COMMENTARY
By JT the Brick
NBCSports.com contributor
updated 7:02 p.m. ET March 21, 2006
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After hosting a Kirby Puckett tribute show on the radio Monday night, I am almost at a loss for words. Puckett died earlier in the day and I knew that I would make it the focus of show that evening. However, I didn't know what was to happen when I hit the airwaves. Call after call came from fans that had a personal story about the way Puckett interacted with them during a memorable point in their lives. I'm talking about specific stories from fans who wanted to pay their respects to Kirby Puckett because of the way he took time out of his life to make fans feel important.
It was obvious to me that Puckett was a friend to millions of baseball fans that had the pleasure of seeing him play in person or connected with him as they watched on television or listened to his performances on the radio. He had this effect on so many fans because of the way he played the game. He was a dominant player throughout his 12-year career when he retired with a .318 lifetime average and amassed 2,304 hits.
As a 10-time All-Star he proved that he was a complete player because he won six gold glove awards and never stopped hustling. He was also widely respected as a player because he tried to continue his career while he was suffering from glaucoma, an eye disease that eventually took away his ability to compete in the sport that he loved as much as life.
Puckett clearly had his share of demons and personal issues off the diamond that took a toll on his reputation, but he tried to make amends for his mistakes and right the wrongs that haunted him at certain times in his life.
He had such an impact on so many, and I want to share a few memories from a handful of people who got a chance to work with Kirby or were fortunate enough to reach out to him as fans.
Former Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly told me, “He was fortunate to come along at the same time as Puckett and he rode his coattails to become a successful manager. My family and I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.”
Former star pitcher Jack Morris who pitched a masterful complete game in the deciding Game 7 of the 1991 World Series remarked, “If Kirby doesn't carry us on his back in Game 6 of the 1991 Series and hit that walkoff home run, there is no story of Jack Morris in Game 7.”
A New York Yankee fan called into my show and stated, "Whenever Kirby came to the Bronx and played against the Yankees he looked as if he was playing center field in his home ballpark.”
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David from San Jose, Calif., e-mailed me to share his story about growing up with a single mom in a neighborhood filled with gangs and drugs and how his brother was losing his way and hanging out with the wrong crowd. He and his brother went to an Oakland A's game with the local Boys Club and couldn't keep their eyes off of Puckett. "My brother was changed after seeing Puckett play that day and couldn't stop talking about the fact that if Kirby could play in the big leagues while being undersized than maybe he could some day become a professional ball player.” David wrote that his brother wore number 34 from that day on and believed that Puckett helped to change the outcome of his brother’s life.
Another fan made the point that Puckett "was more than a baseball player, he embodied the type of player that any franchise in any sport desperately tries to find. I cry not only for the death of Kirby, but for the death of a significant part of my high school memories."
Former Kansas City Royals pitcher Mark Gubicza told my audience that he and Puckett shared the same agent in Ron Shapiro. "When Kirby's deal was up and he was clearly the best free agent on the market he told me that he wanted to stay in Minnesota and play with the Twins because it was right for his family.”
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