Puckett, Like Predecessor Mays, Rises to Near-Legendary Status in Center Field Minnesota Daily, April 15, 1987
	It is only fair that Twins fans are treated to Kirby Puckett. After all, Minneapolis' last great center fielder was stolen. No, not Disco Dan Ford. The theft occurred before disco was even invented. In fact, it happened even before the Twins were invented. When the great center-fielder theft occurred, "How High the Moon" by Les Paul and Mary Ford was the number-one pop song on Billboard's chart, and the Griffith family's team was still the Washington Senators. It was 1951. The center fielder was Willie Mays. "The Say, Hey Kid" was hitting .477 for the Minneapolis Millers, an American Association farm team in the New York Giants organization, when Giants manager Leo Durocher called. In his autobiography, Mays claims he never wanted to leave Minneapolis. Nor did Millers fans want him to leave. Greeting his reluctant center fielder, Giants owner Horace Stoneham said the Minneapolis fans were so upset that he would place an ad in the paper apologizing for taking Mays. Mays went hitless in his first 12 at-bats for the Giants, but then cracked a home run off Warren Spahn—the winningest lefty in National League history. The Giants, then in fifth place, eventually fell to 13-1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers before staging the remarkable comeback that culminated in Bobby Thomson's hitting the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and announcer Russ Hodges screaming, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" That was only the start of Mays' brilliant career, in which he became the third most prolific home-run hitter and a two-time Most Valuable Player. As great a player as Mays was, Puckett stands up in comparison on several counts. First, Mays and Puckett match up statistically. Through Monday night, Puckett, playing in his fourth season for the Twins, had played in 457 games—one less than Mays played in his first four years with the Giants. Mays had a .309 career batting average in four years, while Puckett's current career average is .307. All other offensive statistics of the two players are comparable except home runs, where Mays holds a 96-40 advantage. That and the fact that Puckett used to lead off while Mays hit fourth accounts for Mays’ 328-210 advantage in RBI. Numbers aside, a qualitative comparison can be drawn between Mays and Puckett. In baseball, certain stylistic players such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams have had legends grow up around them. Mays, whose style was characterized by his enthusiasm and his tendency to run out from under his cap in the field, is included in that category. He will always be best known for his famous catch of Vic Wertz’s long drive in the 1954 World Series against Cleveland. Puckett, though not as vocal, plays with the same enthusiasm Mays did. He may not have Mays’ dash, but the way his stubby, muscular body moves could become a stylistic trademark. "His body says, 'spunk'," cooed one female admirer. The Twins' center fielder fields as well as Mays, and already legend is growing around Puckett, whose line drive in Saturday’s game at Seattle broke the cheekbone of Mariner pitcher Steve Shields. It's hard to imagine Twins announcers John Gordon and Harmon Killebrew screaming, "The Twins win the pennant!" It's hard to imagine Killebrew screaming about anything. But it's easy to see why Kirby Puckett is the most popular center fielder in the Twin Cities since Willie Mays, and it's not too difficult to imagine Puckett in the same place Mays wound up in after leaving Minneapolis—Cooperstown, N.Y. Back to Main Content   ©2002-03 info@sponsorwrite.com All rights reserved.