Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1995. Puckett led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991, the only two championships for the franchise since their move to Minnesota in 1961. His gregarious personality and dynamic style of play endeared him to fellow players and fans alike. He is the Twins franchise's all-time leader (1961-present) in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases, and his .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter in the second half of the 20th century. He was the only baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and one of only two to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. After being forced to retire at age 35 due to loss of vision in one eye from glaucoma, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility. In March 2006 he died at the age of 45 following a massive stroke.
