HolyStitt Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 It has just been announced on the Minneapolis/St. Paul news that Kirby Puckett received last rites and passed away today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Bummer. Kirby was a gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 He seemed to be a good guy and better player. I hear he had ballooned to almost 400 lbs. Not a good thing. Sorrow all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I enjoyed watching him play, and was always amazed that he could do what he did while carrying all that weight. But he looked to me like a walking time bomb for something cardiac related, even in his playing days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Very sad news. RIP Kirby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Twins fans worshiped him (until he was charged with sexual assault) because he brought two World Series Championships to the area. He seemed so happy playing the game and was usually in the running for batting titles. Most people from the area can quote the line the announcer made after Puck hit the homerun in Game Six of the 1991 World Series. I would see him sitting in courtside seats at Timberwolves games, he always looked very unhealthy and unhappy. Within one year, he went through a messy public divorce, a mistress made their affair public, and he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a restaurant. After he was found not guilty, he stopped going to the T-Wolves games, stopped working with the Twins organization, and moved to Arizona. Until yesterday, I figured he would eventually be back with the organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Wow. Sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 He really seemed like the ultimate happy player, like a latter-day Ernie Banks. Having your career cut short by losing your eyesite(in one eye) has to be hard to take. Hopefully he is at peace now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Wow ... what a sad end to a life that seemed to sadly go the wrong way. He was my favorite player during his playing years (except for maybe George Brett). I feel for his kids and those close to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Twizzle Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The 911 call Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The 911 call I think I'll take Werner Herzog's advice from Grizzly Man and not play it. Like Berigan I got the impression having his playing career end so unexpectedly hit him hard. But damn, what a joy to watch! R.I.P. Kirby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 If you want to see the personification of a player carrying a team on his back, look no further than the 6th game of the 1991 Series. Absolutely remarkable. It was painful to see Puckett tarnish his reputation after he was done playing, but while he was between the lines, he was something. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I will remember him this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 I will remember him this way. Not the Leaf version? I was more a fan of the '85 Topps. It seems ESPN had his age wrong, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says 45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 44 or 45 - either one is much too young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Easily one of the most memorable home runs of my lifetime. RIP Kirby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Easily one of the most memorable home runs of my lifetime. RIP Kirby. Everytime I see this picture, I think "and we will see you tomorrow night!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom in RI Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 The Red Sox made a push for Puckett as a free agent at one point but he only used Boston as leverage with The Twins. Would have loved to have him in Beantown. Having said that I respect that he stayed in Minnesota even though he likely could have squeezed out more money in Boston or elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 85 Topps i thought that kirby was hit in the head / eye area at the end of his career Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted March 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 85 Topps i thought that kirby was hit in the head / eye area at the end of his career That's the one, but mine had gum staining on the back! The last game he played in he was hit in the eye with a pitch. He left the game and eventually had surgery on the eye. He wasn't able to see very well out of the eye and than it was announced that he had glaucoma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 For some reason, Donruss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 It seems ESPN had his age wrong, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says 45. That was the one comical aspect of this was seeing his age listed as 44, 45, and 46. News organizations have obituaries ready to roll for most people near the age of 60 (or those whose lifestyle warrent an early write up. ) This one caught 'em and shows what lousy mathematicians journalists are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 R.I.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Sad news. Though I don't follow baseball, his is one of the few names that I can remember along with Brett (Go Royals!). Brings back a few memories of watching baseball with my dad on TV when I was young, which was about the only time I ever saw the game. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Twizzle Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 It seems ESPN had his age wrong, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says 45. That was the one comical aspect of this was seeing his age listed as 44, 45, and 46. News organizations have obituaries ready to roll for most people near the age of 60 (or those whose lifestyle warrent an early write up. ) This one caught 'em and shows what lousy mathematicians journalists are. Well there's a reason they got it wrong. From the Star Tribune The birthdate of March 14, 1961, that appeared in biographies distributed by the Twins during his playing days is a year off, but he never was concerned about correcting the original mistake. That birthday appears on many Puckett biographies. A LexisNexis search confirmed the truth: Puck was born in March 1960, which made him 45 at the time of his death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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