Puckett, Kirby
Baseball
b. March 14, 1960, Chicago, IL
d. March 6, 2006
In his twelve major-league seasons, Puckett batted over .300 eight times, won a batting title, and led the AL in hits four times. In his first ten seasons, he collected 2,040 hits, more than any other player in the 20th century.
The solidly-built, 5-foot-8, 210-pounder became the Minnesota Twins' starting center fielder during the 1984 season and got 4 hits in his first game. He hit .296 that season and .288 the following year. He hit his first major-league home run on April 22, 1985, and had just three more homers that season.
During spring training of 1986, Minnesota hitting coach Tony Oliva worked with Puckett to increase his power without hurting his average. It worked pretty well. Puckett hit .328 with 31 home runs that season. He was the first player in history to have a season with 0 home runs in 500 or more at-bats and another with more than 30 homers.
In 1987, Puckett hit .332 with 207 hits and 28 home runs and he batted .357 in the Twins' seven-game World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He followed that with his best overall season, hitting .356 with a league-leading 234 hits, 24 home runs, and 121 RBI.
Puckett's numbers went down in 1989, but his .339 average was the best in the American league. He also led the league in hits with 215. The Twins rewarded Puckett by giving him the first major-league contract worth $3 million a year.
His average dropped just below .300 in 1990, but Puckett came back to hit .319 in 1991, when the Twins won the American League pennant. He had a brilliant Game 6 in the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. After robbing Ron Gant of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch, he won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Puckett had 3 hits, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI in the game which evened the series. The Twins then won game 7, 1-0.
Puckett hit .329 and and had 210 hits to lead the league in that category for the fourth time in 1992. After slipping back to .296 the following year, he was having an outstanding season in 1994, when a players' strike stopped play in August. At the time, Puckett had 112 RBI in just 108 games.
Late in 1995 season, Puckett was hit with a pitch that broke his jaw. That was his last game. During spring traiing of 1996, he began to suffered from blurred vision and it was discovered that he had glaucoma, forcing his premature retirement.
Puckett's .318 career average is the highest by a right-handed hitter since World War II. During the 10-season period from 1986 through 1995, he had more hits (1940) than any other player and ranked third in batting average to Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs.
After retiring, Puckett gained a considerable amount of weight, which reportedly bothered his family and friends. He suffered a stroke on March 6, 2006, and died a day later after brain surgery.