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Page 1 of 2 I remember at such a young age being mesmerized by a pudgy Kirby Puckett leaping into the wall and making “that catch” in the 1991 World Series. That moment next to his homerun, Jack Morris, and Lonnie Smith being fooled on the bases made the 1991 World Series one that I will never forget.
I can still remember these four moments as vividly as I remember the Atlanta Braves losing in seven to the Minnesota Twins in one of the greatest World Series ever played. I was too young to truly understand at the time but was smart enough to watch every inning of all seven games. The 1991 World Series was the key and the start of my fascination with America’s pastime and Kirby Puckett played the lead role.
I was not too young to however begin my hatred toward the Atlanta Braves who were in the same division as my beloved San Francisco Giants. I remember the start of the series I with the utmost hatred, rooting as hard as I could for the Minnesota Twins. With each game, and watching Puckett, my reasons for the Twins to win started to change. That hate for the Braves was and always will be there (1993), but now there was love for Kirby Puckett. Those four above memories do not equal one Kirby Puckett smile. I grew up like most in my generation a Kirby Puckett fan. How can anyone not like the guy? It was widely known that Kirby Puckett was the fi rst guy in the clubhouse taking hours of batting practice and the last to leave signing autographs for hours. Puckett was the last of the Old School. He was in my father’s generation; he was someone we both could relate to. Adored and admired, Puckett always gave back to the community, but it was how he played the game that made him so special. Puckett played hard and Puckett played with respect and a bright smile. Puckett was everything an athlete should be. Puckett never complained or had a rap sheet or talked smack and bling blinging it. Puckett could not wait to get to the stadium and hang out with his teammates talking baseball or just playing cards waiting for the game to start. He was a practical joker, a man who never let his accomplishments get to his head. Puckett was not like this generation’s athletes; instead he was a team-fi rst guy, who put his team on his shoulders when it mattered most. He played with enthusiasm and had a classy fl amboyant joy to him.
Puckett loved baseball and played the game the way anyone who steps on the diamond should play. Facing elimination in the 1991 World Series, it was Puckett’s homerun and catch that lifted the Twins to a game seven. Puckett was 5’8, 215 pounds pork ball. Puckett looked like an average guy but you could not measure his heart. What he lacked in size he made up with determination. Puckett played with grace that was admired by anyone who liked baseball. Puckett was idolized and he was the face of Minnesota. In seven of Puckett’s twelve seasons Kirby finished in the top ten for MVP voting. Puckett was a ten time all star with a career batting average of .318. In twelve seasons Puckett had 2,304 hits and would have reached three thousand if tragedy had not struck. In a time when athletes hold on too long Puckett had no choice but to retire, leaving before his time. Glaucoma closed one of Puckett’s eyes but it was the loss of baseball that drove Puckett into a dark hole.
They say Minnesota will never love an athlete the way they loved Puckett. They also say Minnesota will never love as hard as a broken heart can never be the same. Puckett became an alcoholic. his mistress went to Sports Illustrated and came clean of their relationship, Puckett’s wife divorced him claiming he tried to strangle her; sexual assault and sexual harassment charges soon followed. A man who was admired and loved, who was worshiped, was suddenly dethroned. It was sad to see a career end so quickly and see reality taking away a hero. 
So went Puckett, disappearing in shame and who he was in that Minnesota Twins uniform being tarnished. Kirby Puckett’s death was stunning and a reality check. I am too young to experience the death of a hero. When athletes die it is usually brushed away as I have had no live connection to them. Just stories or old game films.
But Puckett was part of my childhood. He was a gentleman a prime example of the greatness of baseball and that smile. Puckett was different, his death was traumatizing and as ridiculous as it sounds, a part of my childhood cried. I do not know Kirby Puckett but what I do know of him is that he was a good man, a good role model, and good ball player who made human mistakes. Maybe that is why I could forgive Puckett for letting so many people down. We are not put on this earth to judge people by their sins but to judge the impact a person has on their community. Puckett touched more than just a community. At the start of the World Baseball Classic you could see the influence Puckett had on international players. From David Ortiz to Erubiel Durazo, Puckett touched more than just his community. Baseball lost one of its brightest smiles the dayKirby Puckett passed away.
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I not saw you play ,but you are my Hero 
It is such a treat to be able to read and be able to see how Puckett touched so many lives. I never met Kirby but through this article I felt close to him. Great article~!