Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Kirby
I've read a lot about Kirby Puckett's passing, talking about the joy he brought to the game, but honestly I can feel nothing but great sadness at this point. There is no memory at this point that's abating the grief. I have my Kirby game memories like everybody else, but here's a personal story that maybe could convey a little of what Kirby meant to some people.
In 1992, I was in St. Paul on business and had that most serendipitous of occasions, an afternoon off -- and an afternoon game scheduled for the Metrodome. I did not have a rental car, so got on the intercity bus to get over to downtown Minneapolis. I can't tell you anything from memory about the game other than that I met a college friend there, and we had our pictures taken "with" various players by using a zoom lens to make it look like we were standing right next to the likes of Shane Mack and Kent Hrbek. Puckett played, batting third, and according to the box score went two for four and made only one put-out all game. My vague recollection was that it was a ball up against the baggy, which always made (makes) me laugh, the idea of this big guy running into a piece of vinyl to make a major league play.
But my lasting memory of that day is the bus ride over to Minneapolis. There's a stretch on the highway, and I was sitting close to the front so the driver could tell me where to get off. No need, as it turns out: there was a small gaggle of regular Twins fans up front as well, riding along. I could tell from the way they were gassing with the driver that they were well-known to one another, and they and the driver kept jawing about baseball the whole way over. The fans were still giddy from the championship of '91, but were a bit concerned over the poor-mouthing of the Twins' ownership at the time, and the rumored sell-off of some major contracts in trades. One of the kids was really keen on getting Tom Brunansky back from the Red Sox, and it occurred to me as I heard the driver throw out proposed trades, and the fans started throwing back ever more outrageous trade ideas -- the fans throwing these trades out and engaging in such happy pre-game banter were all mentally handicapped. I don't mean that metaphorically - I just hadn't quite noticed the signs until I tuned in on their conversation. So the driver would throw out Greg Gagne's name, and the kids would say back, "Don Mattingly!", or Scott Erickson, and they'd say "Roger Clemens!"
The driver then said, "OK, who would you get for Kirby Puckett?" and this incredibly loud chorus of everybody on the front of the bus yelled, "KIRBY?!? KIRBY?!?" in disbelief. The driver said, "No, I'm serious, they said they're going to trade Kirby." There was more buzz from the group, but it settled into an eerie silence as it became clear to them the driver wasn't kidding around. Then one of the fans started to cry, really sobbing quite fast. "They can't trade KIRBY, they can't!" and he sort of bent over like he'd been punched. The driver, glancing into his mirror, quickly backtracked and called the "kid" -- who must've been in his twenties or thirties -- by name, and slowly got him to come around, convincing him that he'd just been kidding around and had made it all up and the Twins are never, ever going to trade Kirby Puckett.
And they never did, and they never will.
posted by The Crank 10:23 PM
