Puckett Field at whatever-the-stadium-name-is-going-to-be works for me. When the naming rights are sold, that should be part of the deal.

Batgirl - again you are the voice for us, the less eloquent. But I do have to say - Kirby's heart beats in all of us who love baseball, our Twins and especially Kirby. I look forward to Sunday and the celebration of his life.

I've been a Twins fan since I was 5, which was in 1966. I remember getting a Twins jacket with my brother, and getting hit in the face trying to catch a baseball for the first time. I went to some games, and watched the Twins on t.v. with my dad. Our favorite players were Oliva, Killebrew, Cesar Tovar, Frank Quilici, and Rod Carew. During class in grade school we all watched the Twins get clobbered in the playoffs by the Orioles.

In the '70s, my dad worked for my mom's pale, thin-haired uncle, who looked like the Irishman he was, and who went to every game with the "company" tickets. Sometimes we got to go, too. My great-uncle would buy us candy and leave at the 7th inning stretch. These were lean years, when my would-be heroes came and went, but the Twins never went anywhere. Hisle, Bostock, Carew, of course, Goltz. These were the names that gave us faint hope.

In the '80s I became an adult and the Twins hit rock bottom. They moved into the Dome, which I hated from before day one. The skin flint Calvin Griffith made one exasperating trade after the next and threatened to move the team. In 1982 the once-proud franchise ended up in last place in the AL West, 60-102 under Billy Gardner. Barely 11,000 attended each game in the new stadium. In 1983 we were second-to-last and attendance dropped more.

Then came 1984 and Kirby Puckett blew into my life. The Twins actually made a run for the playoffs that year. (They choked at the end of the season and wound up 81-81. That was when Gaetti said, "It's hard to bat with both hands around your neck.") Attendance doubled and then basically stayed at around 25,000 – all the way until Kirby left.

Everybody knows Kirby's baseball statistics. He was an excellent, durable center fielder. A 5'8" center fielder - Kirby was no 1st baseman or DH. He never sat out injured. All-Star, MVP. He hit for power and average. He hit 207 home runs. He amazed by his miraculous ability at making a timely hit, catch, throw, or quip. He helped bring Minnesota two World Championships in the best sport there is, taking the stale runner-up taste out of our mouths. He made all Minnesotans feel like champions. He was the greatest Twin ever, and the Twins are lucky to have seen many wonderful baseball stars over the years.

Kirby was joyful, laid back, friendly, appreciative, even when he was at the top of the baseball world, the richest player in the league. I was always amazed by that. Amazed by his loyalty to his small-town team and his adopted state. My state, my team. I read his book when it came out, and his life story inspired me. Made me love him even more. I thought he was more than a great baseball player, he was a gift from heaven.

And then it all ended, and quickly. Kirby was human. He hadn't planned his life after baseball. He didn't know how to handle himself when there was no game on the line, no team to lead, no balls to sign, or media people looking for quotes. He broke the Golden Rule with his wife – and maybe with someone in Eden Prairie. The same people who idolized him turned on him, then ignored him. He took it out on himself, probably. And now he's gone forever, much too young.

Even while we mourn, I hear people continue debating whether to celebrate Kirby Puckett's life or not. I submit to you that Kirby never planned on being super human, he was devoted to being a good athlete. Consider his childhood in the pitiless ghettos of black Chicago. Think of the good deeds we all remember him doing, talking to awed regular joes, signing autographs, charity pool tournaments, gifts of his time and money, and his lasst gift: organ donation. He was short-sighted, perhaps, in losing his direction after the applause ended, but I've known many men more short-sighted and directionless than Kirby Puckett. It may seem like he turned his back on the mean streets that he came from, but who can blame him for a desire to escape from hopeless desparation? Yes, he broke the Golden Rule, but I believe he was not willfully criminal, and we should all have it in our hearts to forgive Kirby Puckett for his sins.

Now I'm a pale, thin-haired Irish-looking middle aged man obsessed with baseball, just like my eccentric great uncle was when I started to learn the game. I'll continue to follow the Twins, even if the skin flint Pohlad lets good players go and threatens to move the team. Even if we stink and attendance drops to 10,000 again, I'll stay devoted. And I will never stop thanking God for sending us Kirby Puckett.

If we get a stadium, I say we fans all call it Puckett Field regardless of what it's really named. After all, any Twins ballpark will be The House That Kirby Built anyway. The Twins would not be what they are, what they have been, or what they're going to be without him. Kirby IS the Twins.

How I wish I could be there Sunday, to soothe my bruised soul and to share a moment with so many who, like me, were oddly and permanently touched by a man we never met, we never talked with, we never physically embraced. I will surely be there in spirit, though, and when my wife and I take our one-year-old son to the Metrodome for the first time this summer - with him clutching his Twins teddy bear (called, of course, Kirby) - I have no doubt that we'll still be able to feel the remnants of so much pure, unbridled affection. If this tragedy has done nothing else, it has restored our hero to his proper place in our hearts - and, perhaps, it has renewed the love we all feel for the game and for our Twins. Please, please - we have lost the greatest Twin. Please do everything you can to ensure we don't lose the team as well.

"the house that kirby built" ... Well stated !! The World jus lost a great man.. :(

"and we'll see ya tmr night !!" Thanks Kirby..FOR EVERYTHING

Another Kirby story that I heard from a friend of my dad's who lives in Minnesota.

One time the Twins were going to give out autographed photos(with a reproduced, stamped autograph) of Kirby to the first 15,000 people entering the Metrodome. Kirby thought this was untruthful and disingenuous, so he proceeding to sign all 15,000 photos. I don't know another player who could do this.

What's special about Kirby is that he was loved by everyone. Reading what people like Cal Ripken, Randy Johnson, Don Mattingly, and even Sox manager Ozzie Guillen have had to say about Kirby shows how great of a person he really was.

And Kirby Puckett Park at (Insert Corporate Sponsor) here would be perfect...who cares if it's the longest stadium name in history.

I'm sure that someone already posted it, but you've got to check out that Letterman Top 10 list with Kirby again. Classic. That and lots of other great Kirby soundbites on the KFAN site:

http://www.kfan.com/pages/pucketttribute/

What fun he was.

Win Twins.

Thanks Batgirl.

My donation will be made forthwith, and I will definitely be at the Dome on Sunday night.

While Kirby continues to tug at our hearts, Barry continues to make our stomachs turn.

Kirby Puckett Ballpark is a lovely idea. I wish I could halfway believe it would happen.

"How lucky is the person who gets his heart?"

It cut that off.

Supposed to say that was very well said.

And that Kirby Puckett Park would be perfect.

I'm doing everything in my power to go to the memorial on Sunday. If only my parents truly understood why Kirby's so special to me.

It really pains me to be far away in Chicago right now. I want to be home. I want to go to the memorial. I want to watch the tribute on FSN - if anyone would be willing to tape it for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

And I am hoping dearly for a Kirby Puckett park. He has earned it.

I didn't think this would hit me as hard as it did. But every time I see the old footage on ESPN, I cry. I will miss him.

I remember having great tickets to the Twins Game. We sat right behind the team. My daughter was about 3 and she would get up to the rail and yell Kirby's name and she could yell. He would turn around smile and wave. That young girl is now 18 almost 19 and we will never forget what a big time baseball player did for a little girl.
We will never forget him.
GodBless him and his family.

I *so* wish I could be there on Sunday instead of here in North Carolina. It can suck to be so far away from the team I love, but no more than now. Thank goodness for the Intarwebs, and for wonderful Twins blogs like this one, or else I'd be going crazy right now.

Anyway, for those that missed the WCCO tribute live, MLB.com has the whole thing archived on their Puck tribute page (I've got the url under my name, if you don't have it already). Just look under the "Sights and Sounds" section for the Kirby Puckett tribute.

If that doesn't work, MLB radio's page currently has the broadcast listed in their highlights section. If you find the "WCCO and CBS Radio presents" item, that's it.

Repeated from the previous thread...

ESPN Classic will have an all-Puckett day Thursday, starting at 1 pm, which will include Game 6 of the 91 World Series

Kirby Puckett Park (perhaps with a sponsor name attached). That's what they'll call it. But we don't go to the HHH Metrodome right now, we go to the 'Dome.
And we won't go see the Twins at Kirby Puckett Park, we'll go see them at "the Puck"-- or at "Kirby's Place."
'Course, we can go there anytime. Anywhere the Twins play and fans are is Kirby's Place.

If anybody is able too...can somebody get a decent video-capture of the Game 6 homer? Something that could be put online?

Dear Mr. Hu,

I believe it's on the Twins website.

Sincerely,
Batgirl

As Torhu asked, I'm going to further that. I'd love to see any Kirby videos possible of him playing. I have some great audio clips, but would love to see some more video.

If there is a montage somewhere of Puckett stuff, that would be a great download. Maybe just a link to it would work too. Thanks.

BG,

Quoting from your site: "Batgirl will write something very silly this weekend, not because her heart is not heavy, but because there is baseball to play, and as a new blogger in town says "If there is one thing that Kirby would not approve of, it’s jocularity in the face of tragedy. Or doing something you love when it is hardest."

Shouldn't that say, "If there is one thing Kirby WOULD approve of?"

Kinda makes the big guy sound morose. Which he wasn't.

Helpfully,
NL

Dear Mr. L,

It was ironical, but that was unclear. I shall make it less so.

Gratefully,
BG

I don't have internet at home, I'm in a bit of a hole, news-wise... I was shocked when I finally logged in today. Very sad. Sorry for the loss. he was a great player. I rememeber the '91 series very well!

I made my first trip to Twins spring training today and the "moment of silence" before the game with the Reds was very touching. (The Yankees also had a moment of silence before their game with the Twins in Tampa yesterday).

They've painted Kirby's "34" in a circle in foul territory along both the first and third baselines at Hammond Stadium and I would hope they'll do something similar at the Dome. (One of the Reds hitters even walked over to the circle on the Twins dugout side and touched his bat on the "34" in tribute before taking his place in the batters box... a well appreciated gesture).

If you can get a new ballpark in the Cities, some way to include Kirby in the naming scheme is a terrific idea. In the mean time, even renaming their spring training stadium/complex in his honor would be a great idea.

What great comfort this site has been during these past dark days. In the small town in Minnesota that I've called home for the past 13 years, it seemed like everyone held their collective breath on Sunday when the news of Kirby's stroke was made public. We went about our lives in a somber way, praying that he would somehow be a part of just one more miracle. And, now the grief from losing him is widespread. There is such truth in that expression about a joy shared is doubled, and a sorrow shared being halved.

Most of my sentiments have already been stated, eloquently and beyond my abilities; but I'll add this sweet revelation:

When I moved here in 1993, I arrived as a full-fledged Minnesota Twins fan. My baseball allegiances have been regional all my life, so I followed the RANGERS when I lived in Texas, the SOX in Maine, and when I moved to Iowa, I chose the TWINS for my team. When I came to Minnesota, I remember spending one arduous day "house hunting" with a Realtor. I looked at 17 houses in one day---all kinds of houses----big, small, in between. Houses on lakes, houses on rivers, houses that were occupied by families, and retirees. The ONE thing that EVERY ONE of these houses had in common was that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM had a 1991 Wheaties Box with Kirby and Hrbek out on display in their house. It got to the point where I was looking for that Wheaties box when we came in the door of the house before I could even concentrate on the more relevant features. This *is* TWINS TERRITORY. And, Kirby is inseparable from that legacy.

Dr Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over, Smile that it ever happened". I'm smiling, with tears.

Donation done. Thanks for the legwork on that Batgirl. The website and paypal link made it extremely easy to pay my respects to Kirby's memory.

I'm glad that I took the time to travel to MN at least once to see him play. He nearly hit for the cycle that day...

Could someone leave a message for me at whatever site flowers, caps, etc. have been left? I'm too far away to take it myself, or I would. Just something like "We miss you Kirby! Love, from Elizabethton."

Jim said: "(One of the Reds hitters even walked over to the circle on the Twins dugout side and touched his bat on the "34" in tribute before taking his place in the batters box... a well appreciated gesture)."

That Red was former Twin Brian Buchanan, who was a Twin when Kirby was a member the team's front office. Very emotional/touching...

We're going to the dome on Sunday night. Hope to see some Batlings there.

I'll see what I can do, Annun. Kirby played some great ball while he was in Tennessee.

- Kurtis

Did you ever see the Seadogs play, RallyMonkey?

Last comment, promise. For those of you able to tune in, here is the ESPN classic line up tomorrow, CST.

1:00 pm 2001 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction
1:30 pm 1987 World Series
2:30 pm Kirby Puckett Up Close
3:00 pm 2001 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction
3:30 pm 1991 World Series, Game 6
5:30 pm 2001 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction

For a young boy growing up in ND while Kirby was at his prime (all 12 years of prime, at that), he absolutely defined baseball for me. There's no other way to put it.

At the risk of coming across as lazy for not typing this again, here's the tribute I wrote up on my site:
http://www.joelschou.com/journal/writings/2006/03/a-hero-departs

Also, I created a little graphic for the story (it is at the end or use the link below). If anyone would like to have the image, feel free to just grab this PNG or email me for a JPG or GIF.
http://www.joelschou.com/img/journal/2006030634forever.png

I am in morning, I lost my favorite player and my biggest inspiration in one day. I had the absolute honor of meeting this great man and the memory of him being my biggest tip ever during my short duration as a cocktail waitress at one of his charity events.

As a child I went to games at the old Met stadium, never really got into it, but it was a family tradition.

My first date was at a Twins game, center field second row up and watched him snatch them off the glass that night in '85, and I remember vividly watching the win in '87 on TV then walking out the front door of our home in Blaine and swearing I could hear the roar of the crowd from 16 miles away at the Dome. I was a fan for life by then, because of a little man with a huge heart and a ton of talent. My buddy Kirby, he was never really my friend, but boy did he make you feel like you were if you met him.

I came home from Desert Storm in '91 to El Paso TX to finish out my tour and watched each and every game at a sports bar with one other Twins fan, waving our Homer Hankeys at every turn and getting the evil eye a lot, but rooting them on and screaming up a storm, because that was truly coming home, watching my Twinkies win. And watching Kirby carry us home.

I moved home briefly to MN after that and worked as a cocktail waitress at a billards bar, and Kirby brought his charity event to us. He was such a gentleman and I will forever have the honor of his tip to me that night being my biggest tip ever.

I live in AZ now, I didn't even know he lived here until this happened. I am so saddened, I work as a hospice nurse, and he never even got the benefit of what we could have done for him. But I am so saddened to know, I will never see that smile again, hear that infectious laughter, or have that kind of joy in front of me again. He was and is the heart of the Twins and what they are meant to be.

God speed Kirby, know that all of MN and all of baseball will never be the same without the little man that could and did. I have been crying for days, and probably will for a few more. I just hope someday my kids can see the kind of inspiration in their lives you put smack dab in mine.

To your fiance, you were so blessed, he was a great man, I never held much credence to the charges, it just never jived with the man I was honored to meet.

As for the new stadium? I feel he MUST be honored. Polack, find a way, it HAS to happen. NO other Twin has done what he did, unite the MN fan base solidly behind a team, none, lol, we're usually all fair weather fans whether we like to admit it or not.

Love you Puck, more than you ever knew. You were so intertwined in my coming of age, and I will forever miss you and your infectious smile and that laugh we all knew so well, that laugh that told us you were just having the time of your life playing the game you loved.

Jen

I live in Los Angeles. I guess i can't afford it time or money wise right now but i would love to be in the Metrodome Sunday night. Like Batgirl, i have learned what a truly wonderful person Kirby was reading what those who knew him or had contact with him had to say about Kirby. Just reading and hearing the things said about him makes me want to be a better, more loving person, more like Kirby. He was a truly great man.

You know, if they must have naming rights, why not something funny like mmm Puckett Park, Puckett Palace Northwest, General Puckett's Mill or Kirby's Kickass Stadium? And I'm sure there are more creative people out there then me, so they can hold some kind of naming contest. I always liked the name Kirby Puckett Place because it sounds like somewhere baseball games should be played.

Like some others, I'm partial to Puckett Field.

By the way, I've discovered that the memorial will be televised locally (channel 29, which I think is a UPN station). Has anyone seen any hope for us out-of-towners to see it as well?

I've been looking for a Gaetti "Kirby Story", has anyone seen/read any?

Thanks!!

Click my name to see David Ortiz's cap with a Puckett tribute.

Does anyone know if FSN is going to re-air the tribute piece they did yesterday? I was unable to TiVo it.

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said (and probably better than I ever could).

BG, thank you for all your brilliant words.

My heart is broken, especially on these warm days when the breeze is soft and baseball throughts whisper through my brain every time I step outside. All I can think of is the man who made me love baseball as a little girl, when I'd go to the Dome for my birthday parties.

And I agree with everyone who's suggested Puckett Field/Stadium/Park/Whatever. Kirby deserves it. And I also agree that if they don't name it after him, we should call it Puckett Field anyways.

~Carmen

A Kirby Puckett Field would be great.

By the way, I just bought 400 Twins cards off of eBay, and I received a Kirby Puckett 1991 World Series Game 6 card. That's...suprising, but incredible.