Well, it happened... I think it's safe to say that the loss of Twins great Kirby Puckett is pretty big. Puckett, 44, passed away this afternoon due to complications resulting from a stroke, suffered on Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“This is a sad day for the Minnesota Twins, Major League Baseball and baseball fans everywhere,” Twins owner Carl Pohlad said. “His impact on the Twins organization, the State of Minnesota and Upper Midwest is significant and goes well beyond his role in helping the Twins win two World Championships. A tremendous teammate, Kirby will always be remembered for his never-ending hustle, infectious personality, trademark smile and commitment to the community. There will never be another 'Puck'.”
Considered by many to be the greatest Twin ever, he was baseball's jewel for 12 incredible seasons. His story was about being a hero from day one, when he became the ninth player in history to collect four hits in his first game, May 8, 1984. The dramatic entrance proved to be just the first of many heroic performances leading up to his most shining moment on October 26, 1991 during Game Six of the World Series vs. Atlanta. He went 3 for 4, made a leaping catch off the plexiglass to rob Ron Gant of an extra-base hit and became the ninth player to end a World Series game with a home run on the final pitch off Charlie Leibrandt in the 11th inning to force Game Seven.
The 10-time All-Star, 6-time Gold Glove Award winner and 5-time Silver Slugger Award winner had his career cut short when he awoke with blurred vision caused by glaucoma, on the morning of March 28, 1996. He was later forced to announce his retirement on July 12, 1996 due to irreversible damage to the retina in his right eye. He retired as the Twins' All-Time leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414), total bases (3,453), at-bats (7,244) and runs (1,071).
Besides his endless on-field accomplishments, Puckett was also one of the game's greatest community leaders and was given Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Man of the Year Award in 1996. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2001, becoming the third-youngest living electee in baseball history (behind Sandy Koufax and Lou Gehrig). He had his number 34 formally retired by the Twins on May 25, 1997, was selected to the Twins' 40th Season Anniversary All-Time Team in 2000 and was inducted into the Twins' Hall of Fame on August 12, 2000.
Puckett is survived by his daughter Catherine, son Kirby, Jr., and his fiancée Jodi Olson and her son Cameron. Funeral arrangements are pending at this time and will be communicated once they become available.
Look, I'm not much on sports, but this was pretty big. Sorry to let you know, but there it is... it does happen in threes, sad to say.
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Puckett had possibly the greatest fall from grace in the history of sports. He was a lovable champion, a Hall of Famer who always seemed to come up big in the clutch. And he was pudgy, which made the whole world assume he was a big teddy bear.
Then he was exposed in a 2003 Sports Illustrated article by Frank DeFord as a less-than-lovable man. "The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett" detailed the other side of Puckett. His early death sucks, and there's no need to kick dirt on his grave today, but it's a fascinating story of perception vs. reality. The always insane sports-talk radio crowd was practically rooting for his death over the weekend, the attitude being that Puckett was a fraud. But, really, we were the ones who projected fat and fun onto him in the first place.
Here's a link to the SI article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/03/11/si_puckett/
One correction: we didn't project the fat. That was all him.