Hall of Famer Puckett dies
PHOENIX – As clouds formed late in the day over a city that hasn’t had rain in almost five months, the most popular athlete in Minnesota history died Monday at a Phoenix hospital, one day after suffering a brain aneurysm at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home.
Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett spent most of Monday kept alive by artificial life support following surgery to relieve pressure on his brain Sunday night and additional medical procedures Monday morning, according to two sources close to the family.
The joint announcement from the Twins and Puckett’s family was made early Monday evening, with family and friends near his bedside.
Puckett, 45, is survived by his two children, Catherine and Kirby Jr. They were with him, along with their mother Tonya, Puckett’s ex-wife, at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center almost constantly since arriving in Arizona on Sunday. He also is survived by his fiancee, Jodi Olson, whom he was to marry later this year.
“This is a sad day for the Minnesota Twins, major league baseball and baseball fans everywhere,” Twins owner Carl Pohlad said in a statement released by the team. “Eloise (Pohlad’s late wife) and I loved Kirby deeply. Kirby’s importance to the Twins organization, state of Minnesota and Upper Midwest is significant and goes well beyond his work in helping the Twins win two world championships… . There will never be another ‘Puck.’ “
Former teammates and opponents visited throughout the day and night Sunday and Monday, including Randy Bush, Chili Davis, Ken Griffey Jr. and Dan Gladden on Monday. Gladden, a Twins broadcaster, left the team’s spring training home in Fort Myers, Fla., Sunday to travel to Arizona and was at the hospital throughout the night.
Another Twins legend, hall of famer Harmon Killebrew, who lives in Scottsdale, also was with Puckett both days.
In between obligations for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic, Griffey was with Puckett for more than four hours Sunday and returned Monday.
Griffey didn’t leave Sunday night until almost 2 a.m. Monday, accompanied by former all-stars Davis and Vince Coleman.
“He’s one of those guys, you’re just glad you had a chance to know him,” said Griffey, the Cincinnati Reds outfielder taken under the wing of the more-established Puckett as a 1989 rookie for Seattle. “He took care of me.”
Oakland Athletics coach Ron Washington, Puckett’s first major league roommate with the Twins in 1984, also visited for much of Sunday.
And former Twins closer Eddie Guardado, who trains in nearby Peoria, Ariz., with Seattle, tried to get in to see Puckett on Sunday but missed his former teammate because he went to the hospital where Puckett had undergone surgery before being transported to St. Joseph’s.
Puckett’s apparent deteriorating health was a regular topic among those close to him in recent years as the already-heavy player put on weight following retirement.
“The last few times I saw him, he kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” former Twins great Tony Oliva had said Sunday.
Puckett’s passing was felt throughout baseball, where those who knew him expressed surprise and sorrow in the two days since the news of his aneurysm surfaced.
Twins center fielder Torii Hunter, who grew close to Puckett after joining the Twins organization in 1993, did not play in either of the past two Twins exhibition games, asking out of Sunday’s game upon learning of Puckett’s condition. Manager Ron Gardenhire did not make the team’s trip to Bradenton, Fla., for its game Monday.
Puckett was as beloved as he was successful during a 12-year Twins career cut suddenly short by glaucoma in 1996 – the ultimate irony for a player who had never been on the disabled list. The abbreviated career did not prevent him from being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2001.
“I didn’t play baseball for this. I played baseball because I loved it so much,” Puckett said on the day his election to the Hall was announced. “I was the first one at the ballpark and the last one to leave. I have a love for this game that was unmatched. I never looked in the mirror one time and said I wish I did this or I wish I did that. I left everything on the field. Played every game like it was my last.”
By the time he actually played his last game, the 5-foot-8, self-proclaimed “overachiever” had a .318 batting average, 10 straight all-star appearances, six Gold Glove awards and two World Series rings.
In a moment that seemed to echo Monday, he offered this advice to teammates in attendance during an emotional retirement announcement in the summer of 1996: “Just don’t take it for granted, because you never know. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Anything can happen to any of us.”