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Kirby Puckett died after a massive stroke at 45 years old.
http://www.startribune.com/10017/story/287541.html
http://www.startribune.com/10017/story/287541.html
Kirby Puckett 1960-2006
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I heard this and was kinda shocked. I always liked Puckett growing up watching baseball, because he was a stud and looked funny running around with 200+ lbs on that 5' 9" frame. Those Twins squads with Puckett, Gaetti, Hrbek, and Frank Viola were something special.
In front of the cameras Kirby was great, but away from them he was a total ass. He was rude and unreceptive to fans, particularly white fans (according to a lifetime Twins fan I talked to yesterday). He also had a white wife who he allegedly beat on and within the last few years the sexual assualt alligation that happened in some public restroom. Not to mention that many believed that he was one of the many that benefitted from steroids in the 80's. His rookie season he as very slim and hit a grand total of 4 homers. The following year he beefed-up and hit 31. Check out the article on his many off-field problems:
Kirby's problems
Puckett has history of abuse, say former wife, mistress
Posted: Tuesday March 11, 2003 3:25 PM
From Sports Illustrated
Chuck Solomon
The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett
By Frank Deford
Issue Date: March 17, 2003
[Puckett] woke up one bright spring morning in 1996 and thought he'd slept funny on one eye, only it was glaucoma, and so never again could the Puck stand in against horsehides flung 90 to 95 mph. Just like that, no warning, he had to hang it up. Then he wasn't a ballplayer anymore, let alone a whale of one. Then he was just back to being fat little Kirby Puckett. Of course, this meant being able to spend more time with his mistress of many years, who nobody seems to have known existed, because Kirby was, of course, an ideal family man -- even though, truth be told, he wasn't even an ideal scoundrel, because he also had cheated on his mistress of many years with a passel of other sad and lonely women. And you thought the fans were duped. She was so shocked at his perfidy, the mistress of many years, that she began to seek comfort in commiseration with the wife.
Anyway, the mistress of many years says that when Puckett couldn't play baseball anymore, "he started to become full of himself and very abusive." He began to perform lewd acts in public, such as going to a fancy shopping center, parking there, then opening his car door and stepping out and peeing in plain view of other people (Twins fans presumably included). ...
Laura Nygren, the other woman, says that Puckett often spoke resentfully about having to visit children in order to bulwark his image. "He always said how much he hated going to the hospitals," Nygren says. "He became more [vocal] about how much he hated it after he retired, but he always said he hated it."
Excepted from "The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett," by Frank Deford in the March 17, 2003 issue of Sports Illustrated.
ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Baseball fans across the country were shocked last year when Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, one of the game's most beloved figures, was charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a suburban Minneapolis restaurant.
But that incident was merely the latest in a pattern of alleged sexual indiscretions and violent acts by the former Minnesota Twins icon, according to the cover story by Frank Deford, with special reporting by George Dohrmann, in this week's Sports Illustrated.
Puckett has pleaded innocent in the restaurant incident, and is scheduled to go on trial March 24 for false imprisonment and criminal sexual assault.
Laura Nygren, whom SI describes as Puckett's "mistress of many years," told the magazine that Puckett resumed an affair with her just seven weeks after he was married in 1986 -- then cheated on Nygren with numerous other women.
After the onset of glaucoma in his right eye forced him to retire in 1996, Puckett began committing lewd acts in public, such as urinating in mall parking lots, Nygren told SI. Her relationship with the ex-ballplayer ended last March after he allegedly threatened her and she obtained a temporary order of protection.
Shortly before Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2001, a female employee of the Twins threatened to file a sexual harassment suit against the team because of Puckett's and other men's behavior. The Twins allegedly made a financial settlement with her, according to SI. The Twins declined to comment to the magazine about this allegation.
Puckett's ex-wife, Tonya, divorced him in December, barely a year after she told police that he threatened to kill her during a telephone conversation. Over the years, she told SI, Puckett had also tried to strangle her with an electrical cord, locked her in the basement and used a power saw to cut through a door after she had locked herself in a room. Once, she said, he even put a *******ed gun to her head while she was holding their young daughter.
Puckett's upcoming trial stems from charges that he pulled a woman into the men's room of a restaurant in Eden Prairie, Minn., on Sept. 5, 2002, and fondled her. The woman told police that Puckett released her only when her girlfriend opened the door to the men's room and screamed.
Puckett, who retired with a .318 career average, 207 home runs, 1,085 RBIs and 134 stolen bases in 12 seasons, helped Minnesota win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. But the 5-foot-8, 230-pound center fielder was revered in the Twin Cities -- and throughout baseball -- as much for his "good guy" nature as for his play.
He and his ex-wife were involved in numerous community projects and during his career he won the Branch Rickey and the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year awards for community service. He's also a member of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
But that image also was a sham, according to Nygren. One day after he had retired, she told SI, they were together when Puckett said he had to leave to visit a sick child who was waiting to meet him.
"That's great, you get to make that kid's day," Nygren told him. "That must make you feel good." But she said Puckett just snapped back at her.
"I don't give a s---," he said. "It's just another kid who's sick."
Puckett declined to be interviewed for the SI story.
Edited by: Kaptain Poop
Kirby's problems
Puckett has history of abuse, say former wife, mistress
Posted: Tuesday March 11, 2003 3:25 PM
From Sports Illustrated
Chuck Solomon
The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett
By Frank Deford
Issue Date: March 17, 2003
[Puckett] woke up one bright spring morning in 1996 and thought he'd slept funny on one eye, only it was glaucoma, and so never again could the Puck stand in against horsehides flung 90 to 95 mph. Just like that, no warning, he had to hang it up. Then he wasn't a ballplayer anymore, let alone a whale of one. Then he was just back to being fat little Kirby Puckett. Of course, this meant being able to spend more time with his mistress of many years, who nobody seems to have known existed, because Kirby was, of course, an ideal family man -- even though, truth be told, he wasn't even an ideal scoundrel, because he also had cheated on his mistress of many years with a passel of other sad and lonely women. And you thought the fans were duped. She was so shocked at his perfidy, the mistress of many years, that she began to seek comfort in commiseration with the wife.
Anyway, the mistress of many years says that when Puckett couldn't play baseball anymore, "he started to become full of himself and very abusive." He began to perform lewd acts in public, such as going to a fancy shopping center, parking there, then opening his car door and stepping out and peeing in plain view of other people (Twins fans presumably included). ...
Laura Nygren, the other woman, says that Puckett often spoke resentfully about having to visit children in order to bulwark his image. "He always said how much he hated going to the hospitals," Nygren says. "He became more [vocal] about how much he hated it after he retired, but he always said he hated it."
Excepted from "The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett," by Frank Deford in the March 17, 2003 issue of Sports Illustrated.
ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Baseball fans across the country were shocked last year when Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, one of the game's most beloved figures, was charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a suburban Minneapolis restaurant.
But that incident was merely the latest in a pattern of alleged sexual indiscretions and violent acts by the former Minnesota Twins icon, according to the cover story by Frank Deford, with special reporting by George Dohrmann, in this week's Sports Illustrated.
Puckett has pleaded innocent in the restaurant incident, and is scheduled to go on trial March 24 for false imprisonment and criminal sexual assault.
Laura Nygren, whom SI describes as Puckett's "mistress of many years," told the magazine that Puckett resumed an affair with her just seven weeks after he was married in 1986 -- then cheated on Nygren with numerous other women.
After the onset of glaucoma in his right eye forced him to retire in 1996, Puckett began committing lewd acts in public, such as urinating in mall parking lots, Nygren told SI. Her relationship with the ex-ballplayer ended last March after he allegedly threatened her and she obtained a temporary order of protection.
Shortly before Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2001, a female employee of the Twins threatened to file a sexual harassment suit against the team because of Puckett's and other men's behavior. The Twins allegedly made a financial settlement with her, according to SI. The Twins declined to comment to the magazine about this allegation.
Puckett's ex-wife, Tonya, divorced him in December, barely a year after she told police that he threatened to kill her during a telephone conversation. Over the years, she told SI, Puckett had also tried to strangle her with an electrical cord, locked her in the basement and used a power saw to cut through a door after she had locked herself in a room. Once, she said, he even put a *******ed gun to her head while she was holding their young daughter.
Puckett's upcoming trial stems from charges that he pulled a woman into the men's room of a restaurant in Eden Prairie, Minn., on Sept. 5, 2002, and fondled her. The woman told police that Puckett released her only when her girlfriend opened the door to the men's room and screamed.
Puckett, who retired with a .318 career average, 207 home runs, 1,085 RBIs and 134 stolen bases in 12 seasons, helped Minnesota win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. But the 5-foot-8, 230-pound center fielder was revered in the Twin Cities -- and throughout baseball -- as much for his "good guy" nature as for his play.
He and his ex-wife were involved in numerous community projects and during his career he won the Branch Rickey and the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year awards for community service. He's also a member of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
But that image also was a sham, according to Nygren. One day after he had retired, she told SI, they were together when Puckett said he had to leave to visit a sick child who was waiting to meet him.
"That's great, you get to make that kid's day," Nygren told him. "That must make you feel good." But she said Puckett just snapped back at her.
"I don't give a s---," he said. "It's just another kid who's sick."
Puckett declined to be interviewed for the SI story.
Edited by: Kaptain Poop
foreverfree
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A radio report this morning (WEEU Reading PA) said that Puckett was the second youngest HOFer to die (Gehrig).
Well, Ross Youngs died younger.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_ bios/Youngs_Ross.htm
John
Well, Ross Youngs died younger.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_ bios/Youngs_Ross.htm
John
This double persona is common for Black athletes. Robert Parish, Warren Moon, and the seemingly likeable old version of George Foreman. I remember I was watching a fight when I was a kid in the early 90s. When he didn't know the cameras where on him he cussed out an old White man, in a threatening manner, for no apparent reason. They quickly cut away ,but it was too late. His smiley face is a fraud.
Guest, Michael Irvin is a clown. I can't stand him. I've kinda "met" him before. I told about it in a earlier post ,but to sum it up he showed up to a club with two white strippers, one I went to high school with, and started demanding service while berating the bartenders and some of the customers. He had a fur coat and gold plaited (on the sides) sunglasses on despite it being midnight and warm outside. I insulted him when the girl I went to high school with spoke to me, but he ignored me. He had his enforcer, fat Nate Newton with him as well.
That story doesn't suprise me, that was back in the mid-90's when he first started to get into trouble. I won a all- expence paid week long trip to Hawaii during the probowl(2000) and stayed at a beachfront hotel and I saw Irvin on the beach with one very beautiful white lady and another darker skinned woman(Hawaiian maybe)..I think there was another athlete with him but my memory is a little faded...there were alot of games, activities and photo shoots going on and so I don't assume anything about it..but who knows. I also saw a red faced and possibly drunken ESPN announcer Chris Berman stepping out of my hotel elevator. It was overall a neat experience. I had a breakfast"chalk talk" with Boomer Essiason and a football signed by Peyton and Boomer. I also had the priviledge along with several others of a dinner with Tony Dungy. A great guy..too bad his son didn't turn out the same way.
Joe V:Screw it, I still like the guy. What I don't know won't hurt me. <ingores post #4>
Guest 301: Like who you want too JoeV. Being a cowboy fan I still like Michael Irvin even though most people here hate him.
This thread needs a new title. How about, " Repulsive, criminal, sociopathic Negro athletes I still like despite their hideous behavioral problems."
Guest 301: Like who you want too JoeV. Being a cowboy fan I still like Michael Irvin even though most people here hate him.
This thread needs a new title. How about, " Repulsive, criminal, sociopathic Negro athletes I still like despite their hideous behavioral problems."
Me liking Irvin didn't stop me from telling everybody at the time that Irvin should have gone to jail for three years for what he did in the mid-90's. You can like someone personally without approving of his every action. Some people are not all good and not all bad and so I pretty much pick and choose who I take a liking too(so does most everybody). I wouldn't put Irvin in the Ray Lewis and Mike Tyson class. I also don't blame anybody for despising Irvin or Puckett. They pretty much did it to themselves and got off the straight and narrow path the public thought they were on.
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Puckett had his problems with the law and a double persona and that must be called into account for his life. But of course ESPN will just gloat over his tragic death and make him seem like a saint. I don't wish harm or death to any man, but I won't shed a tear for Kirby, he has plenty of those from the typical beer guzzuling fans.
Knowing his track record makes me wish even more that a black man like Tony Gwynn Won a World Series and not Puckett.
Knowing his track record makes me wish even more that a black man like Tony Gwynn Won a World Series and not Puckett.
Looking at Puckett's stats, I have to ask the question I often do; how did he get in the Hall Of Fame, especially so quickly? Only 12 seasons? Barely over 200 HRs? While I have often bemoaned the frequent induction of players who have achieved impressive lifetime numbers due to longevity (guys like Paul Molitor or Eddie Murray, for example), who just string along many very good (but never great) seasons, Puckett represents the Joe Morgan/Don Mattingly type, who are great for a very short time. Of course, Mattingly isn't in the Hall, and that's hard to understand, if you induct someone like Puckett. But then again, I guess if they're going to put most of the rest of the Negro League in the Hall, including a female owner, then any player who averages .318 for his career is probably very deserving.
white is right
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I was a fan until his true off the field problems were exposed. Now I truly feel sorry for him in a way. I can't speak ill of the dead so I won't say anymore about him...
JoeV said:
Sexual assualt is little different than getting an insider tip on the stock market. If Kirby pissed on your lawn and then tried to bang your wife over the lawn mower would you ask for his autograph? Sounds like you would.Edited by: Kaptain Poop