Kent Hrbek - World Series Play

World Series Play

Some of his most memorable moments were during the 1987 season. He hit a career best 34 home runs to help the Twins win the AL West. Although he hit only .208, Hrbek was instrumental in capturing the World Series Championship, as he hit a grand slam in Game 6 off Cardinals reliever Ken Dayley that essentially sealed the win for the Twins. He also is known around Minnesota for waking up very early on the morning of game 7 of the 1987 World Series to go on a duck hunt before playing in the game.

In 1991 he again helped the Twins to win the World Series after having a typical Hrbek season - hitting .284 with 20 homeruns and 84 RBI. The Twins had finished the previous season in last place, as had their Series opponent the Atlanta Braves, which prompted the media to coin the phrase "Worst to First World Series". Hrbek's offense turned stale after his home run in Game 1 and he hit only .115 for the series with the one homerun and 2 RBI. However in Game 7, with the score still tied 0-0 in the 8th inning, Hrbek executed a very uncommon 3-2-3 bases-loaded double play with catcher Brian Harper that saved the Twins against the Braves' biggest threat of the game. The Twins eventually won the game 1-0, with Gene Larkin hitting a bases-loaded single to center field that scored Dan Gladden in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Hrbek was involved in a controversial play with Ron Gant in Game 2 of the 1991 Series. While Gant was coming back to first base after widely rounding the base on a single, Hrbek applied a tag on Gant's leg, Gant ran into Hrbek, and when they collided they fell off the base. The umpire, Drew Coble, called Gant out, ruling that forward progress would have caused Gant to step off the bag. Gant angrily disputed the call and had to be restrained when Coble refused to change it. The commentators at the time remarked that it appeared that Hrbek had in fact lifted Gant off the bag and that his 235 pound frame helped him lift the lighter Gant who weighs only 172 pounds. The move was later nicknamed the "T-Rex Tag," after Hrbek jokingly speculated on a post-baseball career in professional wrestling using the name Tyrannosaurus Rex. When the Series moved to Atlanta, Braves fans jeered him, and Hrbek received much hate mail, including a death threat.

Although he was a key part of both World Series teams, Hrbek was largely ineffective at the plate, hitting only .154 in 24 post-season games with only 3 homeruns and 12 RBI. Hrbek was one of seven Twins to be part of both the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams. The other six were Randy Bush, Greg Gagne, Kirby Puckett, Al Newman, Gene Larkin, who made the winning hit in Game 7 of the 1991 series, and Dan Gladden, who was the runner Larkin scored with that hit.