Bye Puck!

I am back and I will keep the first post back a non-political one.

Some people can't stand Reusse, I think he is great. This column about Kirby was fabulous.

We loved the way Puck never cheated his team or the ticket buyers on a groundball. True story: Exhibition opener in Fort Myers, Fla. Rain delay. Puckett came up for his first at-bat of the spring. Four-hopper to short. The shortstop made a clean play. And on that wet field, Puckett beat an accurate throw by a quarter-step. Beat it out! ... Puckett still was playing the Gator during the 1996 season, even though it was the period when he lost vision in his right eye and would be forced to retire. That June, Frankie Rodriguez gave up a gigantic home run to Oakland's Mark McGwire -- estimated at 475 feet, the longest Metrodome home run ever to left field. The next day, the Twins were stretching in left field as was their ritual. Suddenly, Puckett appeared high in the first deck and found what he figured was the seat where McGwire's blast had landed. Then, he started to bellow: "Hey, Frankie, you look like an ant down there." ... Charlie Manuel, now the Philadelphia manager, offered an anecdote Monday that touched on Puckett's attention to the baseball people who weren't prospering in the big leagues. Manuel was managing in the Twins minor league system when Puckett made his quick ascent to the big leagues. Charlie remained in the minors for a few years, and every month he would receive a gallon of Seagram's V.O., courtesy of Puckett. When Manuel had some health problems, he informed Puckett to stop the shipments. The next month Manuel received a card from Puckett with the inscription: "No Mo', V.O." ... Early on that trip through those precious hallways, Kirby had said to the Minnesota reporter tagging along: "I try to tell my son, 'When Daddy's not here anymore, you will be able to bring your family, your friends here, and show them a bit of what your daddy did.' " Kirby Puckett could not have dreamed -- even in fatalistic dreams about his family with too many young deaths -- that the plaque in Cooperstown would carry such dramatic meaning five years later.

I also found this link on ESPN to be one of the better ones regarding Pucket.

Tim (Saint Paul): I was about 13 years old and was waiting with about ten other kids outside the Metrodome one Sunday afternoon after a game. Kirby came out and we all asked if he would sign an autograph for each of us. Kirby, being the kind of guy that he is, obilged. He then politely asked me if he could borrow my pen. After signing the balls, he gave me my pen back and told me "thanks, man." I in turn said, "thank you, Kirby." He then patted me on the back, said "you bet," and went on his way. I'll never forget it. And baseball fans will never forget him. Thanks for the two world series championships and for the many other memories, Puck. You will be sorely missed.

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James (Rockford, IL): I grew up and still am a life long White Sox fan and I've always been a Minnesota Twin hater, except there was one Twin that I could never hate on and that was, of course, Kirby Puckett. I feel that's when you know a player is special, when a fan of the rival team has nothing but respect and admiration, much as I did for Kirby. Even the South siders give our thanks for Kirby and what he did for the game.

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Dave(Brainerd): Minnesota doesn't have a whole lot of sports heroes and Kirby was one of them. I was only 6 years old when the Twins won the Series in 91. But, to this day my father talks about that game when Kirby basically beat the Braves on his own, and I'm 21 now. I actually ran into Kirby in the Mall of America about a year ago and I asked him for his autograph. He said, and I quote, "you want my autograph, why would you want my autograph?" with a smile the whole time he said it. To me, that just sums up the kind of man Kirby Pucket was. A hero, a legend, and yet . . . a man.

Photo: ESPN.com