Kirby Puckett
| Birthdate | 3/14/1960 |
| Death Date | 3/6/2006 |
| Debut Year | 1984 |
| Year of Induction | 2001 |
| Teams | Twins |
| Positions | Center Field, Designated Hitter, Right Field |
Kirby Puckett played all twelve of his big league seasons in Minnesota and retired as the Twins’ All Time leader in hits, runs, doubles, and total bases.
Leave a commentIn the collection:
Kirby Puckett helped the Minnesota Twins win World Series titles in 1987 and 1991
Kirby Puckett helped the Minnesota Twins win World Series titles in 1987 and 1991
Kirby Puckett was a fan favorite in Minnesota. He managed 165 hits and a .296 average in his first big league season in 1984. The Chicago native finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting.
The following season Puckett tallied 199 hits and received support in MVP voting. In 1986 he began a run of 10 straight All Star seasons. The centerfielder earned six Gold Gloves and six Silver slugger Awards.
Puckett helped lead the Twins to World Series championships in 1987 and 1991. The 1989 batting champ finished with a .318 lifetime batting average and a 124 OPS+. In 2001 he received baseball’s highest honor when he was voted into the Hall of Fame.
Puckett’s fame and success propelled autograph hounds to seek his autograph. When fans wrote to Puckett in care of the Twins, they received this team-issued postcard of the Minnesota slugger adorned with Puckett’s autograph along with a pre-printed thank-you note.
One can only imagine the volume of mail a player as popular as Puckett must have received. Rather than obliging each individual request, Puckett signed a number of these cards which were returned to the autograph seeker until the supply ran out.
From 1986-1992 Puckett hit .329 and averaged 207 hits, 20 homers, 97 RBI per season
From 1986-1992 Puckett hit .329 and averaged 207 hits, 20 homers, 97 RBI per season
Kirby Puckett was among the game’s best hitters from 1986-1992. An all star all seven of those years, he earned five Silver Sluggers. For good measure, the center fielder also earned six Gold Gloves during that time.
Shown here is the 1987 Fleer baseball card titled, “A.L. Pitcher’s Nightmare”. When this picture was taken at the 1986 All Star game, Kirby Puckett, Jose Canseco and Jim Rice were three of the most feared sluggers in the American League.
It was a season of firsts for Puckett who had never before played in an the All Star game, won a Silver Slugger or Gold Glove Award but accomplished all three in ’86.
All three outfielders have penned their signatures on this card.
