Game 7 of the 1991 World Series featured a matchup of the best pitcher of the 1980s against one of the best hurlers of the 1990s. The Minnesota Twins started veteran warhorse Jack Morris, who, at age 37, had already won 216 games and one World Series ring. The Atlanta Braves countered with the 24-year old John Smoltz, who had been brilliant (2-0, 1.89 ERA) in three post-season starts that year.
Morris entered the game with a 6-1 career record in the post-season, and once again found himself pitching on short rest after having started Game 1 (which he won) and Game 4 (a no-decision). Smoltz was also pitching just three days after a Game 4 performance in which he surrendered just two earned runs in seven innings but left before earning a decision.
Each team had won their three home games in the Series, and the Twins were trying to continue their home field advantage and win the franchise's second World Series title in five years. The Braves, though young and inexperienced, had surprised all of baseball by going from "worst to first" in just one year. They were looking for one more big win to complete the dream: become the first team in decades to finish in last place one season, and then win the whole thing the next year.
Jack Morris vs. John Smoltz
The pitching duel lived up to the hype, with neither team scoring through the first seven innings.
But in the top of the eighth inning, the Braves mounted a challenge. With veteran speedster Lonnie Smith on first base and 1991 National League Batting MVP Terry Pendleton at the plate, Braves skipper Bobby Cox called for the hit-and-run. Pendleton drove the ball into the gap for a double. Smith hesitated while rounding second base, however, and ended up on third instead of scoring.
Morris then settled down and worked out of the jam, getting the final two outs as Atlanta first baseman Sid Bream grounded into a double play, stranding Smith on third in what turned out to be a huge missed opportunity by Atlanta.
Smoltz was removed from the game in the bottom of the eighth inning after scattering just six hits and striking out four, and more importantly, keeping the score knotted at 0-0.
Morris soldiered on as the game remained scoreless through the ninth.
As the game entered the top of the tenth inning (which was the third game of the Series to reach extra innings), Jack Morris returned to the mound and set the Braves down in order. The 18-game winner had now thrown 10 innings without giving up a run. But he'd thrown 126 pitches on just three days rest. The odds of him continuing for an 11th frame were mighty slim.
He wouldn't need to.
In the bottom half of the inning, Twins' left fielder Dan Gladden doubled off Atlanta reliever Alejandro Pena to lead off the inning. American League Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch then bunted Gladden over to third.
Bobby Cox then moved the outfielders in, hoping that they could field a short fly ball and throw out Gladden if he tried to tag up. But pinch-hitter Gene Larkin launched a shot over the drawn-in outfield. Gladden jogged home and jumped on the plate as he was stormed by his teammates.
The game and the Series were over.
Twins win! Twins win!! TWINS WIN!!!!
The Fallout
The 1991 season marked the beginning of a Braves' dynasty that would dominate the National League for more than a decade: the team won 14 consecutive division titles, the most in baseball history.
Two months after his remarkable Game 7 performance, Jack Morris signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 1992 season, where he won 21 games and another World Series title.
John Smoltz went on to become the first pitcher in history to record at least 200 wins and 150 saves. In 2007, Smoltz was 14-8 with a 3.11 ERA. He shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
The Twins finished in second place in 1992 with an impressive 92-70 record, but went into a free fall over the next decade and didn't win another division crown until 2002.
Since then, no pitcher has thrown a complete game shutout in the World Series.
James Lincoln Ray - Real Name: James Lincoln Ray Jim has been the Feature Baseball Writer for Suite101 since March, 2007, where he has written more then ...
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