MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Nearly 16 years later, Jack Morris and John Smoltz were face-to-face again. This time, it was just a friendly chat – not one of the best pitching duels in baseball history.
The two starters in a classic Game 7 that decided the 1991 World Series, Morris and Smoltz spoke briefly before Wednesday’s game between Minnesota and Atlanta – their first encounter since that memorable October night. The teams are playing an interleague series this week, their second meeting since the ’91 Series.
“To see him out there just stirred up all those great memories,” Smoltz said.
Morris pitched 10 pressure-packed innings to help the Twins beat Smoltz’s Braves 1-0 for their second championship in five years. Smoltz threw seven scoreless innings of his own, only to watch the Twins win in the bottom of the 10th on Gene Larkin’s single over a drawn-in outfield.
Smoltz is still pitching for Atlanta at age 40, while the 52-year-old Morris is in his third season as a radio analyst for the Twins.
“I want to go over there and congratulate him for a great career and for … how proud I am of him doing what he’s done. He’s a remarkable pitcher,” Morris said shortly before their conversation.
The two pitchers shook hands and posed for a couple of pictures, a few feet from the plate.
Smoltz was drafted by Detroit in 1985, when Morris was in his prime with the Tigers. Smoltz has always been a big fan of Morris, so he was just as eager to talk and reminisce for a few minutes.
Morris – whose goatee has aged from red-brown to gray – was eager to seek out Smoltz, too. Morris retired with 254 wins after the 1994 season.
Morris spent only one year with his hometown team, but it was a good one. After leading Minnesota to the playoffs following a last-place finish in the AL West the season before, Morris went 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in three starts against the Braves to win World Series MVP honors.
Atlanta had reached the World Series after finishing in last place the previous year, too.
Smoltz, of course, has stayed with the Braves his entire career since he was first called up from the minors in 1988. He’s still going strong with a 7-3 record and a 2.83 ERA in 13 starts this year – having recently become the first pitcher in history to reach 200 wins and 150 saves.
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