Sad, Indeed: Kirby Puckett Dead at 45

I didn't really have sport-related heroes when I was growing up, but I always admired Kirby Puckett--the "buoyant, barrel-shaped" centerfielder from my hometown Minnesota Twins. I started getting interested in baseball right around the time he started making visits to the big leagues from the minors, and his rise coalesced with the improvements the Twins made over the years--ultimately winning two World Series in the late 80s/early 90s.

I still get chills remember Game 6 from that latter series, against the Atlanta Braves, when he did everything, and I mean everything, he could do to win that game (if the Braves had won that game, they'd have won the Series). Here's that slice of memory from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's obituary:

First, he made a leaping catch against the Metrodome's outfield Plexiglas in the third inning and robbed Ron Gant of an extra-base hit, potentially saving a run from scoring. Then, in the 11th inning, Puckett became the ninth player in major league history to win a World Series game with a home run, hitting a changeup from Charlie Leibrandt over the outfield wall and pumping his arms in celebration as he rounded the bases.

"You couldn't hear yourself think in the ballpark," former Twins hitting coach Terry Crowley said Monday from Baltimore Orioles camp. "Kirby was on deck. The manager went to the mound, and Kirby said to me, 'If they leave this guy in the game, the game is over.'

"Sure enough, they left [Leibrandt] in the game. Puckett hit a home run, rounded the bases, and as I went to shake hands with him, he gave me a bear hug and said, 'Crow, I told you!' That will stay in my mind forever."