This fall the Star Tribune published a four part series detailing the life and death of Kirby Puckett after baseball. It was another look into the good and bad of perhaps Minnesota’s most revered baseball player ever. For all of his personal problems, memories of Puckett remain positive for many people including those who were fond of him for much more than his ball playing skills.
Among those with such recollections is Gregg Wong, the former Pioneer Press sports writer. I called Wong on Sunday, May 7 to pass along the news Puckett had suffered a stroke and was in grave condition. Puckett died later that day.
I recently asked Wong to write about his memories of Puckett. Wong was a Twins beat writer from 1985-1987 and covered the team part time during other seasons. Here’s what Wong wrote:
“He was the most upbeat, most accessible athlete I’ve ever dealt with on a regular basis. He would light up whatever room he was in with his non-stop chatter, banter and energy. The noise level in the clubhouse always would go up once he walked in.
“He always had something to say for the record. A lot of times it might just be a cliché, but he always was there to face the music. He never ran and hid, like many top athletes, even if he struck out with the winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth. He was a true professional in that regard; he knew you had a job to do, too.
“Probably my favorite remembrance of him was when he made his first all-star team in 1986, where he was voted in as a starter. The paper did not send me to the game in Houston, but the boss wanted a Puckett sidebar after the game. I asked if he would call me as soon as the game got over so I could ask about his experience and he said he would, although I believed he would get caught up in the hype and hoopla and forget to call.
“I watched the game on TV, made some notes and prayed that he’d call. Five minutes after the game was over, the phone rang. ‘What’s up, Wongie?’ he said. ‘How you doin’?’ Here he had just ended the biggest moment of his career up to that point and he remembered to call and asked how I was doing (just fine because he called)! Not many pro athletes would do anything like that today — and certainly none of the Vikings I covered in a half-dozen years.”