Overall, he won six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Gloves during his playing career and was named to the AL All-Star Team 10 times.

After being forced to retire in 1996 at age 36 due to loss of vision in one eye from a central retinal vein occlusion,[3] Puckett was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility.

Puckett's father worked two full-time jobs at a department store and the post office, leaving Catherine to raise the children.

[6] Raised in a three-bedroom apartment in the Robert Taylor Homes Chicago housing project,[7] Puckett taught himself to play baseball by practicing hitting and throwing against a wall.

[6][10] During the 1981 season, Puckett led the Bradley Braves with eight home runs, 21 stolen bases, and a .660 slugging percentage, while his .378 batting average was second on the team.

[14] In 1983, Puckett was promoted to the Single-A Visalia Oaks in the California League, where he hit .318 with nine home runs, 97 RBI, and 48 stolen bases over 138 games.

[23] During the year, Puckett put on his best performance on August 30 in Milwaukee against the Brewers, when he went 6-for-6 with two home runs, one off Juan Nieves in the third and the other off closer Dan Plesac in the ninth.

[26][7] He continued to play well in 1990, but had a down season, finishing with a .298 batting average, and the Twins mirrored his performance as the team slipped all the way to last place in the AL West with a record of 74–88.

[27] In 1991, the Twins got back on the winning track and Puckett led the way by batting .319, eighth in the league and Minnesota surged past Oakland midseason to capture the division title.

The Twins then beat the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the American League Championship Series as Puckett batted .429 with two home runs and five RBI to win the ALCS MVP.

Puckett then made a leaping catch in front of the Plexiglass wall in left field to rob Ron Gant of an extra-base hit in the third.

The images of Puckett rounding the bases, arms raised in triumph (often punctuated by CBS television broadcaster Jack Buck saying "And we'll see you tomorrow night!")

In 1994, Puckett was switched to right field and won his first league RBI title by driving in 112 runs in only 108 games, a pace that projects to 168 RBIs over a full season.

[33] Puckett was still performing well in the 1995 season before having his jaw broken in his final career plate appearance by a Dennis Martínez fastball on September 28.

[34] After spending the spring of 1996 continuing to blister Grapefruit League batting with a .344 average,[35] Puckett woke up on March 28 without vision in his right eye.

[43] In 1997, Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune wrote: "What Puckett meant to the Twins transcended statistics, just as his fire-hydrant-shaped body often crested the Metrodome's centerfield fence.

He overcame the limits of his short, squat body, and of his upbringing in the projects on Chicago's South Side, to demonstrate the joys that baseball can bring a player and a community".

[8] The Star Tribune has stated that Puckett possessed a "blend of Hall of Fame skill and persistent joyfulness" that made him "perhaps the most popular athlete in Minnesota history".

[51] The March 17, 2003, edition of Sports Illustrated included an article by columnist Frank Deford entitled "The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett".

Many, including 1991 Twins teammates Shane Mack and Kent Hrbek, flew to Phoenix to be at his bedside during his final hours along with Puckett's two children.

[35] A private memorial service was held in the Twin Cities suburb of Wayzata on the afternoon of March 12 (declared "Kirby Puckett Day" in Minneapolis), followed by a public ceremony held at the Metrodome attended by family, friends, ballplayers past and present, and approximately 15,000 fans (an anticipated capacity crowd dwindled through the day due to an impending blizzard).

Speakers at the latter service included Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Cal Ripken Jr. and Dave Winfield, and many former teammates and coaches.