The Twins Almanac: Minnesota Charges Into The World Series

Greg Gagne and Kent Hrbek homered as Jack Morris and the Twins beat Atlanta 5-2 in Game 1 of the World Series on this date in 1991. 

After the Gagne home run clip below is Bob Casey introducing the American League Champs prior to the game.

And below that, a later cover of Sports Illustrated featuring Minnesota native Greg Olson upended after tagging out Dan Gladden at the plate in Game 1. 

 

"Twin Killing: Minnesota Charges Into the World Series."

Greg Gagne was on the cover of Sports Illustrated on this date in 1987. Anybody still have their copy? (Check out who the Tiger is in this picture. Couldn't catch a break on the basepaths.)

Getting the start at first base over AL Batting Champion John Olerud, St. Paul native Paul Molitor went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple and a home run as the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 10-3 in Game 3 of the World Series on this date in 1993.

With the series shifting to the National League ballpark for Game 3, the Blue Jays weren't going to have Molitor as their DH, so manager Cito Gaston made the tough decision to play him at first base over Olerud, who led the league with a .363 batting average and was 10-for-29 (.345) to that point in the postseason. (Worth noting, of course, that Blue Jays batters had the top THREE batting averages in the league in '93, with Molitor coming in second at .332 followed by Roberto Alomar at .326. Their hitting coach? None other than Twins all-time fan favorite Larry Hisle.) In Games 4 and 5, Molitor played third base.

Molly hit an even .500 with two home runs in the Series, and was named Most Valuable Player.

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!