June 16, 1997: Mark Smith’s homer lifts Pirates over Twins in Metrodome’s first-ever interleague game

Interleague play brought National League clubs to American League ballparks – and vice versa – during the 1997 regular season, an occurrence previously limited to the World Series and exhibitions. The first interleague game at Minneapolis’s Metrodome was played on June 16, when the Minnesota Twins hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mark Smith, the first-ever designated hitter in Pirates history, homered to pace Pittsburgh to an eight-run lead, and the Pirates held off a late Twins rally for an 8-6 win.

Baseball’s regular season, bounded within leagues since the nineteenth century, broke from tradition in 1997.1 Each club was scheduled for 15 or 16 geographically paired interleague games.2 In their first interleague series, which began on June 13, the AL Central Division’s Twins visited the NL Central’s Houston Astros. The Pirates, also in the NL Central, played an AL Central club, the Kansas City Royals, at Three Rivers Stadium.

The Twins were last in the five-team AL Central, but they beat the Astros handily in their first two interleague games.3 A ninth-inning unearned run, when catcher Terry Steinbach dropped a popped-up squeeze bunt for an error, denied Minnesota a sweep at the Astrodome.4 The Pirates won their first game against the Royals before dropping the next two.5 With a stripped-down roster and $9 million payroll, by far the lowest in the majors, Pittsburgh had a 32-34 record but was tied with Houston for first in the NL Central.6

Next was a three-game series between the Twins and Pirates. Other NL clubs had visited the Metrodome during its first 16 seasons, but under more traditional league-crossing circumstances. The St. Louis Cardinals lost all four games played there during the 1987 World Series; the Atlanta Braves did the same in 1991. The Dome’s controlled climate had made it ideal for preseason exhibitions, beginning with a two-game stadium-opening set for the Twins and Philadelphia Phillies in 1982 and continuing through April tune-ups with the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, and Colorado Rockies during the 1980s and ’90s.7

Still, it was a new experience for the Pirates. Left fielder Al Martin, on the disabled list with a hand injury,8 mistakenly showed up at the Target Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Timberwolves, believing it to be the Metrodome.9 Prior to the game, Pittsburgh’s outfielders took fungoes for an hour against the Dome’s white roof.10

None of the Pirates’ prior cross-league engagements since the AL adopted the designated hitter rule in 1973 had involved the DH. Pitchers had hit for themselves during the 1979 World Series with the Baltimore Orioles and the interleague home games against the Royals.11 But the DH was in effect for interleague play on AL diamonds, and Pirates manager Gene Lamont tapped the 27-year-old, right-handed hitting Smith for that role, batting sixth.

Twins left-hander Scott Aldred made his 15th start of the season before a Monday night crowd of 16,007. He had allowed 18 home runs on his way to a 2-9 record and a 7.36 ERA, the highest of any starter in the majors.12 It was scoreless in the second inning when Pittsburgh’s Kevin Young drove a hanging slider into the right-center gap for a leadoff double. Young took third on Joe Randa’s groundout, bringing up Smith.

A University of Southern California All-American in 1991 and Baltimore’s first-round pick in that June’s draft,13 Smith had appeared in 67 games with the Orioles from 1994 through 1996. He changed organizations twice before Opening Day in 1997, in trades to the San Diego Padres and Pirates.14 Pittsburgh called him up from Triple A when Martin was sidelined in May,15 but Smith strained his hamstring in his first game and went on the disabled list himself, returning for the series finale with the Royals.16

Aldred threw a fastball for a strike. His next pitch was a breaking ball. The 6-foot-3 Smith drove it over the fence in left, about 10 rows into the Metrodome’s blue seats. The Pirates had a 2-0 lead.

Starting with Smith’s homer, Pittsburgh rolled up three straight two-run innings. In the third, rookie Adrian Brown – promoted directly from Double A in May, when starting center fielder Jermaine Allensworth broke his hand17 – singled with one out, and Twins right fielder Matt Lawton lost Jason Kendall’s line drive in the lights.18 The double put Pirates on second and third, and Young bounced a single up the middle to score Brown and Kendall.

Aldred was still on the mound in the fourth. Emil Brown walked with two outs and stole second with Pittsburgh’s ninth-place hitter, shortstop Kevin Polcovich, at bat.19

As with Adrian Brown, an injury had pressed the 26-year-old Polcovich into a starting role. Kevin Elster, Pittsburgh’s highest-profile offseason signing and the club’s leader in home runs and RBIs,20 had suffered a season-ending broken wrist in May.21 Polcovich’s career seemed stalled when he began 1997, his sixth season in the Pirates organization, in Double A, but in Elster’s absence he had hit .286 in 25 games.22

On a 3-and-1 pitch, Polcovich ripped Aldred’s high fastball for his first big-league home run, clearing the 343-foot sign and landing just inside the foul pole in left. Pittsburgh’s lead was 6-0.23

The offensive eruption benefited right-hander Jason Schmidt, a prized prospect who had come to Pittsburgh in the August 1996 deal that sent All-Star left-hander Denny Neagle to the Braves.24 Winless in his past eight starts, the 24-year-old Schmidt had struggled through five innings with a 5-0 lead in his most recent outing, six days earlier against the Reds.25

Schmidt gave up 40-year-old designated hitter Paul Molitor’s 3,077th career hit, a single, while striking out three Twins in the first inning.26 He allowed one baserunner in each of the second and third innings before beginning a long perfect string. Minnesota went down in order in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

“Mr. Schmidt dominated the game, no question about it,” said Twins manager Tom Kelly, in his 12th season at the helm in Minnesota.27

The Pirates added two more runs against Minnesota’s bullpen. Frankie Rodríguez replaced Aldred in the fifth and turned in two scoreless innings. In the seventh, however, Polcovich hit a one-out chopper over first baseman Scott Stahoviak’s head, hustled into second for a double, and scored on Tony Womack’s single. José Guillén’s single off Todd Ritchie in the eighth drove in Young for an 8-0 lead.

Schmidt took a 93-pitch, eight-strikeout, two-hit shutout into the bottom of the eighth, when the Twins stirred. Marty Cordova slapped a hanging breaking ball to right for a single, snapping Schmidt’s run of 14 in a row retired. Rich Becker pulled a double off the Teflon baggie in right field; Minnesota had its first runners in scoring position of the game.

Pat Meares’ triple, bounding across the artificial turf to the wall in left, scored Cordova and Becker. The Twins’ fourth straight hit, Chuck Knoblauch’s single, made it 8-3. Lamont replaced Schmidt with left-hander Ricardo Rincón.28

Things seemed to settle down as pinch-hitter Roberto Kelly struck out and Molitor flied out. But Steinbach – a Twin Cities native and University of Minnesota alum who had joined the Twins as a free agent in December 1996 – hit a two-run homer to left.29 The Pirates’ eight-run lead was down to 8-5.

Pittsburgh put runners at second and third with one out in the ninth, but veteran closer Rick Aguilera kept the game within reach by striking out Young and Randa to end the inning. Denny Hocking, batting for Stahoviak, led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single, and Lamont turned to his closer, rookie Rich Loiselle.30

Loiselle induced Cordova and Becker to ground out, moving Hocking to third but pushing the Twins to their final out. Minnesota cut the deficit to two runs when pinch-hitter Greg Myers singled Hocking home. But Knoblauch grounded out to Womack at second, ending the game.

The Twins followed up their late-game surge with two one-sided wins, outscoring the Pirates, 21-3.31 Minnesota finished 1997 with a 64-98 record, fourth in the AL Central. It was the fifth of eight consecutive losing seasons for the Twins.

Smith remained with Pittsburgh for the rest of the season, hitting .285 with a .503 slugging percentage in 71 games. His nine home runs included three late-inning game-winners: a 10th inning tiebreaker against Hall of Fame-bound Dennis Eckersley of the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4; a ninth-inning walk-off against Los Angeles Dodgers’ veteran Todd Worrell on August 25, part of a back-to-back barrage with Randa that turned a two-run deficit into victory; and, most famously, a game-ending pinch-hit blast against Houston’s John Hudek that broke a scoreless tie in Francisco Córdova and Rincón’s 10-inning combined no-hitter on July 12.32 The Pirates remained in contention in the NL Central until September, coming in second, five games behind the Astros at 79-83.33

The Twins left the Metrodome for Target Field after the 2009 season. In 113 interleague games in their indoor home, Minnesota won 71 and lost 42, a .628 winning percentage.34

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin. The author thanks SABR member Andrew Terrick for research assistance. Gary Belleville and Kurt Blumenau provided insightful comments on an earlier version of this article.

Photo credit: Mark Smith, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play. The author reviewed game coverage in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspapers and a YouTube video of the television broadcast on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN199706160.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B06160MIN1997.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Pxb-cCXxA

Notes

1 Baseball’s owners and players approved interleague play for two seasons on an “experimental basis.” Paul Meyer, “Baseball Approves NL vs. AL for 1997: Pirates Would Play AL Central Teams,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 19, 1996: C-1; Associated Press, “Players Approve Contract: 4-Year Baseball Deal Has Revenue Sharing,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 6, 1996: C-1.

2 Associated Press, “Owners Approve Interleague Play: In ’97 Twins to Play Cubs, Reds, Others in NL Central,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 19, 1996: C5.

3 Jim Souhan, “Twins Give a Glimpse of the Past: Winning Interleague Debut Recalls Formula for 1996 Success,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 14, 1997: C1; Jim Souhan, “Local Boys Make Good for Twins,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 15, 1997: C1.

4 Jim Souhan, “Bunt Is Botched at Both Ends, But Astros Leave Twins a Run Short,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 16, 1997: C1.

5 Paul Meyer, “Inter-taining: Randa Shines Against Former Team,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 14, 1997: B-1; Paul Meyer, “King Plays a Royal Game: Ex-Pirate Homers Twice in 8-3 Victory,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 15, 1997: D-7; Ron Cook, “Crowded at Home Plate: Pirates’ Lack of Success Before Big Audience Continues Vs. Rotals, 8-1,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 16, 1997: C-1.

6 Projecting heavy financial losses, Pittsburgh had begun trading veterans for younger players or prospects in August 1996 and continued cost-cutting through the offseason. Manager Jim Leyland, at the helm for three straight division titles from 1990 through 1992, moved on to manage the Florida Marlins. Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster in 1997 included few players with more than a season or two of big-league experience. The total payroll was $9 million, lowest among the 28 major-league clubs. Associated Press, “Mad Money: Belle’s $10 Million Salary Will Surpass Pirates’ Entire Payroll,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 3, 1997: B-1; Robert Dvorchak, “A Baseball Season to Cherish and Cheer,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 21, 1997: Special Section, 2.

7 The Twins hosted 13 preseason exhibition games at the Metrodome from 1982 through 1994.

Jay Weiner, “Twins Open Dome With 5-0 Win,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 4, 1982: 1C; Jay Weiner, “Crowd Missing as Phils Tip Twins,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 5, 1982: 1D; Tom Briere, “Oelkers, Twins Slap Reds 11-5,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 3, 1983: 9C; Tom Briere, “Twins Test Fence in Victory,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 4, 1983: 6C; Steve Aschburner, “Backman Is All Right in His Dome Debut,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 2, 1989: 10C; Dennis Brackin, “One of Those Days: Loss No Surprise to Twins’ Toliver,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 3, 1989: 1C; Steve Aschburner, “Only 5,617 See Twins Win in 9th,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 7, 1990: 1C; Steve Aschburner, “Defense Can’t Stop Expos From Winning,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 8, 1990: 8C; Jeff Lenihan, “Twins Go Up Against A’s, Low Expectations Tonight,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 9, 1990: 1C; Jim Souhan, “Winfield Springs Into Action in First Game in Metrodome,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 4, 1993: 10C; Jim Souhan, “Kelly Hopes a Rocky Ending Means Twins Are Ready,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 5, 1993: 8C; Brian Wicker, “Twins Bury Cubs With 10-Run Inning: Metrodome Debut Ends With Victory,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 3, 1994: 6C; Jim Souhan, “Twins Lose Last Spring Game: Anthony Young – Yes, That One – Is Winning Pitcher,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 4, 1994: 4C.

8 Paul Meyer, “Martin Placed on Disabled List: Ericks Moves to 60-Day DL; Pirates Call Up Red-Hot Smith,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 23, 1997: C-5.

9 Paul Meyer, “Advice in Metrodome: Keep Your Eye on Ball,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 1997: B-3.

10 Meyer, “Advice in Metrodome: Keep Your Eye on Ball.”

11 From 1976 through 1985, baseball used the designated hitter in the World Series during even-numbered years. Pitchers batted during odd-numbered years, including 1979. John Cronin, “The Historical Evolution of the Designated Hitter Rule,” SABR Baseball Research Journal Vol. 45, No. 2 (2016): 5-14.

12 Jim Souhan, “Rangers Maul Aldred, Jarvis,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 12, 1997: C5.

13 Kent Baker, “Orioles Sign Mark Smith, 1st-Round Pick in Draft: Outfielder’s 1st Game Will Be in Class A,” Baltimore Sun, July 19, 1991: 1C.

14 Jason LaCanfora, “Orioles Deal Smith for Padres Prospect,” Baltimore Sun, January 10, 1997: 7D; Paul Meyer, “Pirates Trade Beamon to Padres: Also Deal Encarnacion for 2 Minor Leaguers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 30, 1997: C-7.

15 Meyer, “Martin Placed on Disabled List.”

16 Paul Meyer, “Pesky Injury Bug Just Won’t Let Up: Martin News Is Good; Garcia Replaces Smith,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 24, 1997: B-5.

17 Paul Meyer, “Injury Forces Pirates’ Hand: Brown Is Promoted; Hermansen Switched,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 17, 1997: D-5.

18 “That’s the first time all year the ball went into the lights and didn’t come out,” Lawton said. John Millea, “Twins Too Little, Too Late: An 8-0 Hole Is Too Much to Overcome,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 17, 1997: C1.

19 The Pirates kept Brown on the major-league roster for the entire 1997 season after selecting him from the Oakland A’s in the Rule 5 draft in December 1996. Paul Meyer, “Pirates Plans Could Center on Brown,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 27, 1997: D-9.

20 Elster, who had appeared in postseason games for the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, had hit 24 home runs and driven in 99 runs for the Rangers in 1996. Paul Meyer, “Pirates Obtain Elster: Free-Agent Shortstop Gets 1-Year, $1.5 Million Deal,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 20, 1996: B-6.

21 Elster had 7 home runs and 25 RBIs when he was injured on May 16. Paul Meyer, “Elster Will Miss 12 Weeks,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 18, 1997: D-7; Gene Collier, “Will Quiet Pirates Batting Lineup Take the Fifth Without Elster?” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 18, 1997: D-7.

22 Ron Cook, “Sticking Like Glue: Unknown, Untested Kevin Polcovich Steps Up to Patch a Big Hole at Shortstop for Pirates,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 1997: C-3.

23 The Twins demoted Aldred to Triple A on June 22 and he did not pitch in the majors again in 1997. He had a 20-39 record and 6.02 ERA in nine seasons with six major-league clubs. Jim Souhan, “Stevens Is Recalled; Aldred Sent to Salt Lake,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 23, 1997: C7.

24 Paul Meyer, “An Ace on Deck,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 27, 1997: B-1.

25 Schmidt threw 87 pitches in five innings against the Reds on June 10, allowing seven hits and two runs, and left the game with a 5-2 lead. Cincinnati rallied against Pittsburgh’s bullpen for an 8-5 win. Schmidt entered his start at the Metrodome with a 1-4 record, 5.53 ERA, and 7 no-decisions in 12 starts. Paul Meyer, “Pirates Caught Red-Handed, Blow 5-0 Lead: Loiselle’s Error in 8th Paves Way for Cincinnati to Grab 8-5 Victory,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 11, 1997: C-1; Paul Meyer, “Twin Killing: On American League Turf, Pirates’ DH and No. 9 Hitter Homer in 8-6 Win, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 1997: B-1.

26 With the designated hitter not in use when the Twins played in Houston, Molitor had moved to first base for two of the three games.

27 Millea, “Twins Too Little, Too Late.”

28 Schmidt had a 10-9 record and 4.60 ERA in 32 starts for the Pirates in 1997. He won 130 games in 14 major-league seasons with the Braves, Pirates, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected for three All-Star teams and was the NL’s ERA leader in 2003 with the Giants.

29 Steinbach, a three-time All-Star in 11 seasons with the Oakland A’s, was one of several stars hailing from the Twin Cities who signed with the Twins as free agents in the 1990s, following future Hall of Famers Jack Morris, Dave Winfield, and Molitor. Jim Souhan, “Steinbach Returns Home: Twins Win Catcher With Family Pitch,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 6, 1996: C1.

30 John Ericks began the season as Pittsburgh’s closer. He had six saves and a 1.93 ERA in his first 10 appearances, but he injured his neck in April and never again pitched professionally after 1997. The 25-year-old Loiselle stepped into the closer role and recorded 29 saves in 72 appearances. Paul Meyer, “Great Save: Rich Loiselle’s Sudden Move to the Bullpen in ’97 Turned out the Best for Him and Pirates,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 26, 1998: D-3.

31 On June 17, LaTroy Hawkins, in his first start after getting recalled from Triple A, limited the Pirates to three hits in seven innings, and Mears’ four hits led a 17-hit attack in the Twins’ 13-1 win. Minnesota broke open the series finale with a five-run third inning and cruised to an 8-2 victory. Jim Souhan, “It’s a Fond Welcome Home in the Dome as Hawkins Tops Pirates,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 18, 1997: C1; Patrick Reusse, “Meares Gets Hit; Twins Hit Back: Kelly Claims Pitcher ‘Threw At’ Meares; Pirates’ Lamont Scoffs,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 19, 1997: C1.

32 Paul Meyer, “Mark of a Contender: Smith’s Homer Leads to Fifth Straight Victory,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 5, 1997: D-5; Bob Smizik, “Astro-Naught: Cordova and Rincon Combine on No-Hitter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 13, 1997: D-10; Paul Meyer, “Another Pirates’ Drama Unfolds: 9th-Inning HRs Earn Split in Doubleheader,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 26, 1997: D-3. In eight major-league seasons, Smith hit .243 with 32 home runs in 414 games with the Orioles, Pirates, Florida Marlins, Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers.

33 It was the fifth of 20 consecutive losing seasons for the Pirates, a record among major North American professional sports leagues.

34 The Twins had an 8-4 record in interleague play against Pittsburgh at the Metrodome.