(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Tonight, there will be no baseball. Game 6 of the World Series is rained out, postponed until tomorrow.
On this date 20 years ago, however, there was most certainly baseball. Agonizing baseball. Our view of history might differ from yours, of course, but as a young Braves fan at the time, Oct. 26, 1991, is not a happy memory. Revisionist history cannot retroactively make us a Twins fan at the time.
That said, it was Game 6 of a classic series. It was the 11th inning. The Braves turned to Charlie Leibrandt out of the bullpen -- presumably after Bobby Cox, in the deafening roar of the Metrodome, screamed to his bullpen coach "ANYONE BUT LEIBRANDT," only to succumb to another fatal phone error. Leibrandt was a crafty, soft-tossing lefty with pinpoint accuracy. History shows Kirby Puckett was only a .288 hitter lifetime vs. ol' Charlie with three homers in 66 at bats. Still, Twins fans had a good feeling. And Braves fans had a terrible feeling.
They were justified.
On a 2-1 pitch, Puckett smoked a Leibrandt Looper over the fence in left-center. "And we'll see you tomorrow night" followed. And we all know what happened in that game.
The teams will meet at U.S. Bank Stadium on Fox (Ch. 9). The game originally was set for a noon kickoff.
