Steve from Orlando shared a moment at the Twins spring training facility. “I waited for Kirby to finish his workout after a spring training game and he came over and talked with me for close to an hour and made me feel like I was his next-door neighbor.”

Chris from Minnesota wanted to make it clear that "Kirby Puckett was the type of player that made you come back to the ballpark again and again, because he was worth more than the price of admission.”

Ray in Omaha shared a story about the time in 1991 when his brother was getting treatment for bone cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "I was pushing my brother in a wheelchair throughout the hospital when an elevator door opened and out came Kirby Puckett holding a bunch of balloons in his hands. He was on his way to see several kids in the cancer ward and told my brother to stay strong and that ‘only the good die young.’” He was an inspiration to my brother during the most difficult time of his life.

Paul from Minnesota e-mailed to state that the Twins should now and forever play in Kirby Puckett Stadium. He broke Minnesota's championship curse!

When I walked away from the microphone late Monday evening, I had a huge smile on my face. Kirby Puckett hopefully was listening to all of his fans who wanted to share what his friendship meant to them. He had a love affair with baseball and fans from all over the world. He was respected by not only the players who competed against him, but also the opposing fans in every city where he put on the Twins road jersey.

In 1987, the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals and in 1991 they dramatically beat the Atlanta Braves to win their second championship during the "Kirby years". The fans who came out on the losing end in those two World Series will continue to sleep easier at night, because they understand that Kirby Puckett was supposed to win those rings and end up in the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest players in baseball history.