MINNEAPOLIS -- In the middle of a steadily growing memorial
to Kirby Puckett, outside the Metrodome and right alongside a
street named for the beloved Hall of Famer, one cardboard sign
stood out.
"There IS crying in baseball," the message was written, in red
ink, bannered over a couple of old Puckett baseball cards taped to
the corners.
All around the game, people who were close to the roly-poly
outfielder who led the Minnesota Twins to two World Series titles --
and even those who only watched him on TV -- were saddened Tuesday
by Puckett's death.
"This morning, when I got up and took a shower and watched the
news, tears started coming out," said Chicago White Sox manager
Ozzie Guillen, one of many contemporaries who spoke memorably about
the man whose energy, enthusiasm and exceptional skills captivated
baseball fans -- both diehard and casual -- throughout a 12-year
career that was cut short by glaucoma in 1996.
Puckett died at 45 in a Phoenix hospital Monday afternoon, a day
after having a stroke in his home.
"This is a great loss for baseball," said former Baltimore
Orioles great Cal Ripken, who with Puckett was one of the few stars
of their generation who never switched teams.
"Puck was one of my favorite people to compete against on the
field and to be around off the field. I will always remember how
Kirby played the game with joy and how he brought a smile to your
face just by saying hello," Ripken said.
A public memorial service is planned for 7 p.m. Sunday at the
Metrodome, the Twins announced. The gates will open at 6 p.m., and
there will be no charge with seating by general admission.
A private visitation and memorial service is slated for Sunday
afternoon in the Twin Cities. The Twins were planning to attend
Puckett's funeral.
"We'll take our time and go there, pay our respects, and then
come on back down to spring training," general manager Terry Ryan
said, before Minnesota played the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla.
The Twin Cities' other pro teams also took time to honor Puckett
on Tuesday night. The NBA's Timberwolves and NHL's Wild had moments
of silence before their games. Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett had
K.P. 34 (Puckett's jersey number) written on his shoes.
March is for games that don't matter, mere tuneups for the
regular season, but Puckett's teammates and opponents always
remarked on how he never loafed -- even in meaningless exhibitions.
"He was a tremendous ambassador for the team. I think Dave
Winfield said the right thing: He was the only player in the
history of baseball everybody loved," said Guillen, who used to
kiddingly call his son, Oney, "Little Puck" because he was a bit
chubby.
Perhaps the most poignant marker of Puckett's impact on people
was outside the Metrodome, thousands of miles from those sunny
spring training sites, where dozens of fans shuffled around during
the noon hour on a dreary, chilly day.
There were bouquets. There were orange Wheaties boxes,
commemorating the Twins' championships. There were bobblehead
dolls. There were caps. And plenty of personalized messages.
"I've been watching Kirby since I was young," said 25-year-old
Tim Jarvis, who brought a flower pot to set on the sidewalk. "He's
the kind of guy when your dad says, 'You want to learn how to hit a
baseball, that's the guy to watch."
An Ohio native who came to St. Paul to attend school, Jarvis
recalled Puckett as one of the reasons why he was excited to move.
Even though his playing days were long gone.
"That's awesome. I get to go watch baseball in the house that
Kirby played in," Jarvis said.
When famous people die, it seems everyone has a story to tell of
a personal encounter. With Puckett, it seems everyone is actually
telling the truth.
The Yankees' Randy Johnson recalled how Puckett helped his
mother put her luggage in the overhead compartment once on a plane.
Don Mattingly pointed out that Puckett was the one who gave him his
nickname, "Donnie Baseball." Former Twin and current Red Sox
player David Ortiz wrote "Puckett 34 R.I.P" on his cap for the
Dominican Republic's game against Venezuela in the World Baseball
Classic.
Steve Finley, now with the San Francisco Giants, remembered when
Puckett told Ripken hello while the Orioles stretched before a 1989
game at the Dome -- and then started chatting with Finley, a rookie
he had never before met.
"He had a way of making everyone feel important," Finley said.
------=
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum from Tampa, Fla., AP Sports
Writer Howard Ulman from Fort Myers, Fla., AP Sports Writer Andrew
Seligman from Tucson, Ariz., and AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg
from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., contributed to this report.