LFR Sports

ROTUND KIRBY WAS THE PRIDE OF THE TWINKIES

The death of Kirby Puckett at age 44 was a shocker this afternoon. Whether the adjective used to describe him was rotund, portly or the more polite, barrel-chested, the fact was he was one the best combinations of a high-average power hitter with exquisite range in centerfield.

In fact, never in the history has a man looked so good performing in front of a huge trash bag as Puckett did for so many years in the Metrodome.

The loss of Puckett is a huge loss for arguably the Twin Cities greatest sports icon. The golden age of Twins baseball coincided with Puckett's rise to greatness as a precocious outfielder with a funny name to the most dominant and, more importantly, consistent players of the late 80s and 90s.

Being an A's fan during those times, the then seven-team American League West was either led by my A's or those pesky Twins.

You could definitely loathe Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Frank Viola, but Puckett made it hard for you to root against.

I could never imitate his upright stance and high leg kick. I didn't have the stomach muscles for that. I could imitate his smile, though. It wasn't fake, it wasn't even meant to convey happiness, it merely was the byproduct of a man truly in love with baseball.

In that manner, we're all like Kirby.