Kirby Puckett Suffers Stroke

[bosox]

Press Release

FT. MYERS, Fla. -- Former Twins great Kirby Puckett suffered a stroke this morning at his home in Scottsdale, AZ. He was transported to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Scottsdale Osborne Hospital where he is undergoing Neo Surgery.

The Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball ask fans to keep Kirby and his family in their thoughts and prayers.

Wow, this comes as a surprise. He's only in his 40's, right? Surprising, but then again, I guess a stroke can happen at any age. Best wishes to Kirby and his family.

[NJTank]

Hmm I wonder if it has anything to do with his eye problems, maybe it was some ticking time bomb

[BigMac12]

I'm not wishing ill-will to the former Twin, but if Minnesota gets that new baseball stadium, it should be called Kirby Puckett Field.

[Joshawaggie]

wow, this is a real shock, i hope he gets better real quick.

[WSU151]

maybe it was some ticking time bomb

Probably. Anyone with eye problems is just minutes away from a stroke.

[FiddySicks]

maybe it was some ticking time bomb

Probably. Anyone with eye problems is just minutes away from a stroke.

I think you misunderstood Tanks point. A lot of times people who are about to have a stroke complain about having eye trouble such as dimming vision or pain. Now i dont think it had anything to do with him having a stroke because his eye injury is a long lasting one, but im no medical doctor so i could be wrong. I understand where Tank is coming from, but i dont think his assumption is correct.

[Brass]

From Health.Org: Steroids affect your heart. Steroid abuse has been associated with cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

....Hmmmm.....

[winghaz]

Tony Oliva said he was really worried about Kirby's weight.

"The last time I saw him, he kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Oliva said in an AP story. "And we worried about him."

[CZzyzx41]

From Health.Org: Steroids affect your heart. Steroid abuse has been associated with cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

....Hmmmm.....

Let's see...

1. Some people who taken steroids have had strokes.

Kirby Puckett suffered a stroke.

Kirby Puckett took steroids.

A. Definitely true?

B. Possibly true and therefore possibly not true?

C. Definitely not true?

Well...some people who have taken steroids have gotten hungry. So is hunger a sign that someone is on steroids?

Well it's not as bad as what I was going to say. Stroke can be taken a few ways. A few accusations have been made and charges pressed against Kirby. There's a joke in there somewhere. Problem is, strokes aren't funny. So in that view and since I don't have a black heart, I'll just hope Kirby recovers from this and lives a long & healthy life.

[spyboy1]

Kirby Puckett and steroids in the same sentence? I've seen it all now.

The scary quote I heard on the news teaser was "fighting for his life", which really, really sounds bad. I hope they just didn't throw that out there to get you just to tune into their news program.

I worked as an usher at the Metrodome in 1991, the year of the second World Series. The most awesome thing about that job was getting into the dome for Twins batting practice with the place otherwise empty. (The schedule was such that the public wasn't let into the stadium until after the Twins were done with BP)

It was so remarkable to hear how Kirby's laughter could fill that cavernous, empty stadium all by itself. And that laughter wasn't an occasional thing either, it was all the time, every day too.

Follow his example kids - run out every ground ball.

God bless, Kirby.

JeffB

[OnWis97]

Kirby is 5'8" and I would guess about 350 pounds. He was always pudgy as a ballplayer, but kept himself able to play at a high level. After his early retirement, his weight started climbing fast. I would guess lifestyle played a role in what happened.

I loved him as a ballplayer and an ambassador for the game (which he would have been in some markets). Years later, it would turn out he is a pretty dispicable human being. He taught me a lesson about athletes and hero-worship. This could be a lesson about athletes and invincibility. You have to take care of yourself...

[brinkeguthrie]

wasn't there some kind of assault scandal or something?

[CaolinaJoe]

Wasn't it something about a sexual assault/harrasment thing in a restaurant bathroom, while his family was at the table waiting for him?

[gosioux76]

This is a tragic time for any Twins fan.

I was just one of thousands of kids growing up around baseball diamonds in Minnesota who would walk to the plate, mimicking the Metrodome announcer: "Now batting, center fielder, Kirbyyyyyyyyy Puckettttttt."

As the pitch came, you kicked your front leg up and swung away, watching the ball sail towards left center as Charlie Liebrandt lurches in anguish.

Or as you played center, you floated toward the ball sailing towards the plexiglas wall. Until that last moment, when you leapt, stretching your left arm skyward toward one of the most heroic baseball feats, prompting a sea of white hanky-waving disciples into a defeaning roar and securing not only Game 6, not only the second World Series victory in five years, but one of the greatest memories of my life and the lives of almost every Minnesota sports fan.

Kirby may have proven to be less than heroic off the field. But he's the reason why there's TC on my hat right now, why my the front of my car says "#1 Twins Fan", why there's a Homer Hanky decorating the computer of my desk at work.

Kirby was our Jordan, Gretzky and Montana.

[Cujo]

Wasn't it something about a sexual assault/harrasment thing in a restaurant bathroom, while his family was at the table waiting for him?

Yeah, Puckett was accused of sexual assaulting a woman in a restaurant bathroom but was acquitted of all charges. I wanna say this was about 2 or 3 years ago when it all went down.

As for his current condition, I'm hearing it's not looking all that great for the guy. I hope he pulls through because I know how much the guy means to Twins fans. This is the guy that helped deliver two World Series titles to the fans of Minnesota. Best of luck to Kirby.