MORRIS AND SMOLTZ DISCUSS 1991 WORLD SERIES GAME SEVEN ON MLB’S 20 GREATEST GAMES ON SUNDAY, MAY 8
Game Ranked Second in Series Countdown of the Best Games of the Last 50 Seasons
Secaucus, NJ, May 5, 2011 – MLB Network’s MLB’s 20 Greatest Games continues on Sunday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET when Jack Morris and John Smoltz join series hosts Bob Costas and Tom Verducci to discuss Game Seven of the 1991 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins, which is ranked second in the series. In a showdown featuring two teams that finished last in their divisions the previous year, Morris and Smoltz discuss the intensity of this series, the crucial missed opportunities by both teams to break a scoreless tie, and the famous pitchers’ duel that developed over ten innings. Morris and Smoltz describe the legendary status of the game in a clip from the episode here.
The final episode of MLB’s 20 Greatest Games, which counts down the best games of the last 50 seasons, will air on May 22. A list of the rankings to-date is available here.
Highlights from the episode include:
Smoltz on being in a pitchers’ duel with Morris:
“This game was all about the race to the first run because that first run was going to seem like three. That’s why the tension and everything was so big because each pitcher knew if you could get me a run, the game could be over, and that’s how much confidence you have when you’re out on the mound.”
Morris on his emotions during the game:
“As I kept going, I actually started thinking, ‘What if this goes 12 [innings], what if goes 13 or 14, this could be like famous, this could be a game that people are going to remember.’”
Morris on how he pitched in Game Seven:
“As funny as it might sound, even though I was in trouble several times in this game, it was the only game in my entire career I never had a negative thought. In all situations, I figured I could get out of this. I can figure out something, we’re going to get out of this, and I think the will to have that happen ultimately took over.”
Smoltz on the Braves offense not scoring in the eighth inning:
“From a team standpoint, there had to be a little bit of that air that just kind of went out enough to go, ‘That was our best chance and would have been a good chance for the game in Game Seven and we didn’t get it done.’”
Smoltz on losing the World Series:
“There is not a player that was on our team that didn’t realize what we accomplished. It’s rare that you have two teams go last to first, but to play that classic World Series, and I can remember everyone going, ‘Atlanta – Minnesota in the World Series, who is going to watch this?’ Well, whoever missed it missed the greatest World Series ever.”
Morris on the celebration after winning the World Series:
“One of the special moments for me [was] I got to share a cold beverage behind the scenes with the enemy. Some of the guys, [Mark] Lemke came over, [David] Justice came over, Mike Heath, my old teammate in Detroit came over, and we sat there for 15 minutes. Back in those days, there wasn’t a lot of camaraderie between teams not like you see today, but the respect we had for one another was phenomenal. That was one of my favorite moments I haven’t shared with hardly anybody. To do that after a big game, I told them flat out, I said, ‘This could be yours as easy as ours.’”
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