253. "World Series 91: And We'll See You Tomorrow Night!" 7" x 10.5"

Size: 7 × 10.5 inches art print (not a comic book)
Availability: Pre-order ends Sunday, August 16th  at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET
Shipping: Expected to ship approximately 40–60 days after the purchase window closes. Estimated timeframe. Not guaranteed.

From the Artist: 

Pop Fly #253: World Series 91: And We'll See You Tomorrow

There are games where a great player takes over, yes. And then there’s what Kirby Puckett did on October 26, 1991. One of the most magnificent post-season performances ever.

The Twins came home to Minnesota down three games to two in the World Series. Lose Game 6 and it was over. There  would be no tomorrow, no Game 7.

And apparently Kirby Puckett had other plans (and I love this kind of stuff. True or not, I don't care, I live for the legend!). Before the game, Puckett reportedly told his teammates to climb on his back and he’d carry them. Which sounds like the kind of thing that becomes a MUCH better story if you actually go out and do it. And holy smokes, he did it. 

First inning, Puckett tripled home the game’s first run. In the third, Ron Gant drove a ball toward the left-center wall that looked like trouble. Puckett raced back, climbed the wall & took it away. It remains one of the defining catches of his career. 

He drove in another run in the fifth. And yet somehow, after all of that, Game 6 was still tied 3–3 heading into extra innings.

THEN came the bottom of the 11th. Charlie Leibrandt on the mound, Puckett leading off. And one swing later, the baseball disappeared over the same left-center-field wall where Puckett had made that catch earlier in the night.

Twins win, 4–3. On to Game 7. And Jack Buck gave the whole thing the only ending it ever needed: “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!”

And THAT  is what I wanted this Pop Fly to be about. Not JUST the home run. Not simply the catch but rather  what Puckett actually gave Minnesota that night:

VII. One more game. Puckett very literally carried the Twins into tomorrow. to 7.  And boy, did that tomorrow turned out pretty well.

Jack Morris threw 10 shutout innings. Gene Larkin brought Dan Gladden home. The Twins won 1–0 and became World Series champions. Even as the Braves fan I am, that was a magnificent ending. 

But none of that happens without the night before. Sometimes baseball gives you a hero. Sometimes it gives you a guy who says, essentially, get on my back...…and then actually carries everybody to tomorrow.

WORLD SERIES ’91: “AND WE’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT!”