Mark Dayton: “I rise today to note with sorrow the passing of one of Minnesota's greatest sports heroes, Kirby Puckett, who suffered a…”

“I rise today to note with sorrow the passing of one of Minnesota's greatest sports heroes, Kirby Puckett, who suffered a stroke on Sunday and died yesterday at the age of 45. Kirby Puckett was born and raised in Chicago, but he became a Minnesotan when he was drafted at the age of 22 by the Minnesota Twins. After two seasons in the minor leagues, he played his first major league game for the Twins on May 8, 1984, where he became the ninth player in baseball history to get four hits in his first game. Three years later, he appeared in the first of eight consecutive All Star games during which time he also won the American League's Most Valuable Player honors and Most Valuable Player in the American League championship series. When his great career was cut short by blurred vision caused by glaucoma in 1996, he sported a lifetime major league batting average of .318 with 2,304 hits, 207 home runs, and 1,085 runs batted in in 1,783 games. But even those extraordinary statistics comprise only part of Kirby Puckett's greatness. He played baseball with an enthusiasm, a devotion, and an excitement that was thrilling to watch. Whether at bat or in center field, where he was a Golden Glove outfielder, he brought Twins fans out of their seats with spectacular game-winning plays. No Minnesota Twins fan old enough to remember our team's two world championships will ever forget Kirby Puckett. In 1987, with the Twins trailing the St.…”