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March 6, 2006
#34 Kirby Puckett (1961-2006)
I just received word from a friend in MN that Kirby Puckett passed away this afternoon in an Arizona hospital after suffering a massive stroke yesterday morning at his home in Scottsdale. He was 45.
It goes without saying that this is a sad day for Twins fans and for all of baseball. Kirby was in icon to me when I was growing up in Minnesota. I was 11 years old when he hit his famous home run in game six of the '91 World Series (pictured above). He was the perfect gentleman and one of the nicest guys to play the game. One of the coolest things that ever happened to me was being able to shake his hand at a Timberwolves game shortly after he retired from baseball in 1996. Despite his legal troubles in 2002, he will always be one of my favorite ball players. We'll miss you, Kirby.
Related links:
Star Tribune story and full coverage
Twins statement
Career statistics
Twins blogger Batgirl remembers Kirby
KFAN tribute page which includes audio clips
Twins tribute page on mlb.com
Posted on March 6, 2006 at 8:19 PM
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Comments
Sad news for all. The TC newspapers all had huge spreads today. In my mind, it was one of the saddest Twins seasons when Kirby was diagnosed with glaucoma. I thought the team might actually collapse after a hit like that (and it nearly did). I hope we can have a new Kirby soon to inject some of that excitement back into the game. Torii maybe?
(Speaking of which, there are some hilarious Twins commercials on right now. I have seen the ones featuring Joe Mauer and Torii. Maybe you can watch them online somewhere?)
Posted by: Sarah L. at March 7, 2006 5:20 PM
Mikey and readers, My cousin wrote a story about the passing of Kirby and what he meant to kids growing up in Minnesota. Enjoy.
www.mwsr.blogspot.com
Posted by: Josh at March 8, 2006 2:33 AM
rest in Peace Kirby Pucket. We'll miss you.
Posted by: Nick at June 12, 2006 8:31 PM