I've taken my bows... and my curtain calls ... you brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it -- I thank you all.

On October 27, 1991, at about a half hour before midnight, champagne was sprayed into naked eyes from all directions in the home clubhouse at the Metrodome, and "We are the Champions" by Queen blared on a continuous loop, wooing the just-crowned-World Series champs with its demanding harmonies, after the Twins beat the Braves in a grueling Game 7.

At the time, second-year Twins pitcher Scott Erickson -- fresh off what would be the best season of his career, winning 20 games and logging a 3.18 ERA -- didn't fully realize how much that moment would mean.

"There's really no way you can," said the righthander, who would pitch in the majors until 2006 but would never play in another World Series. "But once you get, like, seven, eight years later and you never get back ... you realize how amazing it was."

For a long time after, hearing that song gave him chills. Two years ago, longing to hear that music again -- or at least find a new melody -- Erickson, now 43, found himself seeking that life once again. He went down to Mexico with the Twins in 2009 to play winter ball, and see if he could make one last push at the game.

"I just thought I'd give it a shot," he said. "I felt really good. I was in good shape ... I was healthy. You always miss playing something you've played your whole life."

The comeback didn't work. After the winter camp was over, the Twins designated him to one of their minor league camps, but Erickson had gone into the adventure thinking it was big leagues or bust. After he left baseball in 2006 -- after a season in which he had a 7.94 ERA in nine relief outings with the Yankees -- he had harbored a lot of questions. He felt he still was throwing the ball well, but he had gotten some "bad breaks."

"But that was the end of that," he said. "It just kind of put it to rest."

Instead he did just that-- rest -- at his home in Lake Tahoe with his wife, "Inside Edition" reporter Lisa Guererro, while also sinking his hands in a couple of other projects. Erickson started an independent film company called Home Team Productions and put out one movie, "A Plumm Summer," which showed in Minneapolis. While film funding has been cut thin in the bad economy, Erickson jumped on board with a telecommunications company after being lured by former major leaguer Steve Sax.

"I'm not really qualified, so to speak, for a 9-to-5 job," he said. "... I'm sure every guy misses baseball a little bit, but you also know that you can't play forever. It's just amazing to be able to play one day, or however long your career is."

And have memories to last a lifetime.

AMELIA RAYNO