Kirby Puckett has passed away.

After suffering a stroke on Sunday March 5 2006, Kirby Pucket passed away the next day.

Kirby is one of the primary reasons I love baseball. I used to fall asleep listening to Twins games on WCCO. And, there was nothing more thrilling that hearing his name announced over the public address system in the Metrodome.

I know he wasn’t always the nicest person. He had faults like all the rest of us. However, he was always a joy to watch play the game. Kirby was a throwback player, a guy who stayed with the same team through some really lean years and some remarkable triumphs.

I hope Kirby is at peace now. I have his autograph somewhere and I need to find it. I wish I could have told him when he signed it how much fun I had watching him play.

Goodbye Kirby

Spring training starts soon!

Many college teams have already started playing games.

I am fortunate to live in a decent baseball town. Wichita State has a good baseball program and we also have the Wranglers (AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals). Wichita State's Eck Stadium is a very nice facility. WSU usually hosts the Missouri Valley tournament and is also home to the occasional NCAA Super Regional. It will be interesting to see how the community responds to the Gene Stephenson leaving and then returning fiasco.

The Wranglers play at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It's an older stadium with some history and a nice place to catch a game. The Royals sometimes send players down on rehab assignments.

The best thing about baseball in Wichita is the National Baseball Congress World Series. Teams from all over the country come to Wichita every year to play in the tournament. It is, perhaps, baseball in it's purest form and truly a joy to watch.

I'm also hoping to catch some games in Kansas City. Hopefully, they'll be Twins games. Someday, I'll take Abe to the Metrodome.