Biography:
"When Kirby Puckett was in the outfield and a
ball was hit to him, you were very, very cautious
because he had a cannon for an arm, and it was accurate.
He enjoyed playing the game. He played the game. He
played with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of love, and
a lot of respect for the game of baseball."
-- George Brett, Hall of Famer
Bio:
Kirby Puckett, after hitting his famous game-winning
home run in the 1991 World Series was widely regarded
as one of the best, and most popular, Major League
Baseball players of the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s.
An unheralded player in high school, he showed no
signs of being a great player until after he had left
the team at Bradley University in 1980. He decided
to give baseball a second chance a year later, after
catching the eye of scouts while playing recreational
ball in his native Chicago. He moved on to Triton
College (in Illinois) and was subsequently drafted
by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1982
baseball draft.
At the time, Kirby Puckett was a slap hitter and
outstanding defensive center fielder. Puckett used
those skills to hit a whopping .382 in his first minor
league season, with Elizabethton (Tennessee) in 1982,
and then rocketed to the major leagues in less than
two years, earning promotion to the Twins on May 8,
1984.
When he debuted in the majors in 1984, he was one
of the league's best rookies. He became the ninth
player in major league history to debut with four
hits in a nine-inning game. In 128 games, Kirby batted
.296, drove in 31 runs and stole 14 bases. He collected
25 bunt singles that season and only 17 extra-base
hits. In addition, he led American League outfielders
with 16 assists.
He had a similar season in 1985, when he played in
every game, batted .288 driving in 74 runs and stole
21 bases. 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, Kirby really 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, Kirby had the
immense strength and quick wrists of a power hitter.
In 1986, he blasted 31 home runs, 96 RBI’s,
37 doubles and raised his batting average to .328.
He also won the first of his six Gold Glove Awards
for outstanding defensive play.
In 1987, he led the Twins to their first championship
in the World Series after batting .332 with 28 home
runs and 99 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases in the
regular season. His performance was even more impressive
in the seven-game series upset of the St. Louis Cardinals,
batting a whopping .357 with 10 hits and 3 RBI’s.
Kirby also continued to race around the bases finishing
the season third in the American League in total bases
with 333.
In 1988, he had his statistically best season, hitting
.356 with 24 home runs and 121 RBI’s. He finished
third in the MVP balloting for a second straight season.
He won the American League batting championship in
1989 with a mark of .339, making him the first right-handed
batter to win the title in eight years. He finished
the year with just 9 home runs and 85 RBI’s.
In 1990, the Twins went to last place in the division,
finishing with a 74-88 record, 29 games out of first.
Kirby continued to play well and hit .298 that season
with 12 home runs and 80 RBI’s.
In1991, the Twins got back on the winning track and
Kirby led the way batting .319, eighth in the league
and had 15 home runs, 89 RBI’s and 11 stolen
bases.. 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
playoffs. Kirby batted .429 with 2 home runs and 6
RBI’s in the playoffs to win MVP honors.
The World Series which followed is considered by
many to be the most exciting ever. Both the Twins
and their opponent, the Atlanta Braves, had finished
last 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 helped to hold off a
late Atlanta rally with a leaping catch off the outfield
wall. 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 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!" The next night, Puckett's
Twins won 1-0 in 10 innings for their second World
Championship.
The Twins contended for one more season and then
began to slip, but Kirby Puckett never did. In 1992,
he led the league with 210 hits, hitting .329 with
19 home runs, 110 RBI’s and 17 stolen bases.
In 1993, he hit .296 with 22 home runs, 89 RBI’s
and 8 stolen bases.
In 1994, he won his first league RBI title by driving
in 112 runs in just 108 games. He hit .317 with 20
home runs and 6 stolen bases. In 1995, he was having
another brilliant season hitting .314 with 99 RBI’s
when he was sidelined by a bean ball from Dennis Martínez
which shattered his jaw in late September.
He recovered fully and returned to the Twins for
spring training in 1996. On March 28, he woke up unable
to see out of his right eye. He was diagnosed with
glaucoma, and several surgeries in the months to come
were unable to save his vision in the eye. On July
12, 1996, Kirby Puckett announced his retirement from
baseball. He was 35 years old. His lifetime batting
average of .318 was the highest of any right-handed
batter since Joe DiMaggio.
The Twins retired his number 34 in 1997. In 2001,
he became the third youngest man ever elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame, only Lou Gehrig and Sandy Koufax
were younger. He got elected at age 40 in his first
year of eligibility. In 1999, he ranked Number 86
on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball
Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major
League Baseball All-Century Team.
Kirby Puckett had been well admired throughout his
career and for some years after. His unquestionable
baseball prowess, outgoing personality, charity work,
community involvement, good rapport with the media,
and nice-guy attitude earned him the respect and admiration
of fans across the country. However, Kirby was arrested
after allegedly groping a woman in a bar restroom
on September 5, 2002. He was acquitted of all criminal
charges. Unfortunately, for Kirby, the negative publicity
continued as allegations of womanizing and other emotional
and physical abuse against him surfaced, and he and
his wife Tonya divorced in a bitter conflict. Since
these problems, Kirby Puckett has largely withdrawn
from public appearances.
In 12 Major League Seasons, Kirby finished with a
career average of .315, 207 home runs, 1085 RBI’s,
134 stolen bases and 2304 hits. Underestimated because
of his small size, Kirby never let the doubters get
him down. For inspiration, he kept a picture of another
large outfielder -- Hack Wilson -- hanging above his
locker.
In those 12 seasons, the Twins captured two World
Series Championships largely because of his ability
and leadership. He won six Gold Gloves for his defense
and was a known threat behind the plate as well. He
was more than a Twins “great” he was a
baseball “great”.
