Revisit Kirby Puckett's superhuman 6-for-6 game

In its new series "Hidden Classics," MLB is digging into its archives and dusting off big games you might have forgotten about from your favorite stars of yesteryear. Stay tuned to MLB.com/HiddenClassics and MLB's YouTube channel for more Hidden Classic games.

Baseball emphasizes the team over the individual more than most sports. It’s hard for a player to say they single-handedly won a game.

But Kirby Puckett was someone who really did make it seem like he could carry a whole team on his back. Many fans can recall Puckett doing just that in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, when he robbed Atlanta’s Ron Gant of an extra-base hit against the plexiglass walls at the Metrodome, and then clubbed a walk-off homer over those same walls to force Game 7.

So what if we told you that Puckett had another game very similar to that epic performance, four years prior? It’s another superhuman Puckett effort that’s the focus of this week’s “Hidden Classics,” MLB’s web series that dusts off big games from big stars of yesteryear.

The Twins captured their first World Series championship in 1987, but they had little margin for error throughout the season. Minnesota won the American League West by just two games, and they entered an Aug. 30 road matchup against the Brewers tied with the A’s for the division lead.

That meant Puckett arrived at Milwaukee’s County Stadium knowing his club needed a big effort, and did he ever rise to the occasion. Just hours after he rattled off a 4-for-5, two-homer showing in the Saturday night matchup, Puckett came back to the ballpark and somehow improved on that. Puckett authored a perfect 6-for-6 day at the plate, tacking on two more home runs, and also robbed a potential grand slam hit by fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount.

All told, Puckett could submit his two-game totals as maybe the best under-24-hour period a ballplayer has ever had: 10 hits in 11 at-bats, four home runs and another four runs saved with his glove.

You can revisit Puckett’s incredible day by watching the condensed game in the video player above, or on MLB’s YouTube channel.

For previous editions of “Hidden Classics,” check out:

• Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners’ final game at Seattle’s Kingdome
• Albert Pujols’ 5-for-5, three-homer game at Wrigley Field
• A vintage Pedro Martinez-Roger Clemens pitchers’ duel at Yankee Stadium