The Power of Kirby Puckett
On of the few silver linings of 2020’s delayed and shortened baseball season was the opportunity I was afforded to watch some of the big games of old and re-live some of baseball’s past magic on TV.
Watching a game with the benefit of hindsight- knowing what was going to happen but getting to feel the tension and anticipation of the players, fans, and announcers- was a unique and exciting way to get my much needed baseball fix. Three of the games that stood out specifically were Derek Jeter’s 3,000 hit in 2011, the game Cal Ripken broke the consecutive games played streak in 1995, and Kirby Puckett’s 1991 game six walk-off homerun to send the World Series to game seven.
As a lifelong Twins fan and Minnesota native, the magic of the 1987 and 1991 World Series winning seasons were replayed a number of times this past spring on local TV. Since my grandfather, who lives in Arizona, had no access to these local replays, I made a point to FaceTime him so we could enjoy these big moments together. This lead to a conversation I will never forget and want to share with the OTBB readers about how Puckett was so much more than just a player.
The specific year in my grandfather’s mind is in question, but he knows it was right after a Twins World Series Championship. Each winter the Twins make an annual trek around the state of Minnesota, the “Twins Winter Caravan,” which brings players, coaches, and announcers to small towns to gather steam for the upcoming season. One stop on their schedule was the nursing home that my grandfather was the administrator of, much to the excitement of their staff and residents. The schedule was tight but they made it work, knowing that there were other events on their calendar for that same day.
The twins, with Kirby Puckett and announcer Dick Bremer in tow, arrived at the nursing home and were cheered by many shirt-wearing, homer hanky-waving residents and staff, and the event was a success. Puckett brought his charisma and impressed all in attendance in this short caravan stop, but then he added just a bit more magic.
Kirby was made aware that some residents were bedridden and were unable to leave their rooms to attend the event in the large dining room. At that moment, Kirby did something that has stuck with my grandfather ever since; he started walking around to all of the resident rooms.
Puckett made it about half way through the rooms before he was told that the caravan needed to move on to its next stop. Puckett promptly replied that he still had rooms to visit and that they would just have to wait, and then continued on until he had met all of the residents.
My grandfather, his staff, and the residents were in awe of this and it made them even bigger fans of the Twins, and especially Puckett.
As great of a story this is, we must not forget of the mistakes that some of our greatest sports heroes make. Puckett was not perfect, and saw his life turn for the worse after being struck in the face by a Dennis Martinez pitch in the 1995 season. This lead to a career ending loss of vision in his right eye, taking him out of the game he loved at age 36.
After this career ending injury, Puckett lost his direction and found himself in trouble with the law. He went through a public divorce as many of his mistresses were identified, false imprisonment charges and a subsequent not-guilty court case, drifting from the spotlight, but still in the public’s eye in ways that were different from his glory days. “Puck” was beginning to gain his life back, barely appearing in the public except for Timberwolves basketball games, and even got re-engaged. A stroke in March of 2006 led to his untimely passing at the young age of 45, just 90 days until he was to be married. Kirby requested that his ashes were to be spread on a baseball diamond.
So, a 3,000th hit, consecutive game’s streak, and a timely homerun to keep the season alive are big moments in our collective MLB memories, but sometimes it is the little stories that no one knows about that make the biggest difference and leave lasting impressions. Although I never saw Puckett play in a live game, I can re-live some of his magic through the TV and the stories of my family. It makes me root for him all-the-more, even though I already know the rest of the story.
