Athletes - Kirby Puckett

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	Athletes - Kirby Puckett

Kirby Puckett (March 14 1960 – March 6 2006) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1995. Puckett led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991, the only two championships for the franchise since their move to Minnesota in 1961, while his gregarious personality and dynamic style of play endeared him to fellow players and fans alike. He is the Twins franchise's all-time leader (1961-present) in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases, and his .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter in the second half of the 20th century. He was the only baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and one of only two to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. After being forced to retire at age 35 due to loss of vision in one eye from glaucoma, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility. He passed away at the age of 45 following a massive stroke.

Early life

Puckett was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in the Robert Taylor Homes housing project. Unheralded in high school, he worked in a Ford plant and as a census taker before briefly attending Bradley University. In 1981, he decided to give baseball a second chance, after catching the eye of scouts while playing recreational ball in Chicago. He moved on to Triton College (in Illinois) and was subsequently drafted by the Twins in the first round of the 1982 baseball draft. Go Kirby.

1984-1990

At the time, Puckett was a slap hitter and outstanding defensive center fielder. Puckett produced a .382 batting average in his first minor league season, with Elizabethton (Tennessee) in 1982, and was promoted to the major leagues in less than two years, earning a spot on the Twins roster on May 8, 1984. Called up to replace center fielder Jim Eisenreich, who was suffering from a severe ailment that eventually was revealed to be Tourette's syndrome, Puckett quickly proved himself. On May 8, he became only the 9th player in history to record 4 hits in the first full game of a career, by going 4 for 5 against the California Angels .

He was one of the league's best rookies in 1984, batting .296 and leading all American League center fielders in outfield assists, with 16. He had a similar season in 1985, when he played in every game and batted .288. Coincidentally, in 1985, the song "Centerfield" by John Fogerty was released as a single. The single created an immediate association in Minnesota with the electric performance and humble personality of the team's rapidly rising center fielder.

In his third season, Puckett burst into stardom. It all began in the off-season, when he worked with hitting coach Tony Oliva on driving the ball for distance. Despite his small stature — 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) — Puckett had immense strength and the quick wrists of a power hitter. In 1986, he added this to his game, blasting 31 home runs, raising his average to .328 and winning the first of his six Gold Glove Awards for outstanding defensive play.

In 1987, Puckett led the Twins to their first title in the World Series after batting .332 with 28 home runs and 99 RBI in the regular season. His performance was even more impressive in the seven-game Series upset over the St. Louis Cardinals, batting a whopping .357.

The Twins won even more games in 1988, though they finished second in their division to the powerful Oakland Athletics. Puckett had his statistically best season, hitting .356 with 24 home runs and 121 RBI, to finish third in the MVP balloting for a second straight season.

He won the AL batting title in 1989 with a mark of .339, making him the first right-handed batter to win the title in eight years. In April 1989, he made his 1,000th hit, the first (and only) player in the 20th century to do so in his first five seasons. He continued to play well in 1990, but the Twins slipped to last place in their division.

1991-1995

In 1991, the Twins got back on the winning track and Puckett led the way by batting .319, eighth in the league. Minnesota surged past Oakland in midseason and captured the division title, then upset the favored Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the American League Championship Series. Puckett batted .429 with two home runs and six RBI in the playoffs to win MVP honors.

1991 World Series

The World Series that followed is considered by many to be the most exciting ever. Both the Twins and their opponent, the Atlanta Braves, had finished last in their respective divisions in the year before winning their league pennant, something that had never been done before. Going into Game 6, the Twins trailed three games to two and had to win to stay alive. Puckett gave the Twins an early lead by scoring Chuck Knoblauch with a triple, and helped to hold off an Atlanta rally in the third inning with a leaping catch off the outfield wall that stole a sure double by Ron Gant. The game went into extra innings, and in the first at-bat of the bottom of the 11th, Puckett hit a dramatic walk-off home run on 2-1 off Charlie Leibrandt to keep his team alive. This dramatic game has been widely remembered as the high point in Puckett's career. The images of Puckett rounding the bases, arms raised in triumph, are always included in video highlights of Puckett's career, often accompanied by CBS Sports commentator Jack Buck's words, "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" In the years to come, and especially after Puckett's death, Game 6 came to symbolize his entire career as an excellent ballplayer who always came through for the Twins when they needed it the most. The next night, Puckett's Twins won 1-0 in 10 innings for their second World Series title.

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Athletes - Kirby Puckett

Early life

1984-1990

1991-1995

1991 World Series

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