Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

(AP) - Tom Kelly sat in the coaches' small
room, his arms folded below the word "Twins" in red on his dark
blue T-shirt. One hand gripped the armrest of his folding chair.

      "I think I'm doing OK today," Minnesota's manager for most of
Kirby Puckett's career said Tuesday. "I think so."

      Just outside the door of the spring training clubhouse,
86-year-old security guard Dominic Jamella also felt the pain of
Puckett's death at age 45.

      "I really miss him," said Jamella, who started working for the
Twins when they moved to Fort Myers in 1991. "He never went by me
when we didn't touch fists. He was a wonderful guy."

      On a practice field, former Twins star and current special
assistant Tony Oliva was asked what he missed about the smiling,
hustling bundle of energy who spent all 12 of his seasons in
Minnesota's outfield and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his
first year of eligibility in 2001.

      "Everything," Oliva said. "Everything."

      Puckett, who played from 1984-95 and later went to spring
training as a special instructor until 2002, died Monday at a
Phoenix hospital, one day after having a stroke at home.

      The short, stocky outfielder was liked by teammates and
opponents. Fans were taken with his all-out, hardworking approach
to the game.

      One of them watching the Twins work out Tuesday recalled the
time he asked Puckett for an autograph.

      "One of the things I remember about him is when he was working
out he was always just dripping with sweat because he worked
hard," said Don Shirk, 73, of Shermansdale, Pa. "It kind of
worried me when he signed because I was afraid he was going to
smear the autograph, but he seemed like a real nice man."

      Current Twins outfielder Shannon Stewart learned that in 1993
when he was a 19-year-old prospect in his first spring training
with Toronto and Puckett was starting his 10th season with
Minnesota. Stewart was standing in the outfield before a game at
the Twins' stadium when Blue Jays teammate Joe Carter asked if he
wanted to meet Puckett.

      Stewart said he did and Carter talked to Puckett.

      "I guess Joe told him I was a first-rounder in 1992 and Kirby
goes to me, 'Hey, young fella, I heard you were a first-round pick.
You got any change I can borrow?'" Stewart said. "It made me
smile."

      Besides some long faces, there were no outward reminders at the
workout of Puckett's death. No flags at half-staff. No posters with
Puckett's name held by any of the about 40 fans. No black armbands
on uniforms.

      But you couldn't get to the field without realizing what Puckett
meant to the franchise. After driving into the main entrance to the
parking area, the first right turn put you on Puckett Pkwy., one of
several paved paths named for former Twins.

      "He was so revered by his teammates as well as other major
league players he might have been the most respected player at the
time and I think that's the ultimate compliment," said Kelly, the
Twins manager from 1986 to 2001.

      "He made my life a joy. I was just fortunate to come along at
the same time he did," Kelly said. "Let's be honest. I rode the
coattails and a lot of coaches did and fans did, and a whole bunch
of people got on board and rode that train right with him, and he
was driving."

      A few minutes later, Kelly and other spring training instructors
headed to the fields.

      One of them, Rod Carew, was carrying a bat when Jamella asked
him how he was doing.

      "I'm doing OK. The sun's out," he said, "but we have a little
bit of gloom with Kirby."

Both houses of the Minnesota Legislature paused
Wednesday afternoon to remember Puckett. 

      Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson held up a baseball Puckett
gave him and talked about Puckett's impact in baseball and beyond,
through scholarship programs and children's charities.

      Senators bowed their heads and observed a moment of silence in
Puckett's memory.

      House members took turns reading lines from a resolution that
labeled him "one of the greates players in baseball history."

      Puckett's family will get a copy of the resolution.

 A public memorial service for Puckett is planned for 7 p.m. Sunday at the
Metrodome. The gates will open at 6 p.m., and
there will be no charge with seating by general admission.

      A private visitation and memorial service is slated for Sunday
afternoon in the Twin Cities. The Twins were planning to attend Puckett's funeral.

 "We'll take our time and go there, pay our respects, and then
come on back down to spring training," general manager Terry Ryan
said. 

      The Twin Cities' other pro teams also took time to honor Puckett
on Tuesday night. The NBA's Timberwolves and NHL's Wild had moments
of silence before their games. Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett had
K.P. 34 (Puckett's jersey number) written on his shoes.

 The Twins also plan to dedicate their 2006
season to Kirby Puckett.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the team will find some ways to celebrate Puckett's legacy
throughout the season.

      The Twins already have retired Puckett's Number 34, and a large
picture of Puckett already hangs on the upper-deck curtain at the
Metrodome.

Gallery

Members of the Minnesota Twins are struggling to focus on spring training in the wake of Kirby Puckett's death earlier this week. Both houses of the Minnesota Legislature paused
Wednesday afternoon to remember Puckett.

Twins struggle to cope with Puckett's death

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox