Kirby Puckett

Kirby Puckett
Centerfielders
Born: March 14th, 1960 Chicago , United States
Died on: March 6th, 2006 Phoenix , United States
Suggested: Right	Threw: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
May 8,  1984  with the  Minnesota Twins
Last MLB assignment
September 28,  1995  with the  Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics (until end of career)
Batting average	, 318
Hits	2,304
Home runs	207
Runs Batted In	1,085
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1984-1995)
Awards
2 × World Series winner ( 1987 , 1991 ) 6 × Gold Glove Award (1986–1989, 1991, 1992) 6 × Silver Slugger Award (1986–1989, 1992, 1994) MLB All-Star Game MVP (1993) Roberto Clemente Award (1996) Best Batsman in the American League (1989) Batsman with Most RBIs (1994) In his honor, the # 34 is no longer awarded at the Minnesota Twins
member of
Baseball Hall of Fame
Recorded	2001
Quota	82.14%

Kirby Puckett (born March 14, 1960 in Chicago , Illinois , † March 6, 2006 in Phoenix , Arizona ) was an American baseball player in Major League Baseball .

biography

Memorial ceremony in the Metrodome 2006

Kirby Puckett grew up in poor conditions in Chicago as the youngest of nine children. In 1982 he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins , where he played his entire career in the Major League. Puckett, who was mostly used as an outfielder, made his debut on May 8, 1984. In this game he scored four basehits, Puckett was the ninth player in the history of the Major League who succeeded in this in his first game. From 1986 to 1995 he took part in the MLB All-Star Game every year . Puckett had his first year of splendor in 1987, in that year he won the first World Series with the Twins against the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. He had ended the 1987 season with a batting average of 33.3% and 207 hits. Puckett celebrated his second title win in 1991 in the final against the Atlanta Braves . The curious thing about this final encounter was the fact that both teams had been in last place in their division a year earlier. In the sixth game of this series, Puckett secured the Twins victory with a home run in the last at-bat in the eleventh inning, forcing a seventh game in which the Twins won the title. He played his last game on September 28, 1995. In 1996 difficulties with his eyes prevented him from continuing his career and he announced his retirement. At that time, he led the all-time best of the Twins in hits, doubles, total bases, at-bats and runs.

His loyalty to the club made him a legend among the Twins. As early as 1997, his jersey number 34 was no longer awarded by Minnesota. In the first possible election year, Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame . After Sandy Koufax and Lou Gehrig , he was the third youngest player to receive this honor. Many health problems and severe weight gain after the end of his athletic career kept Puckett avoiding the public; nevertheless he enjoyed great popularity. On March 6, 2006, Puckett died of a stroke in Phoenix . In addition to a private memorial service, a public memorial service was held in the Metrodome in Minneapolis on March 13 in front of around 15,000 fans.

His stations as a player

• 1984-1995 Minnesota Twins

Web links

• Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference  or  Fangraphs  or  The Baseball Cube  or  Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)
• Biography of Kirby Puckett (English)
• Kirby Puckett in the Hall of Fame (English)