by Tim Wendel
133“We’ve hidden all the razor blades”: “Game Five notes,” USA Today Baseball Weekly,” Nov 1–7, 1991.
133“Like what?”: “Braves Give Plot a Twist,” Washington Post, Oct 26, 1991.
133“been in this situation before”: “Trip to Atlanta a total washout for Twins,” USA Today Baseball Weekly,” Nov 1–7, 1991.
133“didn’t create anxiety”: Aguilera interview.
134“We’re off track”: “Trip to Atlanta a total washout for Twins,” USA Today Baseball Weekly,” Nov 1–7, 1991.
134“can’t blame TK”: Ibid.
134“We’ll be fine once we get home”: Ibid.
135“affected his family”: Ibid.
135Hrbek’s mother: “Hrbek’s mother would like to forget the whole thing,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct 24, 1991; “For Twins, Powers That Be Aren’t,” New York Times, Oct 23, 1991.
135Deciding on baseball, Hrbek interview.
135“seventeenth-round pick”: Scout says Hrbek his top find,” USA Today, May 5, 1993.
136“a high point and low point for me”: Catching Up With . . .,” Sports Illustrated, May 17, 1999.
136“hometown guy”: Gagne interview.
136“just tried to enjoy every minute”: Larkin interview.
137“a lot of flashbulbs”: “Trip to Atlanta a total washout for Twins,” USA Today Baseball Weekly,” Nov 1–7, 1991.
137“All I have to do”: Ibid.
GAME SIX
139“You listening, Dog?”: Any writer is thankful to anyone who will talk to him when he’s trying to pull together scenes for a book, especially when it concerns events that happened decades ago. But any writer will also tell you that not all interviews are equal. Some can crystallize a project—help one see all the angles and ramifications. When I was writing High Heat, I remember a discussion with Nolan Ryan when he got up from behind his desk at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, and began to demonstrate pitching mechanics and how a small adjust or two made all the difference in his delivery. With Summer of ’68, one of the first people I spoke with was Jon Warden, who was a rookie pitcher in that season. A guy from nowhere who found himself in downtown Detroit when a curfew had been issued, wondering if the city was about to go up in flames again. With this book, my chat with Chili Davis proved to be crucial. Game Six remains one of the classics, but only the Twins’ DH knew how close it came to be a different game plan and likely a different outcome.
142“If he hadn’t made that catch”: Larkin interview.
142“Jump on board”: Comments were reported by a number of media outlets, including the newspapers in the Twin Cities and USA Today.
142“in a bad way”: Larkin interview.
142“Everybody has a price”: “A few questions, lots of laughs,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Aug3, 2001.
143“The kid looks in the mirror”: Kirby Puckett, I Love This Game!: My Life in Baseball; “Kirby Puckett,” BioProject by Society of American Baseball Research.
144cab to Anaheim: This account has been retold in several publications, but I’m going with the account by longtime Twins reporter Stew Thornley.
144Puckett never looked back: Baseball Encyclopedia.
145“People loved to watch him”: Gagne interview.
145“unbelievable hitter”: Harper interview.
145“you’d have to smile”: Hrbek interview.
148“no cabs or subway”: Robinson interview.
148“always kept up a wall”: “CP Flashback,” City Pages, March 7, 2006.
148“I was standing there”: Aguilera interview.
149“how not to handle fame”: “Little Steven’s Underground Garage,” Sirius/XM radio, July 8, 2013.
149Trip to Fargo: Near the end of the 1998 season, with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, about to break the single-season home-run record I went to North Dakota. Many people there still maintain that Roger Maris, their hometown hero, is still the true record holder and as the years go by you cannot help by agree with them.
150“I was told”: “Roger Maris: Hometown Fargo Tells Tale of Home Run Record Holder,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Aug 19–25, 1998.
151“God, he loved to hit”: Ibid.
152“The only peace I had”: Ibid.
154“This was the last game of the year for me”: “Erickson game it his all,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Nov 1–7, 1991.
154“didn’t have his good stuff”: Ibid.
154“It went farther than I thought”: Ibid.
156“how much he was bleeding”: “Bloody beanball ends Puckett’s season early,” New York Post, Sept 29, 1995.
156“never took the game for granted”: “Eye Forces Puckett to Retire,” Washington Post, July 13, 1996.
156“Considering what’s happened”: “Twins’ Puckett Sees Signs to Retire,” Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1996.
156“It was a tough day”: Leius interview.
156“It was a very scary time”: Wiggins interview.
157“The good ones you know right away”: “Coast to coast: Baseball is a blast in ’98,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Oct 14–20, 1998. During the 1998 World Series, I briefly jumped off the media bus and visited with several baseball notables, including a trip to the Twin Cities to talk with Kirby Puckett. This was our last conversation.
157Metrodome’s home-field advantage: Big League Ballparks, 366.
158“I was running hard”: “Coast to coast: Baseball is a blast in ’98,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Oct 14–20, 1998.
158“I wasn’t a home-run hitter”: “When the ball meets bat,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Nov 4–11, 1998.
158“I’m happy as an ex-player”: “Coast to coast: Baseball is a blast in ’98,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Oct 14–20, 1998.
159“Do you ever shut up?” Ibid.
160“made a living”: “The secret life of Kirby Puckett,” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, Dec 18, 2002.
160“not the person”: “Kirby Puckett’s Tarnished Image,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, April 7, 2002; “After the game: The Kirby Puckett we never knew,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Oct 29, 2006; “The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett,” Sports Illustrated, March 17, 2003.
161“situation was different”: Harper interview.
161“tough to say”: Davis interview.
161“would have been great”: Gardenhire interview.
162“couldn’t hear us anymore”: Gladden interview.
162“The only thing”: Davis interview.
162“What do they want me to do?” “Hunter says he won’t be able to speak at Puckett service,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, March 10, 2006.
162“Over the last week”: “Cheers and tears for Kirby,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, March 12, 2006.
163“losing an icon”: Ibid.
163“I figured it was out”: Gardenhire interview.
163“said the right thing”: Ozzie Guillen, author’s interview, May 1, 2006.
164“I will always have a place in my heart for him”: Davis interview.
164“We were about as happy”: Gardenhire interview.
165“I never hit”: “Puckett’s heroics end tense struggle,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Nov 1–7, 1991.
165“Why not Charlie?” Ibid.
165“I don’t believe it”: Ibid.
165“Now it’s my turn”: Larkin interview.
165“we were at ease”: Gladden interview.
165Pat O’Brien anecdote: “Puckett’s heroics end tense struggle,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Nov 1–7, 1991.
GAME SEVEN
167“Might as well play”: “The Best Series Ever,” USA Today Baseball Weekly,” Nov 1–7, 1991.
168be patient: Pendleton interview.
168“Jack had it going”: Gagne interview.
169“newest of the substitute spitters”: “The Pitch of The ’80s,” Sports Illustrated, June 9, 1986.
169league-high twenty-four games: Baseball Encyclopedia.
> 170first disciples: “The Pitch of The ’80s,” Sports Illustrated, June 9, 1986; Baseball Hall of Fame research department.
170“once you throw it”: Ibid.
170“a lot of pressure”: “Split-Finger Fastball, Once Popular, Is Falling Away,” The Associated Press, Oct 1, 2011.
171“probably the best ever”: Grant interview.
171“Jack was locked in”: Gagne interview.
172“The clubhouse was my family,” Morris interview.
173“I’ve been in many games with him”: “The clutch gene exists, and Morris is proof of it,” MLB.com, Jan 22, 2013.
173“The pitcher who best fits”: Nolan Ryan, with Mickey Herkowitz, Kings of the Hill: An Irreverent Look at Men on the Mound, 99.
173“siding with his wife”: “Morris reaches the end,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, April 19, 1995.
173“first-hand look”: Gardenhire interview.
174“It’s going to sound wrong”: “Interview with Bob Costas,” MLB Network, July 12, 2010.
175“how big a deal it was”: John Smoltz, Don Yeager, Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year, 28–29.
176“No one could catch me”: Ibid.
176“The very next game”: Ibid, 238–240.
177“running whole blocks of plays”: Michael Murphy and Rhea A. White, In the Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports, 155.
177always crossed the finish line: Ibid, 159.
177“never hit a shot”: Ibid, 154.
177“fantasy and reality”: “Jim Fannin: “What I’ve Learned,” Esquire.com, May 2013.
179“I never had so much will”: Morris interview.
179“ruin his day”: “Jack Morris and Tom Kelly relieve Game 7 of the 1991 World Series,” TwinCities.com, Aug 5, 2011.
180“The biggest turning point”: Ibid.
181“I have no real clue”: Gagne interview.
182“naturally clumsy”: “Lonnie Smith interview,” Talking Baseball with Ed Randall, May 15, 2007.
182“my mistake”: “After agonizing loss, team has Brave face,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Nov 1–7, 1991.
182“The media’s version”: “Lonnie takes the blame,” Sporting News, March 16, 1992.
183“He just didn’t know”: “Jack Morris and Tom Kelly relieve Game 7 of the 1991 World Series,” TwinCities.com, Aug 5, 2011.
183“You actually had two fakes on that play”: Harper interview.
183“We caused enough confusion”: Gagne interview.
183“a pump of the fist”: Pendleton interview.
184“Well, I beg to differ” Ibid.
184“you’re a little more aggressive”: Harper interview.
184“Kelly comes out”: Ibid.
185“a come-backer to Jack”: Ibid.
185“that is so rare”: Ibid.
186ACTION IS CHARACTER: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Last Tycoon, 190.
187“never afraid”: Pendleton interview.
187“I’m still mad”: “The Ultimate Gamer,” Sports Illustrated, March 31, 2003.
188game without a clock: “The Twins’ Silent Partner,” New York Times, July 13, 1992.
188“Jack was such a competitor”: Harper interview.
189“one of the biggest changes”: Ryan interview.
190“talked or even bullied his way”: Jim Kaat, author’s interview, Aug 13, 2013.
190“and not realize at the time”: “Jack Morris and Tom Kelly relieve Game 7 of the 1991 World Series,” TwinCities.com, Aug 5, 2011.
191“The bat broke on the handle”: Gladden interview.
191“That was Dan Gladden”: Puckett interview.
191“I knew they would walk Puckett”: Gladden interview.
192“The tendinitis was really bad”: Larkin interview.
192“I knew I was getting the call”: Ibid.
193Denkinger did try to encourage: Ibid; “The Ultimate Gamer,” Sports Illustrated, March 31, 2003.
193“Peña’s history”: Larkin interview.
193“Once I put the bat on the ball”: Ibid.
194“Somebody had to go home a loser”: Morris interview.
194“What was great”: Gladden interview.
194“When I look back”: Larkin interview.
EPILOGUE
197only twice: http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/kellyto01.shtml.
198“most imprudent and unfortunate”: “Owners vote to drop two clubs, but don’t identify them,” SI.com, Nov 7, 2001.
198Gladden’s stance: Ibid.
198Braves finished second to Expos in 1994: accessed at http://espn.go.com/mlb/history/season/_/year/1994. The Expos had the best record in baseball—74–40—when the sport closed down due to the labor disagreement, eventually forcing the cancellation of the World Series.
198“fat and happy, soft?”: “Reminiscing with Lemke about 1991 World Series,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog, Oct 24, 2012.
APPENDIX I: AFTERMATH
203second-youngest person: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2357158.
203“affection for the game”: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060307&content_id=45760&vkey=news_t516&fext=.jsp&sid=t516.
204battle over Puckett’s ashes: “Puckett’s fiancée: He wanted ashes spread on ball field,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, May 9, 2006; “Puckett’s ashes awarded to his children,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Oct 25, 2006.
204“The majority of people”: “Home is where the money is for Morris,” USA Today, March 2, 1991.
205“You can be benevolent to a point”: “Indians cut farm owner Morris, look to farmhands to fill void,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, Aug 10, 1994.
205Jayson Stark assessment: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof07/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2724111.
205“great thoroughbred”: “Comin’ at ya,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Feb 6, 1991.
206“warm fuzzies”: Morris interview.
206“everyone’s invited”: “Catching Up With . . .,” Sports Illustrated, May 17, 1999.
207seven wild throws: “The Knoblauch Numbers: 3 Days, 7 Wild Throws,” New York Times, March 13, 2001.
207broken bat: Gladden interview.
208“I’m obligated”: “Ex-Twin Harper can forgive,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, April 29, 1994.
208“loose bunch”: Harper interview.
208watch footage: Larkin interview.
209married Lisa Guerrero: http://lisaguerrero.com/biography/.
209“drive him in with a knock”: Davis interview.
210“I always used to kid him”: Van Slyke interview.
211biggest miracle: “Cabrini’s Evan Avery overcomes odds as dad Steve’s miracle,” Detroit Free Press, June 1, 2012.
212Tiger Woods: “Tiger vouches for John Smoltz’s golf game,” Orlando Sentinel, March 23, 2011.
214“I’ve know how it is to struggle”: Smith to Ed Randall.
214“greatest leadoff hitter of all time”: http://baseballhall.org/hof/henderson-rickey.
214“my teammates didn’t”: Henderson interview.
215“He taught me something about fear”: http://baseballhall.org/hof/eckersley-dennis.
215Brien Taylor and Steve Chilcott: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Brien_Taylor.
215“At the international level”: “Teaching Baseball as Second Lan guage in China,” New York Times, July 5, 2008; http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Jim_Lefebvre.
215“Twelve years old”: www.baseballcoaches.org/lefebvrearticle.pdf.
216Earvin “Magic” Johnson announcement: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/magic-johnson-announces-he-is-hiv-positive; http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/7.
216bigger impact: Wiggins interview.
217“I made mistakes”: “Pete Rose says he picked wrong vice,” Yahoo Sports, Aug 12, 2013.
217“It’s the first time”: “New light shining on Rose,” USA Today, Aug 13, 2013.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
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Enders, Eric. Baseball’s Greatest Games, MLB Insiders Club, 2008.
Fainaru-Wada, Mark and Lance Williams. Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports, Gotham Books, 2006.
Gillette, Gary and Eric Enders, with Stuart Shea and Matthew Silverman. Big League Ballparks: The Complete Illustrated History, Metro Books, 2009.
Glavine, Tom. None but the Braves: A Pitcher, A Team, A Champion, HarperCollins, 1996.
James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, The Free Press, 2001.
James, Bill and Rob Neyer. The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, Fireside, 2004.
Kelly, Tom and Ted Robinson. Season of Dreams: The Minnesota Twins’ Drive to the 1991 World Championship, Voyageur Press, 1992.
Kettmann, Steve. One Day at Fenway Park, Atria, 2005.
Leavy, Jane. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, HarperCollins Publishers, 2010.
Maraniss, David. Into the Story, Simon & Schuster, 2010.
Mazzone, Leo, with Scott Freeman. Leo Mazzone’s Tales From the Mound, Sports Publishing, 2006.
Morris, Willie. New York Days, Little Brown, 1993.
Murphy, Michael and Rhea White. In the Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports, Penguin, 1995.
Posnanski, Joe. The Machine, Harper, 2009.
Puckett, Kirby. I Love This Game!: My Life and Baseball, HarperCollins, 1993.
Ritter, Lawrence S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, Vintage Books, 1985.
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Schuerholz, John, with Larry Guest. Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies From Baseball’s Winningest GM, Warner Books, 2006.
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Sowell, Mike. July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Hall-of-Famer Big Ed Delahanty, Macmillan, 1992.
