Dan Barreiro remembers Kirby Puckett
Dan Barreiro covered Puckett's career while working as a columnist for the Star Tribune

When you strip it all down, what do we want from watching sports? We want the shared memory, and we want an athlete who will gladly share it with us. As a player, Kirby Puckett's greatest skill was not hitting a baseball in the clutch, or climbing the plexiglass or wall in center field. It was his ability to let everybody else (teammates, coaches, managers and most importantly, fans) in on the fun he seemed to be having.

Puckett never made his job seem like work, even though it was, or certainly could be. He made it seem like fun. Sometimes, he even made it joyful. And when he said, "Climb on my back'' it was as if he wasn't just saying it to his teammates. It was as if he was saying it to an entire sports town. As in, "Climb on my back, Minnesota, and we'll take a magic carpet ride.''

He shared the ride. He made it accessible in a way a lot of athletes prefer to keep the door closed. And in sharing it, he allowed each Minnesota sports fan also to share that Game 6 home run or the catch off the plexiglass - or any of dozens of other notable hits or catches with his son or father or mother, or daughter or grandpa. Ball players come and go. The memories stay.

Share your Kirby Puckett memories here

Jeff Dubay remembers Kirby Puckett
Jeff Dubay was a ball boy for the Twins from 1986-1992

What will you remember about Kirby Puckett? It's something different for everybody and with so many memorable moments there are plenty of choices. Topping most lists would be his game six heroics in the 1991 World Series. Who can't instantly replay the catch against the plexiglass or the home run off Liebrandt in their head? Who doesn't still hear Jack Buck exclaiming "We'll see you tomorrow night"? Maybe you remember that Kirby spearheaded an early rally that night with a triple that set the home crowd on fire and lifted his team's spirits coming off three consecutive losses to Atlanta.

Do you remember the string of lead-off homeruns he hit in 1986 when he was still a lead-off hitter? How about the best two-day stretch of baseball I've ever seen when he went ten for eleven over one weekend in Milwaukee in 1987 and topped it off by robbing Robin Yount of a grand slam. Maybe you remember his All-Star game MVP performance or his home run at Tiger Stadium in the 1987 ALCS when the Twins took the heavily favored Tigers out in five games. Maybe it's nothing quite so specific. It could be that when you think of Kirby you think of a world-class athlete that didn't look or act like one. Kirby more closely resembled a giant stuffed animal you would win at the fair than the Hall-of-Fame player he actually was. Maybe that's why every kid loved him. "Hey daddy, look at that teddy bear playing center field." Always smiling. Frequently laughing. Always making people around him feel better than they would if he wasn't around.

I'll tell you what I'll remember. It was when the stadium was empty and the cameras were off. Nobody gave more of himself than Kirby. When there was nobody around to see, when there was no credit to be garnered, Kirby had limitless time for kids. Long day, bad day, it never mattered. Kirby wouldn't spend just enough time or sign just enough autographs to make himself look good. He signed EVERY one. He wouldn't go home until every kid was happy. It mattered to him. I know there were kids too young to remember the on-field heroics, but they'll never forget the time Kirby signed a cap, patted the top of his head and left him with the thrill of a lifetime. Like I said, it's something different for everybody.

Share your Kirby Puckett memories here