Bang the Drum Slowly

It sounds like #34 is going to be removed from life support tonight. What a sad, sudden end for a baseball player who was such an important part of so many Minnesotans' lives (especially kids). Bob Sansevere, who I think is nearly worthless as a sportswriter, did have an interesting line in his column today. He said that he was told "Puckett didn't take care of his body because he believed he wouldn't live past 50. Both his parents died young, and Puckett was convinced that would be his fate." Well, Kirby didn't make it past 45.

Puckett was somebody who lived and breathed baseball for almost his entire life. If it weren't for the effects of glaucoma, Puck could have been around for a handful of additional seasons, perhaps making a run at 3,000 hits. Kirby's final season (1995) saw him hit 23 HRs (his highest total since '88), with a career-high OBP of .379. His defense was definitely declining, but he would have gotten plenty of at bats at DH. (Besides, I'd take Kirby circa 1996 in my outfield over the 2005 Shannon Stewart every damn day.) I'm sure Kirby wasn't even considering retirement heading into the 1996 season, and then it was suddenly over. The adjustment to life after baseball didn't appear to go smoothly for him, as stories of assault, infidelity, and depression began to surface.

I wonder how many sports stars have had as much of an effect on children as Kirby did. As you'll read over and over in the news over the next few days, Puck "played the game the right way." I'm not sure how swinging at balls 2 feet outside of the strike zone can be considered the right way, but that's not what TK and the gang meant. They were talking about his attitude. He showed up early for practice, stayed late, always ran out grounders, went down on a knee to field ground balls in the outfield, and always had a grin on his face. In addition, Puck was very active in the community. Basically, he was the perfect sports star for kids to idolize.

Ask most people about Kirby Puckett, and they will first think of Game 6- a two-word phrase that signifies so much to Twins fans. People from an earlier generation all remember where they were when they heard Kennedy had been shot; all my friends remember exactly where they were when Kirby took Charlie Liebrandt deep in the 11th inning on October 26, 1991.

My favorite story to tell about Kirby happened in 1987. My mom, dad, and I went to Milwaukee to visit my brother at Marquette, and it just happened to coincide with a weekend the Twins were playing the Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium. My mother wanted to take a trip to Door County, so we had to decide whether to see the Twins play Friday night, then head up to Door County, or head to Door County first, and catch the Sunday afternoon game. Frank Viola was pitching Sunday, but my brother convinced us that the Friday game was the one to attend.

The Friday game featured Les Straker vs Chris Bosio, and it was a classic pitcher's duel. The Twins managed just 2 hits off Bosio, and hit into double plays following both singles. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Robin Yount attempted to steal second, and the Twins gambled correctly (perhaps some successful sign-stealing), calling a pitchout. Unfortunately, Sal Butera hit a sliding Yount with the throw to second. Greg Brock doubled Yount home, and the Brew Crew won the game 1-0.

While Viola didn't pitch particularly well on Sunday, Kirby Puckett had a career day, going 6-6, with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and a fence-scaling leap in center to steal a grand slam from Robin Yount. I was understandably bummed that I wasn't at that game, but the World Series victory over the Cardinals more than made up for it.