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SPEAKER 1: But what a grueling few weeks of baseball.

SPEAKER 2: It sure was. I was thinking this morning that if I was a teacher, I think I'd have a writing assignment for my kids today. It would be who was your favorite hero of the World Series, and justify your reason? Because there would be so many players you could choose. Yes, Morris pitched a fantastic game last night, and he did get the Most Valuable Player award. But who was yours?

SPEAKER 1: Boy, I'd have to point to Morris and even Kirby Puckett, and even rookie Chuck Knoblauch was very impressive. But I think my personal MVP has got to be Brian Harper. He did the job all the games, some amazing at bats. He kept hitting when a lot of other people didn't. He picked up, ended up picking off a key base runner in game six. He was always faulted for not being able to get the job done. And with his amazing catching duties there in some of those games.

SPEAKER 2: While he was getting knocked flat on his back.

SPEAKER 1: And for having to work with the pitchers for the majority of innings, he is a workhorse, and what a fabulous human being he is to take it all in stride and be very kind and gracious with fans and players and reporters and whatnot. There during batting practice last night, fans were all hanging over the edge, hovering around, yelling at Harper, and he kept throwing-- he threw a couple dozen baseballs up in the stands just to give some other fans and people some happy moments and pleasant mementos.

SPEAKER 2: Well, of course. Yeah, we'll have some more of those tomorrow. It should be really fun for the fans and the players tomorrow at the celebrations.

SPEAKER 1: So true.

SPEAKER 2: But any final thoughts on the Braves? I think that everyone is kind of wishing that the trophy could be split in half because it was so very, very close.

SPEAKER 1: What fabulous players, some fabulous pitchers. It was such an evenly matched series. Truly some class individuals. Even Tom Kelly was so moved to comment on Atlanta.

TOM KELLY: When Lonnie Smith walked up to home plate tonight and shook Brian Harper's hand and said, let's have a nice, good game, and good luck, that was class. And Ron Gant on the field after the game. What a classy individual. And it goes right through the whole team and the whole organization. Bobby Cox, John Schuerholz, right on down.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable group of people. And we were real fortunate to compete and was able to compete with them in the World Series and have two teams go from last to first. You got to take your hat off to both organizations. The front office did outstanding job.

SPEAKER 2: That's a good point that Tom Kelly made about the class factor. Here we had such a suspenseful series, so much tension. It was so very close that tempers really could have exploded, and they never did.

SPEAKER 1: So true. Really a bunch of professional, fine young people. I can't say enough about them.

SPEAKER 2: Well, of course, we had a championship back in 1987 too. Somehow, to me, this feels a little bit different. I can't really put my finger on it.

SPEAKER 1: There were some mixed feelings. Some people-- I personally think this was an amazing World Series. It was just so draining. This was probably one of my favorites. Some people were just kind of evenly matched about it. Puckett was asked how he compared this World Series to the '87 one.

PUCKETT: Well, it's really no-- it's really no difference, man. I mean, the win-- when you win, like I said, a lot of people play this game all their lives, man. They don't get a chance-- an opportunity-- to do the things that we've done. And it's been super, man. I mean, I can't really explain it, man. It's nothing really to say, man, except we're the best in the world. And like I said, both teams deserve to win, man. We played hard all year, and the Braves played hard all year. And it just came down to one swing, man. And it was Gene Larkin's sacrifice fly that did it.

SPEAKER 2: And I love, too, that the winning run scored by Dan Gladden-- he got on base with a broken bat hit.

SPEAKER 1: Oh, the hits were hard to come by last night.

SPEAKER 2: They really were. Of course, Jack Morris has got to be the biggest star. 1987 we saw Frank Viola, the real pitching star. Any last thoughts that anyone had on Morris? What are they saying?

SPEAKER 1: People were just flabbergasted. Tom Kelly was just amazed too. What a workhorse. That's what they got him for-- to pitch innings, to get people through the game. And did he ever come back to pitch 10 innings. They were hoping to maybe get seven or eight out of him. To pitch that many scoreless innings to, even Rick Aguilera was up in the bullpen last night. The last few innings, he wasn't quite sure if he'd get in or not. He had a fabulous postseason play, too. And he talked a little bit about Jack Morris.

RICK AGUILERA: He pitched big games all year for us, and we knew we had the right guy out there on the mound for us. I just kind of-- I kept getting up every inning. The last couple innings, I was up. But Jack just kept seemed to settle them all down in order. So I was just-- wasn't real sure if I got a chance to pitch or not. And Jack just kept set him down. I didn't get a phone call that I was going to be in the game. So as far as I know, he was going back out there for the 11th.

He was just incredible. You can't say enough for the effort he pulled off tonight. Three days rest three times in a row, or two times in a row. You just can't say enough about his effort there.

SPEAKER 2: Well, I think he sounded so excited. And they were so up, of course. But they've got to be drained.

SPEAKER 1: And it was so grueling. That's the one thing. They said it wasn't even fun, almost. It was just so tension-filled and so grueling, and they're just glad to be done with it.