I just hope the Hall of Fame plaque is wide enough to hold Kirby
Puckett's smile.
Dave Winfield might have had the grander career, but I suspect that most
fans cheered loudest for Puckett on Tuesday when the Hall of Fame
announced its two newest members. With that almost constant smile and
that funny little body, Puckett always was the fan favorite. Outside of
the hometown players, he always received the loudest ovations at the
All-Star Game. Opposing fans booed him so rarely that when they did,
players looked as stunned as if Mother Teresa had just been told to take
a hike.
Perhaps more than any other player of his time, Puckett made everyone at
the ballpark feel better -- teammates, opponents and fans alike - and
there wasn't a single controlled substance involved. There was just
something about that powerful little body, that relentlessly upbeat
personality, that smile so broad it stretched from Minneapolis to St.
Paul.
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Congratulations,
Puck. The Hall of Fame now rivals Disneyland as the happiest place on
earth. ” |
If Jim Rice had smiled half as much as Puckett, he would be in
Cooperstown already. While the Hall of Fame should not be a popularity
contest, there is something to be said for making other people feel good.
Personality was an integral part of Puckett's game, as much as the
hitting stroke that brought him a .318 career average and more hits
than Joe DiMaggio. While he was as good as any player in baseball during
his career, he also was one of the game's great ambassadors, which is
partly why voters elected him into Cooperstown in his first year of
eligibility.
Puckett was so overwhelmed by the honor that he did something a tad out
of character during his news conference. He boasted a little. Rather than
give his usual remark from his playing days -- "You know me, I just go up
and take my hacks" -- he talked about how hard he worked, how much he
loved baseball and how much he accomplished in his 12 seasons.
Well, heck. A guy gets voted into the Hall of Fame, he's permitted to
finally acknowledge that he was a pretty good player and that, maybe,
just maybe, that it wasn't an accident.
"I played every game like it was my last," Puckett said. "I left my
blood and sweat and tears on the field."
Many players say things like that and they're usually overstating the
case. Not Puckett. He always played with heart, and in what turned out to
be his last game, he literally left his blood, sweat and tears on the
field.
That was the final week of the 1995 season when Dennis Martinez hit him
in the head with a pitch, breaking bones around his eye and knocking him
to the ground. When he was helped from the field, the dirt around home
plate was stained with his blood.
He never batted in a major-league game again. He developed glaucoma in
the spring of 1996, went blind in his right eye and retired that summer.
Puckett is only 40, still young enough to be playing, still kicking his
front leg high and adding to his career hit total. That he can't is a
shame. But at least now we have him in the Hall, where he will be forever
young, forever reaching over the fence to rob some disbelieving batter of
a home run, forever scooting around the basepaths and wearing a smile so
electric it could power an entire Guns and Roses tour.
Congratulations, Puck. The Hall of Fame now rivals Disneyland as the
happiest place on earth.
Jim Caple, whose "Off Base" column appears each Wednesday on ESPN.com, is the national baseball writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has a Web site at www.seattlep-i.com. Send this story to a friend | |
ALSO SEE
Puckett, Winfield receive Hall passes to Cooperstown
Puckett, Winfield savor honor with each other
Stark: A cap-tivating question to ponder
Kurkjian: Puckett, Winfield deserve the Hall
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