Kirby Puckett: 1960-2006

Baseball great Kirby Puckett died today just short of his 46th birthday. He had suffered a stroke yesterday morning

We were in Minnesota in 1991 when the Twins won the World Series, so we could watch all the games in the company of other Twins fans. Kirby Puckett was the little round guy who came through when it counted, like when he hit the winning home run in the 11th inning in Game 6. I remember him making a spectacular leaping catch against the wall in that game, too. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that Kirby won the 1991 series for the Twins.

His reputation was tarnished more than a little in the past few years, teaching my sons (and us all) that it's never a good idea to idolize our sports heroes. But whatever you make of that mess, we can all agree that Kirby sure could play baseball!

If I could find my Kirby Puckett rookie card, I'd scan it and post it. I run into it from time to time when I'm rummaging around the house, but I can't remember where it is when I need it.

Tags: Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins, World Series