FanPost

"Kirbeeeee Puckettttt!"

When Bob Casey announced Kirby's arrival at the plate in the Metrodome it brought chills to my spine every time. I can still hear those words in my head after all these years. What a shame that both Bob and Kirby are no longer with us. Kirby is my favorite Twins because he is (arguably) the Twins best overall player. Almost as important is the fact that he was the engine that brought the Twins two World Series championships and delivered in the biggest way in the biggest of clutch situations in game 6 of the 1991 World Series. How can you beat the home run, Kirby's reaction, and "We'll see you tomorrow night." The other endearing characteristic of Kirby was that he looked like a normal guy who might have been better suited to a slow pitch softball league than major league baseball. He gave hope to guys like me under six feet tall who didn't look like super athletes on the outside that we could succeed at a high level. Kirby was one of my motivators playing high school baseball in the late 1980s hoping to get a college scholarship or get drafted or somehow make my mark in the baseball world. He was human and easy to relate to, a regular guy. He spoke quickly and in a funny voice and you could just tell that everybody in the locker room loved the guy. After his career he had some embarrassing incidents. To me it showed that Kirby was flawed like the rest of us. While I cannot condone violence in any fashion and it makes me sick to my stomach, it didn't seem as bad because Kirby was involved. His career ended tragically and too early and it stinks that we lost out on years of watching Kirby play. He played with such joy and a smile on his face. Then, he died way too soon. Tragic. I remember going to the tribute to Kirby at the Metrodome after his death and just tearing up and feeling terrible that the baseball world lost such a great guy much too early.

Sometimes the best guy is a simple choice and so it is with the Twins. Some other might be in contention for greatest Twin ever (Killbrew, Carew, Oliva, Kaat, maybe Joe Mauer), to me Kirby was the best and most dynamic and had the biggest impact on the organization. Kirby was the best, most lovable, and greatest winner in Twins history so he gets my vote as the favorite. Simple as that.