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Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Pedro Munoz, Great Feeling - 19

Originally published May 6, 2015
Pedro Munoz brought a long night to a sudden end in this September 1993 game, according to The Associated Press.

The Minnesota Twin Munoz hit a walk off home run to end the game. It was the bottom of the 22nd inning.

"It's always a great feeling anytime you hit a home run to win a game," Munoz told The Associated Press, "but I wasn't trying to hit a homer. I was just trying to get on base because (Dave) Winfield was up next."

Munoz hit that home run in his fourth season with time in the majors. He went on to see time in seven seasons, amassing 517 total major league games played and 67 total major league home runs.

Munoz' career began in 1985, signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent out of his native Puerto Rico.

Munoz started in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to single-A Florence in 1986. He made AA Knoxville in 1989. He made AAA Syracuse in 1990.

Munoz moved to the Twins organization in a July trade. It was that September that he made his major league debut. Munoz got into 22 games for the Twins that month, hitting .271.

He returned to the Twins for 51 more games in 1991, hitting .283. That June, Munoz started the game and he hit a grand slam in the first inning.

"Pedro got us off to a good start," Twins manager Tom Kelly told The AP afterward. "Did any of you think that ball was going to go that far? It just kept going. Man, he hit that ball."

Munoz then became a regular. He got into 127 games in 1992, hitting .270. He also hit 12 home runs.

He hit another 13 home runs in 1993, with a .233 average. Munoz stayed with the Twins through 1995. His best season came in 1995, hitting .301, with 18 home runs.

Munoz moved to the Athletics for 1996. That May, he hit a ball 463 feet for a home run at Camden Yards, according to The Baltimore Sun.

"I knew it was out when I hit it," Munoz told The Sun, "but I didn't know how far it had gone."

Munoz got into just 34 games for the Athletics that year, hitting .256. Those 34 games were the last of his career.

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