Kirby Puckett Statue

This statue commemorates Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (1960-2006). A native of Chicago, he spent his entire twelve-year major league career with the organization. In that time, Puckett earned a reputation as one of the best all-around players in the league. During his career, he won six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Glove Awards. Additionally, Puckett led the American League in hits three times and captured the league’s batting title in 1989. His most memorable moment came in Game Six of the 1991 World Series against the Atlanta Braves. In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Puckett smashed a solo home run over the left centerfield wall to win the game for the Twins and force a Game Seven, which the club ultimately won to capture its third World Series title in franchise history. His major league career ended abruptly in 1996, when he lost vision in his right eye. Following a series of unsuccessful surgical procedures, the ten-time All-Star retired from the game. Puckett finished his career with 2,304 hits, 1,085 RBIs, 207 home runs, and a .318 batting average. In 2001, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Only five years later, at the age of forty-five, he died after suffering a stroke. On April 12, 2010, a few hours before the home opener and first ever game at Target Field, the Twins unveiled a statue of Puckett outside the ballpark’s Gate Thirty-Four. Designed by Minneapolis-born artist Bill Mack, the larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture depicts the longtime Twins center fielder rounding second base, pumping his right fist and shouting in celebration, after hitting his game-winning home run in Game Six of the 1991 World Series.

Kirby Puckett was born into poverty on March 14, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois. The youngest of nine children, he developed his baseball skills at an early age playing pick-up games in the streets and sandlots surrounding the city’s South Side housing projects. Puckett attended the Windy City’s Calumet High School, where he earned All-America honors while playing third base on the school’s baseball team. Despite a successful high school baseball career, he received little interest from college baseball programs or major league scouts. After graduation, Puckett found employment on an assembly line at a Ford Motor Company plant, but lost his job when the company laid him off. While working at a temporary job to make ends meet, he attended a free agent tryout camp in Chicago. There, Puckett caught the attention of the head baseball coach at Bradley University, Dewey Kramer, who offered him a scholarship. Shortly after he arrived in Peoria, his father died, compelling him to transfer after just one year to Triton College outside of Chicago to be closer to his widowed mother. 

In 1982, the Minnesota Twins selected Puckett with the third overall pick in that year’s Major League Baseball January Draft. After two seasons in the organization’s minor league system, he made his major league debut for the Twins on May 8, 1984. Ultimately, Puckett spent his entire twelve-year big league career with the club. In that time, he earned a reputation as one of the best all-around players in the league. During his career, Puckett won six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Glove Awards. Additionally, he led the American League in hits three times and captured the league’s batting title in 1989. Puckett’s most memorable moment came in Game Six of the 1991 World Series against the Atlanta Braves. In the bottom of the eleventh inning, he smashed a solo home run over the left centerfield wall to win the game for the Twins and force a Game Seven, which the club ultimately won to capture its third World Series title in franchise history.  

Puckett’s major league career ended abruptly in 1996. One morning during spring training, he awoke unable to see out of his right eye. Diagnosed with glaucoma, Puckett underwent a series of surgeries in an attempt to restore his vision. When the procedures proved unsuccessful, the ten-time All-Star selection retired from the game. Puckett finished his career with 2,304 hits, 1,085 RBIs, 207 home runs, and a .318 batting average. In 2001, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Only five years later, at the age of forty-five, he died after suffering a stroke. 

On April 12, 2010, a few hours before the home opener and first ever game at Target Field, the Twins unveiled a statue of Puckett outside the ballpark’s Gate Thirty-Four. Designed by Minneapolis-born artist Bill Mack, the larger-than-life-sized bronze sculpture depicts the longtime Twins center fielder rounding second base, pumping his right fist and shouting in celebration, after hitting his game-winning home run in Game Six of the 1991 World Series. In attendance at the unveiling, aside from members of the Twins front office, past Twins greats, and many fans, was Puckett’s son, Kirby Puckett, Jr. 

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Ortiz, Maria Burns. "Statues honor Twins greats." espn.com. 4 May 2010. Web. 16 July 2021 <http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?sportCat=mlb&page=burns_ortiz/100504_minnesota_twins_sculptor>.

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Vonste, Bobo. "Puckett's statue unveiled." Star Tribune, April 12, 2010 <https://www.startribune.com/puckett-s-statue-unveiled/90624629/>.