Posted on 03/05/2006 10:57:01 AM PST by Lunatic Fringe
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Former Minnesota Twins great 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
I'm certainly not speaking authoratively on this, but didn't Kirby begin to get in some trouble after he suffered the eye malady and had to leave the game? It appeared, on the surface, that he may have developed a substance abuse problem.
Anyone have a better take on this than I? Prayers for Kirby and his family.
Owl_Eagle
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"-Hillary Clinton
(Yes, she really said that
Peggy Noonan
The Case Against Hillary Clinton, pg 55)
He did get pretty fat towards the end. Does he have diabetes?
I think this is the 2nd stoke he's had. Prayers for Kirby.
Ever since he got beaned in the head he hasn't been the same
| Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5' 9" Weight: 223 lbs. Born: Mar 14, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois College: Triton |
| CAREER BATTING STATISTICS | |||||||||||||||
| BATTING | |||||||||||||||
| YEAR | TEAM | LG | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | OBP | SLG |
| 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 |
Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min |
AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL |
.296 .288 .328 .332 .356 .339 .298 .319 .329 .296 .317 .314 |
128 161 161 157 158 159 146 152 160 156 108 137 |
557 691 680 624 657 635 551 611 639 622 439 538 |
63 80 119 96 109 75 82 92 104 89 79 83 |
165 199 223 207 234 215 164 195 210 184 139 169 |
12 29 37 32 42 45 40 29 38 39 32 39 |
5 13 6 5 5 4 3 6 4 3 3 0 |
0 4 31 28 24 9 12 15 19 22 20 23 |
31 74 96 99 121 85 80 89 110 89 112 99 |
16 41 34 32 23 41 57 31 44 47 28 56 |
69 87 99 91 83 59 73 78 97 93 47 89 |
.320 .330 .366 .367 .375 .379 .365 .352 .374 .349 .362 .379 |
.336 .385 .537 .534 .545 .465 .446 .460 .490 .474 .540 .515 |
| Totals | AVG .318 |
G 1783 |
AB 7244 |
R 1071 |
H 2304 |
2B 414 |
3B 57 |
HR 207 |
RBI 1085 |
BB 450 |
K 965 |
OBP .360 |
SLG .477 |
||
| BATTING | BASERUNNING | MISC | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TEAM | LG | HBP | GDP | TB | IBB | SH | SF | SB | CS | SB% | AB/HR | AB/K |
| 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 |
Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min Min |
AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL |
4 4 7 6 2 3 3 4 6 7 7 3 |
11 9 14 16 17 21 15 27 17 15 11 15 |
187 266 365 333 358 295 246 281 313 295 237 277 |
1 0 4 7 4 9 11 4 13 7 7 18 |
4 5 2 0 0 0 1 8 1 1 1 0 |
2 3 0 6 9 5 3 7 6 5 7 5 |
14 21 20 12 6 11 5 11 17 8 6 3 |
7 12 12 7 7 4 4 5 7 6 3 2 |
.667 .636 .625 .632 .462 .733 .556 .688 .708 .571 .667 .600 |
--.- 172.8 21.9 22.3 27.4 70.6 45.9 40.7 33.6 28.3 22.0 23.4 |
8.1 7.9 6.9 6.9 7.9 10.8 7.5 7.8 6.6 6.7 9.3 6.0 |
| Totals | HBP 56 |
GDP 188 |
TB 3453 |
IBB 85 |
SH 23 |
SF 58 |
SB 134 |
CS 76 |
SB% .638 |
AB/HR 35.0 |
AB/K 7.5 |
||
Stats Glossary
Posted: Fri January 11, 2002 12:23:26 PM ET
When he signed his first long-term contract with the Twins, he said, "I'm gonna go home and make me a lot of little Kirbys."
Gotta love an attitude like that, rather than the spoiled cockiness prevalent today. I still remember the World Series against the Braves when he robbed the Braves of a home run with an amazing over-the-wall catch in center field...
IIRC he had to retire from baseball early due to retinal problems...
Just F*ck It. Not Puckett!
Prayers for him and his family!
Kirby Puckett was the star of the Minnesota Twins of my youth. I remember he had glaucoma too, it's amazing how he played so well with all these health problems. Hope he gets better.
One of the alltime greats, his carer was cut short way to soon, let us pray his life is not cut short also.
Yea I remember too. The Braves break my heart on a yearly basis.
Go Braves!
Yeah but I have to admit, you are a loyal fan. There are few who back their team without fail.
I ran into him upon entering a store in Minneapolis a couple years back. He stood and waited holding the door for me. Nice guy.
Prayers for a class act.
Yes I know it's wikipedia, but in this case they are correct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Puckett
Puckett had been well admired throughout his career and for some years after. His unquestionable baseball prowess, outgoing personality, charity work, community involvement, healthy image, good rapport with the media, and nice-guy attitude earned him the respect and admiration of fans across the country. However, Puckett was arrested for allegedly groping a woman in a bar restroom on September 5, 2002. He was acquitted, but following the publicity and trial, he and his wife Tonya endured a bitter divorce. Since those events, Puckett has largely withdrawn from public appearances. Kirby and Tonya Puckett have two children, Catherine and Kirby Jr.
Kirby's family has had a history of health problems. I believe that at least 2 of his brothers have already died from poor health. Kirby has really let himself go, physically; I'd be shocked if he weren't over 300 lbs. This is definitely related to poor health - not drugs or anything else.
Is this nothing more than rumor mongering?
Either source this or pull the comment, please.
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