Tough news item, but Kirby Puckett died from a stroke yesterday. He was fun to watch. You'd be sitting at a bar, a highlight would pop on and someone would say "hey! look at that little pudgy guy!". My response would be: "yeah, and he's pretty damn good, too". He looked like he was built for a bowling league, rather than the Major Leagues. He was also one of the first stars I noticed when I starting getting into baseball around late 1989.

I also remember how he was ticked-off (and rightfully so) when Dennis Eckersley won the AL MVP in 1992. Kirby said something like: "well, all I know is: if I hit .320, hit 40 HR's and knock in 100 next year, I'd better win the Cy Young."

He had some sexual misconduct suits fired his way after his retirement, which was rather shocking. Still, it's a sad thing to see him go at age 44.