The Twins blogosphere was lit up with a very "ballsy" article penned by TT of Granny Baseball today.  TT asked the question if Kirby Puckett was a steroid abuser.  And despite several comments, including a statistics-based argument from Jesse, it appears that TT is of the belief that not only did Puckett abuse steroids, but that they were a factor in both his glaucoma and his untimely death. 

I decided to do a little research and I strongly believe my findings prove that Puckett's reputation as one of the greatest right-handed hitters ever should remain in tact and that any question of steroid abuse should be laid to rest. 


Continue reading after the jump...

When Puckett died in 2006 at the young age of 45, it unfortunately did not come as a surprise to many.  Puckett was easily over 300 pounds, while only 5’8’’ in stature.  It was well-documented that Puckett’s family suffered from a variety of health issues.  Puckett was preceded in death by his parents who both died of heart attacks and by two brothers who also died at incredibly young ages.  Circulatory issues, heart disease and obesity were quite prevalent in Puckett’s family and these issues certainly played a key role in his death. 

According to the Phillips Eye Institute, "Puckett had no idea he had a family history of glaucoma. If he had, he could have watched for warning signs and been screened for it." 

WebMD wrote an article after Puckett’s death that discussed that his glaucoma was part of a circulatory disorder present in his entire body...  “An eye problem is representative of a much larger condition affecting the entire body, a systemic condition. In this situation high blood pressure is usually discovered.”  So not only did Puckett have a family history of glaucoma, but he was also at extremely high risk for heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure. 

Furthermore, the American Academy of Ophthalmology mentions several interesting racial facts about glaucoma.  In particular, it is most common cause of blindness among African- American individuals.  “Between one and two percent of white Americans 40 years of age or older have glaucoma. However, between five and six percent of black Americans in the same age group have glaucoma. In the age group of 70 years or older, at least one out of ten black persons in the United States has glaucoma. Although African-Americans comprise about 10 percent of the entire population of the United States, they comprise 25% of those affected with glaucoma.”  The Glaucoma Associates of Texas build further on this racial disparity… “African-American individuals tend to develop glaucoma at a much younger age. It would not be surprising for a 30-year-old black person to develop glaucoma, whereas this would be unusual for a 30-year-old white person.”

Puckett officially died of a stroke on March 6th, 2006.  The most common causes of a stroke are:  high blood pressure (which also played a large role in his glaucoma), high cholesterol, diabetes (not sure if he suffered from this), poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and obesity.  Considering that Puckett was suffering from at least 5 of the 6 major causes AND had a history of health issues, there certainly was reason for concern from family and friends prior to his death.    

TT mentions that steroids can increase the risks for both strokes and glaucoma.  This is correct.  Several studies have proven that this is the case, however, most also reference the fact that the user needs to generally be a consistent abuser.  So if we recall Puckett’s health history, we can see that steroid abuse could have played a key role in both of his glaucoma and stroke… if he were a constant abuser. 

So now we need to look at the stats. 

TT brings up the point that Puckett basically came out of nowhere to hit 31 homeruns in 1986 and 28 more in 1987 after accumulating only four in the previous two years.  There are a couple things to remember here.  From 1977 – 1992, the 1985 – 87 years stick out as a “juiced ball” period.  Well Puckett only hit 4 homeruns in 1985, but then famously changed his batting style in the offseason while working closely with Tony Oliva to gain more power from driving the ball.  Not surprisingly, Puckett basically became Oliva Jr. – a high average hitter, with a little speed and a little pop who didn’t walk too much.  In fact, if you look at their career 162-game averages, they are almost identical. 

Puckett: .318/.360/.477    

Oliva: .304/.353/.476

But how could Oliva adjust Puckett’s swing so greatly that he was able to hit 31 homeruns in 1986?  If you look at Puckett’s minor league track record, I don’t think it really is that surprisingly that he grew into the player that ultimately made him a Hall-of-Famer.  Puckett was a bit older for rookie ball and it definitely showed.  At 22, he hit an incredible .382/.438/.491.  The following season, the Twins moved Puckett up to A-ball where he had 29 doubles and 9 homeruns, while producing a .314 batting average and a .442 slugging percentage.  So right there is a track record that shows that Puckett not only had the ability to hit for average, but also had the inherent ability to drive the ball as he continued to grow and gain experience.  Now in 1984, Puckett’s rookie season, he was moved all the way up to AAA and for the first time ever, struggled.  Puckett hit only .263 and had a meager slugging percentage.  For the first time, he was in over his head.  However, the Twins, for some reason, still promoted him.  Once in the majors, Puckett improved his batting average, but still struggled against the better competition.  In 1985, he made impressive gains by improving his slugging percentage by 50 points, showing gap power with 29 doubles and 13 triples.  The only thing needed now was that final adjustment in his swing and he’d be set. 

Nobody will argue that Puckett was a 30 homerun hitter, but it is certainly not surprising that he hit that many in 1986.  He was 26, he was just reaching his prime and the balls were juiced.  Of course the juiced balls don’t account for all 31 bombs, but they could have added 3 - 5 once he adjusted his hitting style.  And it certainly isn’t odd that Puckett’s homeruns dropped off after a couple seasons.  He initially was being pitched to as a slap hitter, but now he was turning on pitches to knock them out of the park.  He no longer was hitting triples and he was striking out more.  Over the next couple seasons, pitchers naturally started making adjustments and Puckett settled in the 15-25 homerun range.  Even Oliva hit 32 as a rookie and then only mustered 16 the following season.     

So if that still doesn’t sway your opinion that Puckett is innocent of steroid abuse, keep this in mind. 

Let’s say Puckett started taking steroids in 1986.  For that to have any correlation with his glaucoma, he would have had to have been a consistent abuser up until his retirement.  He couldn’t have abused in 1986 – 1988 and then never taken them again for it to have affected his eyesight.  Steroids are found to cause pressure within the optic nerve and that pressure will stay constant unless abuse dissipates.  Again from the Glaucoma Associates of Texas, “If this is recognized early enough by your eye doctor and the steroids are discontinued, the eye pressure most often returns to its original level. However, if this is not recognized until it is too late, then the eye pressure will remain high and damage the optic nerve, even when the drug is discontinued.”  He obviously wasn’t playing with a broken optic nerve when he won his only batting title in 1989. 

So if we again look at the stats, Puckett improved his power numbers slightly at the tail-end of his career, where steroid abuse could have possibly correlated with steroids.  However, baseball clearly started to juice balls once again in 1993 as homeruns increased by 1,000, so it’s not a surprise that Puckett hit 8 additional homeruns over his career average in his final three seasons.

So in conclusion, I believe I did Puckett justice by proving that it is extremely unlikely that he abused steroids.  In fact, I don’t think Puckett stands out any differently than any other player from that era that hasn’t yet been linked to steroid abuse.  For steroids to have played a role in his glaucoma and death, he would have had to have been abusing in his final years… not during the stretch when he was growing into his prime and when his batting style was tweaked by one of the greatest hitters of all time.  By 1996, when he was diagnosed, Puckett’s supposed steroid-induced eye pressure levels would have long returned to normal levels.  Puckett’s glaucoma was more than likely caused by the fact that he had a history of glaucoma and circulatory problems in general within his family’s medical history, not to mention the fact that it is certainly not an uncommon illness for African Americans. 

His medical history again played a big role in his death.  He suffered from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, poor nutrition and physical inactivity.  And let’s also not forget his battle with depression after divorce and a monumental fall from grace.  Friends and family who knew the Puckett’s history with medical problems and untimely death were scared for his well-being when he ballooned to over 300 pounds and rightfully so.  Puckett neglected his body and health and that is the overwhelming reason why this beloved hall-of-famer died way too young.