Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Boston Red Sox & Kirby

The first mlb outdoor baseball game I got to see was @ Fenway Park in the year 1995. I went with my dad, my aunt Marcie and my uncle Steve. Tickets were $16 each and it seemed awfully expensive back then. Until then I had seen the Twins 7 times at the Metrodome during summer trips to the homeland between 1990 and 95. The Twins won every single time. A nice streak.

The Twins won again in Boston that day. It was the last time I got to see my childhood hero Kirby Puckett in a Twins uniform. The following season he woke up one morning during spring training with a blind eye. But that day in Boston his vision was 20/20, and he blasted a dinger above the green monster. I think the Twins won 8-7. José Canseco also hit a homerun that day. Pretty cool. Were they on 'roids? Maybe. They seemed really buff.

The later years of Kirby were pretty tragic with arrests and harassment suits. A total contrast with the smile, generosity and happy nature of Kirby the ball player. Kirby's life came to an abrupt end in 2006, after dying from a stroke. I miss Kirby. RIP.

The Red Sox ? They won a couple championships since then and are doing it with money. Bleh.

5 comments:

  1. I too miss the Kirby of our youth.

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  2. My gosh. He woke up with a blind eye? That's something I didn't know. Poor Kirby. I have always loved his name.

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  3. Good old Kirby. I like how the area in front of the Dome is still called Kirby Puckett Place.

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  4. Kirby was a good player. Jose Canseco was my aunt's favorite player before she passed away.

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  5. Hola Ryan! My travels have kept me away from my computer and I just found out you had entered this Blog challenge. Yay!
    I adored Kirby, but not as much as Harmon, my true hero. I wrote about going to a Twins baseball clinic--possibly Grandpa took me--when I was 15 and Harmon was a) without his uniform and b) bald. But I loved him anyway. I decided not to enter this blog challenge because I haven't figured out which team is in which league and also because I had a busy month. Someday, maybe...

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