Goodbye Kirby, you will be missed.

The whole state of Minnesota reflects and mourns for Kirby Puckett who died yesterday of complications from a massive stroke. Of course the world knows Puckett as a Minnesota Twin (1984-1996). For me, my memories of Kirby come from being a kid who for the first time ever looked at an athlete as a role model.

Stories are many and wide of people who will tell you where they were in the 1987 and 1991 during the Twins World Series championship games. For each of us, Kirby Puckett was a real guy and a real Minnesotan besides being in a rare class of athletic stardom. There isn’t a story where you won’t find someone who said of Kirby: “I just walked up to him and asked for an autograph. He smiled, asked my name, grabbed a pen, signed away.” He was a terrific guy who cared as much about his fans as his fans cared about him.

He had his controversies after he retired. His marriage fell apart. He was charged with groping a woman in a bathroom but was later acquitted of all charges, and then he quietly faded from the public eye. Out of all the sports mega stars then and now, none of them has had the class as Kirby has.

I can remember as a kid going to a Twins game when Hrbek and Puckett were playing. Many of those trips were school sponsored field trips in which we had great seats and got to stay for the whole game. It was then I was wowed by the homeruns and grand slams that the Hrbek and Puckett machine belted into the stadium. It was a more innocent time for me. I was never into sports like a lot of people I see today. While I find entertainment from watching some sports, it’s not my motivating factor for getting up in the morning. Computers and gadgets are another matter, but now I’m getting off-track.

At any rate, Kirby Puckett is the first and probably the last athlete/celebrity whom I actually felt an attachment too where upon learning of his death, made me cry. Perhaps I’m overtly sensitive considering all of the death in my life in the past few years, but regardless, Kirby has meant a lot to me.

I can distinctly attribute my love for baseball to Kirby and “Herby”. Where most of the sports hype has not reached me, these guys have. Real, genuine, humble sports guys whom to this day any one can approach and talk to.

I didn’t own a baseball jersey right up to today, but I will be on the hunt for a Puckett #34 jersey. Not the cheap rip off mind you, but one that I think would adequately reflect his spirit which lives within me.

He was a great guy for baseball, he was a fan’s man and I think not only will his stories live on through out all of us who came to know and love him, but his example and his spirit will live on as well.

I know that Heavenly Father brought him home for a reason, likely he needed an expert on his team.

Rest in Peace Kirby, you did well.

(Update [6:40pm CST]: A local station here in the Twin Cities posted an interview with Kirby Puckett in August of 2001 in which Kirby was interviewed, I believe, after being entered into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. The link to that audio can be found on the station’s website here, it’s a great interview and shows you an inside to the Kirby I knew)

Tagged as: Faith, guest_blogging, Sports