Q&A: Morris reflects on Game 7 in ’91, Bumgarner

Jack Morris was a workhorse during his big league career.

Including the postseason, he appeared in 562 games, 540 of them as a starter, and worked 3,916 1/3 innings.

However, one start, has become the focus of his career — his Game 7, 1-0, 10-inning complete-game victory for the Twins over the Braves in the 1991 World Series.

It has become the standard by which other great postseason performances are measured, and it became a central point of conversation when the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, 3-0, victory against the Mets in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night.

Morris discussed the two games in this week’s Q&A:

MLB.com: Bumgarner’s complete-game shutout in the NL Wild Card Game brought up memories of your 1-0, 10-inning effort for the Twins against the Braves in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

Morris: The difference is, they had to win to continue in the postseason. We were in a win-or-go-home situation. It was the final game of the postseason. Everything was done the night that I pitched, and they’re just getting started. But what he has done has been off the chart. It’s incredible what he has done.

MLB.com: What he did in Game 7 two years ago, where, on two days’ rest, he comes back and pitches the final five innings for a save after a complete-game shutout in Game 5 was pretty impressive.

Morris: Yeah. I tried to pitch Game 6 in Minnesota. I was ready to go on two days’ rest. TK (manager Tom Kelly) wouldn’t let me. I’m not shocked with that kid. He’s built that way. It’s in his DNA. He’s unique in that respect.

MLB.com: From your standpoint, safe to say that Game 7 in 1991 was the biggest moment of a career with a lot of big moments?

Morris: No question. How many Game 7s do we get? They are just so rare the way the game is played that you get the chance to be out there for the final out. Bumgarner might be the only guy in today’s game that’ll even get a chance, and (Bruce) Bochy’s got a good feel for that too. He had no intention of taking him out of the game, especially once they scored, which is even more remarkable. Most guys say, “OK, you’re done. We got to save you for your next game.” He said, “No, we got to win. You’re going back out.”

MLB.com: Didn’t TK come out to the mound once, but said he got the message real quick that you weren’t giving him the ball, so it didn’t matter?

Morris: We weren’t even talking about that at the time. That was the …

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