On Monday March 6th, Hall of Famer and former Twins centerfielder Kirby Puckett died of a stoke suffered on the day before. When I heard the news of Kirby's death my heart sank, as I'm sure it did for all Twins fans and baseball fans across country. Arguably the best and most popular Twins player of all time, but there is no doubt in my mind. When I was 6 yrs old I remember watching him and the Twins in the '87 World Series. He is the reason I started playing baseball in the first place. Everyone I played with loved Kirby Puckett, we all wanted to have his number, we all wanted to bat just like Kirby. Than later on in the '91 World Series his legend grew even more when hit the game winning home run in game 6 and when he flew into the Plexiglas wall making that dramatic game changing catch. In his 12 year career from 84-96 he racked up impressive numbers and awards including a batting title in '89, a RBI title in '94. He was a 10 time consecutive all-star, with 6 Golden Glove awards and Silver Slugger Awards. He was a lifetime .318 hitter with 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI's. His career was cut short when he retired in July of '96 due to irreversible retina damage in his right eye. Still in 2001 in his first year of eligibility he was voted into the Hall of Fame. The way he played the game is an example for all players today and he may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Hero Has Fallen
On Monday March 6th, Hall of Famer and former Twins centerfielder Kirby Puckett died of a stoke suffered on the day before. When I heard the news of Kirby's death my heart sank, as I'm sure it did for all Twins fans and baseball fans across country. Arguably the best and most popular Twins player of all time, but there is no doubt in my mind. When I was 6 yrs old I remember watching him and the Twins in the '87 World Series. He is the reason I started playing baseball in the first place. Everyone I played with loved Kirby Puckett, we all wanted to have his number, we all wanted to bat just like Kirby. Than later on in the '91 World Series his legend grew even more when hit the game winning home run in game 6 and when he flew into the Plexiglas wall making that dramatic game changing catch. In his 12 year career from 84-96 he racked up impressive numbers and awards including a batting title in '89, a RBI title in '94. He was a 10 time consecutive all-star, with 6 Golden Glove awards and Silver Slugger Awards. He was a lifetime .318 hitter with 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI's. His career was cut short when he retired in July of '96 due to irreversible retina damage in his right eye. Still in 2001 in his first year of eligibility he was voted into the Hall of Fame. The way he played the game is an example for all players today and he may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Kirby will live on forever, great blog. Thank you for putting a great ball player into your blog..well deserved!
Post a Comment