Kirby Puckett ✝

Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–95). Puckett is the Twins\' all-time leader in career hits, runs, and total bases. At the time of his retirement, his .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter since Joe DiMaggio.\n', ' Puckett was the fourth baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and was the second to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. After being forced to retire in 1996 at age 36 due to loss of vision in one eye from a central retinal vein occlusion, Puckett was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility.\n', ' Puckett was born in Chicago, Illinois, and he was raised in Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on Chicago\'s South Side (the escape from which he frequently referred to during his career). He played baseball for Calumet High School (Chicago). After receiving no scholarship offers following graduation, Puckett went to work on an assembly line for Ford Motor Company. However, he was given a chance to attend Bradley University and after one year transferred to Triton College. Despite his 5\' 8" frame, the Minnesota Twins selected him in the first round (third pick) of the 1982 Major League Baseball January Draft-Regular Phase.\n', '