Kirby Puckett (1960-2006) played in MLB as a center fielder from 1984 to 1995. He played for the Minnesota Twins for the entirety of his career. Over his career, Puckett finished with a .318 batting average, 2,304 hits, 207 home runs, and 1,085 RBIs. He was a two time World Series Champion, a ten time All-Star from 1986 to 1995, an ALCS MVP, and an AL RBI leader in 1994.
Puckett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 on 82.12% on the first ballot. He was inducted also into the Minnesota Twins
Hall of Fame and his jersey was retired by the team.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Puckett was raised in a housing project on the south side. For the rest of his life, he would express his gratitude for his ability and other’s help in escaping a difficult neighborhood.
Puckett was unknown as a high school athlete. He received no offers from professional or college teams, and he began work on an assembly line for Ford after graduating high school.
Seizing an opportunity, he left for Bradley University, and he transferred to Triton College after one year. Many scouts said that he was too small at 5’8”, but within a few years, he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 1982 Draft.
Puckett was consistently promoted through the minors, and he was called up on May 8th of 1984. In his first game, he went four for five. Puckett soon developed as a threat on offense and a rampart on defense, and he consistently placed high in league standings for statistics such as, singles, doubles, and bases, as well as fielding percentage, assists, and putouts.
He made his first All Star Game and Gold Glove Award in 1986. The next year, he was a major force behind the Twins’ World Series run, despite the team missing the postseason the previous 17 years and only having an 85-77 record that year. The Twins upset everybody in an underdog story, and Puckett batted .357 in the World Series.
1988 may have been his best year statistically. He hit .356 with 24 home runs and 121 RBIs.
While Puckett became the fourth player in MLB history to record 1,000 hits in his first five seasons, the Twins began to struggle in 1989 and 1990. However, with the help of a great year from Puckett, the Twins won the division title in 1991. Puckett was the ALCS MVP, and the Twins headed to the World Series.
The 1991 World Series is considered the most exciting Series in baseball history. Four games came down to the last pitch, and three games went into extra innings. The Twins faced the Atlanta Braves, both of which had overcome tough seasons to swing again in 1991.
The Twins down 3-2, Puckett had an RBI triple, a leaping catch, and in the bottom of the 11th, Puckett hit a walk off home run to send it to
Seven. As Puckett rounded the bases, Jack Buck gave the famous call, “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!”
The Twins took Game Seven in a hard-fought, 1-0, ten inning game.
Puckett would never appear in another World Series, and his Game Six walk off is the stuff of baseball legend. Puckett continued to perform well for the next few years. In 1994, he had 112 RBIs in only 108 games because of a players’ strike.
On September 28th of 1995, Puckett was struck in the jaw by a pitch. His jaw broke, and it would be his final at bat in MLB. On March 28th of 1996, he woke up without vision in his right eye. He was diagnosed with glaucoma. Vision could not be restored, and he retired.
At the time of his retirement, Puckett was one of the most well respected athletes in the country for his attitude, community work, charities, and his baseball ability. That reputation was soon shattered.
Puckett was charged by several different women for a number of assaults, indiscretions, and incidents in the early 2000s. The disparity between Puckett’s private life and public life stunned many fans. A detailed account titled “The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett” was published in Sports Illustrated in 2003.
He suffered a stroke in 2006 and died shortly after at the age of 46.
Below are a few details on some of his best cards.
1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett Rookie Card
There are 132 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A few keys to this set include the rookie cards of
Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden, Pete Rose, and Bret Saberhagen. Kirby Puckett sits at #93 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 20,000 cards registered on this set, and over 4,000 cards are Puckett copies. PSA Gem Mint 10 copies have sold for around $1,000 in the first half of 2021.
1985 Fleer Kirby Puckett Rookie Card
There are 660 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A few keys to this set include Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken, and Mike Schmidt, as well as the rookie card Roger Clemens. Puckett sits at #286 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 20,000 cards registered on this set, and over 3,000 cards are Puckett copies. PSA Gem Mint 10 copies have sold for between $300 and $500 in the first half of 2021.
1985 Leaf Kirby Puckett Rookie Card
There are 264 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). Puckett sits at #107 on the set.
PSA has over 5,000 cards registered on this set, and over 600 cards are Puckett copies.
PSA Gem Mint 10 copies of this card sold for around $1,000 from 2012 to 2018, and it began to rise to which the most recent sale in January of 2021 went for $2750.
1985 Topps Kirby Puckett Rookie Card
There are 792 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A few of the keys to this set include Mark McGwire,
Cal Ripken Jr., and Roger Clemens, and Robin Yount. Kirby Puckett sits at #536 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 100,000 cards registered on the set, and over 9,000 cards are Kirby Puckett copies.
PSA Gem Mint 10 copies sold for around $600 in the first half of 2021.
1985 Topps Tiffany Kirby Puckett Rookie Card
There are 792 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A couple keys to the set include rookie cards Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens. Kirby Puckett sits at #536 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 17,000 cards registered on this set, and over 900 are Kirby Puckett copies.
PSA Gem Mint 10 copies rose to around $3,000 in 2020, and the most recent sale is from May of 2021 for $2,950. A PSA Mint 9 copy can be purchased for a few hundred.
Conclusion
Puckett’s card came out in an era of overproduction, and many of his rookie cards are very cheap. There are dozens more options on Puckett cards for the remainder of his career, and the majority of them are not worth much because of the overproduced era. Some of the best rookie cards are covered here, and this article is a great place to start.