as Lemke scrambled safely to the plate.

Harper flung his mask and mitt in disgust, and several Twins surrounded the umpires while the Braves gathered around Lemke and Willard.

Mike Stanton, the third Atlanta pitcher, was the winner in Game 4 after going a perfect 1 2/3 innings.

The Braves butchered a bunch of chances in the fifth inning, when Harper helped turn a double, a single and a walk into two outs.

Smith led off with a sharp single, stole second, and Pendleton lined a 3-0 pitch that carried over center fielder Kirby Puckett's head. Smith returned to second to tag up, thinking the ball might be caught, then took off as third-base coach Jimy Williams frantically waved him home.

Puckett made a fast relay to second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who turned around and seemed startled that Smith, instead of scoring, was only halfway to the plate. Knoblauch double-clutched and bounced his throw home, and it still beat Smith by a wide margin.

Smith tried to run through Harper and planted a pair of forearms in his chest that sent the catcher bowling over backward, but the ball stayed in the mitt.

Pendleton alertly took third on the play and stayed there as Ron Gant walked. With the crowd chanting and Terry Leach hurrying to warm up in the bullpen, Morris bounced a pitch to David Justice. Pendleton tried to score and was out easily when Harper recovered the ball near the plate and made a diving tag.

Mike Pagliarulo put the Twins ahead with a solo home run in the top of the seventh, and Smith tied it at 2-2 in the bottom half with a solo shot.

Pagliarulo, starting for the first time because a right-hander was pitching, sent a 1-2 pitch from John Smoltz over the right-field fence for his third straight hit and second RBI.

Pagliarulo hit Minnesota's seventh homer of the Series, and those have accounted for 11 of the Twins’ 14 runs.

Smith brought the Braves a tie when he homered over the center field fence with two outs off Carl Willis, Atlanta's fourth home run of the Series. Willis relieved starter Jack Morris to start the seventh.

Pagliarulo, never known for his bat control earlier in his career, put the Twins ahead in the second with a soft single after Harper doubled off Justice's glove in right.



WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK
Shorter season likely long way off
The Associated Press
October 24, 1991
ATLANTA — Don't hold your breath waiting for baseball to shorten its season to avoid cold weather. Commissioner Fay Vincent is quickly coming to that conclusion.

Vincent said Wednesday that an "inexact poll" of owners had found "very unfavorable" reaction to his proposal to either play fewer games or more double-headers to lessen the chances of a November World Series some day.

"At first, they thought I was kidding," Vincent said before Game 3 of the Series between Minnesota and Atlanta.

The commissioner said he still intended to bring up the shorter-season proposal at baseball's winter meetings in Miami in December.

• Home definitely is where the wins are in the World Series.

Counting Atlanta's 3-2 victory Wednesday night, home teams have won 21 of the last 27 Series games, a streak dating to Game 5 in 1986.

Two teams have accounted for all of the home losses during that spell of home sweet home — the Oakland Athletics (two each in 1988 and '90) and the San Francisco Giants (two in 1989).

• If home cooking wins Series games, those hotel stays in October are killing the Minnesota Twins. Their franchise forebearers didn't travel well, either.

The Twins never have won a Series road game, losing all three in both 1965 and 1987.

Going farther back in the franchise's history, the Washington Senators lost their last five road World Series games — three in 1925 and two in 1933.

The last pitcher from the Senators or Twins to win on the road in the Series was Walter Johnson, who beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh in Game 1 in 1925.

• Home runs, meanwhile, have kept the Twins from sinking into an offensive swamp.

Of the first 14 Minnesota runs, 11 came on homers. Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch had the only 2 non-homer RBI, with a single in Game 1 and a sacrifice fly in Game 3, until Mike Pagliarulo's RBI single Wednesday night.

• Atlanta's 5-4, 12-inning victory over Minnesota Tuesday night was the highest-rated World Series game since the Los Angeles Dodgers closed out the Oakland Athletics in the fifth game in 1988.

CBS said it drew a national rating of 23.4 and a 39 share, up 21 percent from Game 3 a year ago.

The game also gave CBS a primetime ratings victory over ABC and NBC for the night, the network said.