Hall of Famer Puckett suffers stroke

[mac56]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2355333&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Former Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett had a stroke at his Arizona home Sunday and was taken to a hospital for surgery, the team announced from its spring training camp.

The 44-year-old Puckett, who led Minnesota to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991 and is a member of the Hall of Fame, was taken to a Scottsdale hospital.

"The Minnesota Twins and major league baseball ask fans to keep Kirby and his family in their thoughts and prayers," the team said in a statement.

The Twins played the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game Sunday at their spring training complex here. Center fielder Torii Hunter sat out the game after learning about the stroke.

Puckett, who broke in with Minnesota in 1984, had a career batting average of .318. Glaucoma forced Puckett to retire in 1996 after 12 seasons with the Twins when he went blind in one eye.

Puckett is divorced and has two children.

[Deja Q]

1. I saw, this morning, that

one of my pet fish has been bullied by the others and is near death.

An acquaintance I know had a stroke a couple weeks' back too.

These things are ailments we all know of.

Now if Kirby got abducted by aliens I might be interested.

But he is no role model or hero. He's an athlete.

Or if we were all elevated to superstar status... after all, the guy who ensures the friggin' network remains running 24/7 is surely as important as a guy who hits a ball with a stick and runs around a square-shaped patch of land..

Though I can tell you in an attosecond who gets paid more...

[mac56]

4. Folks, have you ever thoroughly enjoyed

putting someone on your "ignore" list?

I gotta say, I've never enjoyed doing it as much as I am right this minute.

[katinmn]

2. I'm sorry to hear this. Kirby did some great charity work after retirement

I remember he had some serious problems concerning his marraige. Not sure if he was guilty or not.

I also enjoyed watching him during the World Series in 87.

[KitchenWitch]

3. He is only a couple of years older than I am

The news scares me...

[mnSky]

5. Kirby

Kirby was a 'GREAT' baseball player..and his career was too short! Re: his marriage and other assault charges, his personal life with women wasn't as great, his greatness on the field is tinted with the shadow of what could have been if he could have played longer and if he could have had better self disciple interacting with women. I wish him well and hopes he recovers. 44 is too young for anyone.

[katinmn]

6. Kirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr beee Pucket!

Yes, a great ball player. Loved watching him play. I wish him well, too.

[dflprincess]

7. Me too.

I never get tired of the clip from the 6th game of the 91 series when he hit the homerun and we hear the announcer say "We'll see you tomorrow night."

Whatever his personal problems, he gave the fans his all on the field.

[ER One Seven]

8. Puckett dies after massive stroke

Sad day in Minnesota--

On the day Kirby Puckett retired from baseball, he tried reassuring everyone that the sadness of losing sight in his right eye wouldn't diminish the spirit fans had seen him show for 12 seasons in a Twins uniform.
"Kirby Puckett's going to be all right," he said in 1996. "Don't worry about me. I'll show up, and I'll have a smile on my face. The only thing I won't have is this uniform on. But you guys can have the memories of what I did when I did have it on."

On Monday, the sports world held those memories close as Puckett died in a Phoenix hospital, one day after suffering a massive stroke. He was 45.

Puckett rose from a Chicago housing project and became a Minnesota sports icon, bursting onto the scene as a rookie in 1984 with an energetic style and an effervescent smile, each all his own.

He led the Twins to the World Series in 1987 and 1991, leaping into walls as their center fielder and swinging with a might that belied his stocky, 5-8 frame.

He often said he played every game as if it were his last, and sure enough, on March 28, 1996, Puckett awoke with blurred vision in his right eye.

He never played again. He was diagnosed with glaucoma and retired on July 12, 1996.

For the next five years, Puckett remained a smiling fixture on the Minnesota scene, working as an executive vice president for the Twins in an ambassadorial role.

In 2001, he became a first-ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 2,304 career hits, 10 All-Star selections and six Gold Glove Awards.

[KitchenWitch]

9. Welcome to DU

I am so sad, he was getting his life back together.