Kirby Puckett

[Skrappy1]

Man, he can't be but around in his early to mid 40s. He's having surgery now, hope he pulls through ok.

Hall of Famer Puckett suffers stroke

 

FT. MYERS, Fla. -- Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett has suffered a stroke and is undergoing surgery, the Minnesota Twins announced Sunday.

 

The Twins said Puckett, a longtime star center fielder for the team, suffered the stroke Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was transported to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, then airlifted to Scottsdale Osborne Hospital, where he is undergoing Neo Surgery.

 

Perhaps the most popular player in franchise history, Puckett played his entire career with the Twins (1984-95) and led them to two World Series titles.

 

Despite having his career cut short by irreversible retina damage to his right eye, Puckett was inducted to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001.

 

Fun-loving as a player, the 5-6, 190-pound Puckett was a lifetime .318 hitter with 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI. He retired as the Twins' all-time leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414), total bases (3,453), at-bats (7,244) and runs (1,071).

 

Puckett was selected to 10 consecutive All-Star Games from 1986-95 and won six Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger Awards.

 

Puckett announced his retirement in July 1996 due to the eye injury and had his number 34 formally retired by the team in May 1997.

 

Also one of baseball's great community leaders, Puckett won the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year award in 1996.

 

Puckett

[Puddy]

Saw that on ESPN. Very sad. Hope he pulls through.

[Randall]

Saw that on ESPN.  Very sad.  Hope he pulls through.

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Me too.

[cheezhed]

We're prayin for ya Kirb!

[Chavez]

This will DEFINITELY affect his ability to kick down the door to the women's restroom and drag a woman out.

[Donutrun Jellies]

Saw that on ESPN.  Very sad.  Hope he pulls through.

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[Delicious_bass]

This will DEFINITELY affect his ability to kick down the door to the women's restroom and drag a woman out.

 

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I shouldn't be laughing, but that was pretty good Chavez.

 

 

In all seriousness, hope ol Kirby pulls through ok. I always loved watching him play and I'll never forget his heroics in Game 6 in the 91 Series.

 

"And we'll see you tomorrow night!"

[MikesVikes]

link

 

My son was born on Kirby's special day when he hit the 11th inning home run in game six of the world series.

 

Our family was very sad the day he retired. Now we are praying for him.

[Gdawg]

We're prayin for ya Kirb!

 

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+1, get well soon Kirby.

[MikesVikes]

The word on other boards and on the radio is that Kirby's family is traveling down to Arizona right now.

 

Kirby will be 45 a week from Tuesday. He may not make it until then.

[Puddy]

The word on other boards and on the radio is that Kirby's family is traveling down to Arizona right now.

 

Kirby will be 45 a week from Tuesday.  He may not make it until then.   

 

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[Guest Cherni]

[Big John]

[Outshined]

Rosen said on K-Fan that they are waiting for all family and friends to arrive. The situation is really grim and they might take him off life support.

 

He was my favorite sports player growing up.

[BillyBalata]

 

 

 

Puckett to be removed from life support

PHOENIX — Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett is expected to be removed from life support tonight, according to two people with knowledge of Puckett’s condition.

Puckett suffered a massive stroke Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and underwent surgery. He has been transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

 

Family members assembled at the hospital Monday to make the decision on life support. The people with knowledge of Puckett’s condition said he was expected to be removed from the life support sometime Monday.

 

"Tough day," former Twins manager Tom Kelly said today at the Twins' training camp in Fort Myers, Fla., where he's working with the team.

 

"The Minnesota Twins and major league baseball ask fans to keep Kirby and his family in their thoughts and prayers," the team said in a statement.

 

The club was in Bradenton for an exhibition game against Pittsburgh, but manager Ron Gardenhire stayed behind with star center fielder Torii Hunter, who took himself out of the lineup before Sunday's game against Boston after hearing the news.

 

As players and coaches worked out in Fort Myers, the mood was somber.

 

"Our mind isn't on the ballfield. It's on Kirby," said former outfielder Tony Oliva, who like Kelly is a special instructor during spring training.

 

Said Gardenhire: "Our hearts and our prayers are all with Puck. We know it's a tough situation out there."

 

"We had a doctor come in and try to explain to us probably what's going to happen," Kelly said on Sunday. "The last thing he said was that if he has good luck, things will hopefully work out. So let's hope that he has good luck."

 

"I don't know where I would have ended up if it weren't for Kirby Puckett," Kelly said. "He was not just a great ballplayer. He was a great friend. Everybody is taking it hard."

 

Oakland third base coach Ron Washington, a former teammate, spent Sunday at the hospital with Puckett, his fiancee, his agent and others. Washington said he saw Puckett, who has two children, go into the operating room. Puckett is engaged to be married this summer.

 

"I've known him since 1984. We talk every so often. We're close. He's a strong guy, a fighter and I want to think the best," Washington said. "We all know the bad part, but I don't believe in the bad."

 

Puckett is considered by most to be the grestest player in Twins history, leading the team to World Series championships in 1987 and 1991.

 

Puckett, 44, was selected to 10 American League All-Star teams during his 12 major league seasons. He also won six Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess in the outfield and was a career .318 hitter -- well above baseball's standard of excellence of .300. Puckett's career ended prematurely in 1996 because of irreversible damage to his right eye as a result of glaucoma. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001 -- baseball's ultimate honor.

 

But Puckett's personal life had taken a downward turn since that honor. He virtually disappeared from public view in 2002 after his ex-wife, Tonya, alleged that he abused her and threatened to kill her. In 2003, he was acquitted of three charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault of a woman at an Eden Prairie restaurant.

 

Puckett, who played at around 210 pounds, has gained considerable weight since he retired, and many friends in and outside of the organization have worried that he was headed for trouble with his health.

 

Another former Twins great, Tony Oliva, a special instructor during spring training, said he also has been worried about Puckett's weight.

 

"The last few times I saw him, he kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Oliva said. "And we worried about him. I saw him about five months ago. He always tries to invite me. He says, 'Come to Arizona, and we'll play some golf."'

 

"We were all concerned," said Jacque Jones, the former Twins outfielder now with the Cubs, who has spent time with Puckett recently. "But a man is going to be a man, and a woman is going to be a woman. You can't change what they do unless they want to change. Puck enjoyed life, he enjoyed the size he was. That's who he was."

 

Twins reaction

 

The news hit the Twins clubhouse hard Sunday morning.

 

Outfielder Torii Hunter, who remains close to Puckett, took himself out the lineup for Sunday's exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium, saying he "couldn't focus on anything."

 

Hunter left the ballpark and spent the rest of the day getting updates on Puckett's condition.

 

"I learned about this game from him," Hunter said. "He's a guy I look to like he's an older brother. I've come up in this game just by watching what Kirby Puckett is all about."

 

Manager Ron Gardenhire looked stunned for most of the day as he and Twins coaches discussed Puckett's condition.

 

"Our thoughts and our prayers are turned towards Puck in Arizona," Gardenhire said. "We all heard about this before lunch and that pretty much takes away from anything you do at a ballpark. We did the best we could do today and the game was whatever ... it was a game."

 

When asked to describe Puckett's stature within the organization, Gardenhire paused, seemingly to compose himself, before saying, "Not right now."

 

Friends gathering

 

Some of Puckett's friends and former teammates either went to the hospital or are traveling to Arizona to be with him.

 

Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew and former teammate Ron Washington spent most of the day at the hospital. They were later joined by Eddie Guardado, and Jones planned to arrive later. Washington (a coach with the Oakland Athletics), Guardado (a Seattle Mariners relief pitcher) and Jones all train in Arizona. Killebrew was seen leaving the hospital with a group of players Sunday evening.

 

"He's a big part of the reason why I play this game the way I play it," Jones said. "He's a great person. We all learned from him -- me, Torii, Matt Lawton, Eddie, LaTroy [Hawkins] -- Puck tutored us all.

 

"It'd be tough to meet a guy that's any better than him. He's was always happy-go-lucky, even when he came down with glaucoma. That was one of the best speeches I ever heard, telling people don't feel sorry for him, that he enjoyed the game, enjoyed every minute of it. That's why he played every game like it was his last, because you never know when that day is going to come."

 

Twins radio broadcaster Dan Gladden, one of Puckett's closest friends and a teammate from 1987 to '91, intended to fly from Fort Myers to Arizona Sunday evening. Hunter said he was also making plans to fly to Arizona.

 

The last time some people in the organization saw Puckett was in November during Killebrew's charity golf tournament in Arizona.

 

"He was trying to do better," Gardenhire said. "... It was fun to see him."

 

Face of the team

 

Puckett hit one of the most memorable home runs in World Series history, when his shot in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series forced Game 7 against Atlanta. The Twins won the Series, their second in five years. Puckett remains an iconic figure with the club, although he has continued to keep a low profile and moved to the Phoenix area after his acquittal on the sexual assault charges in 2003. He was planning to be married again in June; he has two children by his first marriage with Tonya.

 

Puckett was employed as a Twins vice president from 1996 to 2002 before parting ways. This year, the team tried unsuccessfully to get him to return to spring training as a special instructor, and it still hopes to get him to return to the organization in some capacity one day.

 

Puckett has maintained relationships with many people in the Twins' organization. The team tried unsuccessfully to get him to come to spring training as a special instructor this year, something he hasn't done since 2002.

 

"The Twins and Kirby Puckett are synonymous," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "He's a giant. In many ways he's the signature element of our franchise. In some ways I think he's one of those lovable characters, both on and off the field, that really brought a lot of people to the game. That infectious smile and the way he played the game.

 

"I tell people that the way I define Kirby Puckett's popularity is by the thousands and thousands of dogs and cats named after him throughout the Upper Midwest. Kirby and I always laughed about that. We're all praying for hi

[THE SIX KINGS]

[MikesVikes]

People have been sharing memories of Kirby Puckett. Almost all of the memories shared have been off the baseball field. What a great tribute to a man that has touched the lives of so many people.

[Ursa Majoris]

WCCO reports Puckett died.

[Outshined]

Dammit!

[MikesVikes]

RIP

[THE SIX KINGS]

Dammit!

 

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RIP Kirby

Edited March 7, 2006 by THE SIX KINGS

[Big John]

[BillyBalata]

I had centerfield seats for games 6 and 7 of the 1991 World Series.

 

 

Thank you Kirby.

[General Itals]

I was at his game when his 2,000 hit was homerun. I attended the game in which the team honored him and retired his number. He was a great player. He was a flawed human being. He was one of us.

 

R.I.P.

[Outshined]

<----------Field of Dreams...

 

I always remember Kirby as being a great person. He did so much for the community and the kids. He would have his annual pool tournament at the Mall of America.

 

All kids including myself idolized him. He would always take time to sign an autograph...A great loss.