Kirby Puckett was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $3 million when he died. Kirby Puckett spent his entire 12-year career with the Minnesota Twins, winning numerous Gold Glove Awards, Silver Slugger Awards, and World Series championships. He is widely considered one of the most talented center fielders in MLB history.
How did Kirby Puckett die?
Kirby Puckett suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke on March 5, 2006, in the home he shared with his fiancée, Jodi Olson. He underwent emergency surgery that day to alleviate pressure on his head; unfortunately, the surgery failed, and his old teammates and coaches learned the next morning that his death was imminent.
Many others, including 1991 Twins teammates Shane Mack and Kent Hrbek, traveled to Phoenix to be with Puckett in his dying hours, as did Puckett’s two children. His fiancee never left his side. Puckett died at the age of 45 on March 6, shortly after being taken off life support, eight days before his 46th birthday.
The declared cause of death during the later autopsy was “cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension.” Puckett died at the second-youngest age (behind Lou Gehrig) of any Hall of Famer admitted while still alive, and the youngest to die after being inducted in the modern era of the five-season waiting period. Puckett is survived by his son Kirby Jr. and daughter Catherine.
On the afternoon of March 12 (designated “Kirby Puckett Day” in Minneapolis), a private memorial service was held in the Twin Cities suburb of Wayzata, followed by a public ceremony at the Metrodome attended by family, friends, former and current ballplayers, and approximately 15,000 fans (an expected capacity crowd dwindled throughout the day due to an impending blizzard). Speakers at the latter service included Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Cal Ripken Jr., and Dave Winfield, as well as many former teammates and coaches.
Meanwhile, Kirby Puckett was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 14, 1960, and grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes housing project on the city’s south side. Kirby played baseball at Calumet High School but had no scholarship offers upon graduation. So he worked on the Ford Motor Company assembly line before attending Bradley University. He transferred to Triton College a year later. The five-foot-eight centerfielder impressed big-league scouts.
Kirby Puckett was a 10-time All-Star who received six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Glove Awards for his offensive and defensive skills. In 1989, he won the AL hitting championship, and in 1994, he led the AL in RBIs. He got the Roberto Clemente Award in 1996.
Puckett was forced to quit after losing sight in one eye at the age of 35. He ended his career with a.318 batting average, 2,304 hits, 207 home runs, and 1,085 RBI. The Twins retired his number 34, and he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Kirby Puckett was a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Famer in 2001.
Puckett agreed to a three-year, $9 million contract with the Minnesota Twins in 1990. He became the first professional baseball player to earn $3 million per year in compensation.
Puckett’s prior season earnings were $50,000, $130,000, $265,000, $465,000, $1.21 million, and $2.05 million. In 1993, he signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Twins.
He earned an estimated $43 million in pay alone throughout his MLB career.
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
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Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
