Kirby Puckett - Retirement, Accolades and Controversy

Retirement, Accolades and Controversy

After spending the spring of 1996 continuing to blister Grapefruit League pitching with a .344 average, Puckett woke up on March 28 without vision in his right eye. He was diagnosed with glaucoma, and was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his professional career. Three surgeries over the next few months could not restore vision in the eye and Puckett never played baseball again. On July 12, Puckett announced his retirement from baseball at age 36. Soon after, the Twins made him an executive vice-president of the team and he would also receive the 1996 Roberto Clemente Award for community service.

The Twins retired Puckett's number 34 in 1997. In 2001 balloting, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he ranked Number 86 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

Puckett had been admired throughout his career and for some years after. His unquestionable baseball prowess, outgoing personality and energy, charity work, community involvement, and nice-guy attitude earned him the respect and admiration of fans across the country. In 1993, he received the Branch Rickey Award for his lifetime of community service work.

However, Puckett's good guy persona began to erode in the years before his death. In March 2002, a woman filed an order for protection against Puckett's wife Tonya, alleging that Tonya had threatened to kill her over an alleged affair with Puckett. That month, another woman asked for protection from Puckett, saying in court documents that she had had an 18-year relationship with him and that he had shoved her in his Bloomington condominium. In September 2002, Puckett was charged with false imprisonment, fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, and fifth-degree assault after being accused of groping a woman in a restaurant bathroom. A jury later found him not guilty of all counts; however, he subsequently relinquished his role as Twins executive vice president.

In the March 17, 2003 edition of Sports Illustrated, columnist Frank Deford wrote an article entitled "The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett", that documented Puckett's alleged indiscretions and attempted to contrast his private image with the much-revered public image he had previously maintained. Withdrawing from the team and friends, Puckett moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, along with his fiancee Jodi Olson and her son Cameron, in the winter of 2003. Those that did see him became concerned about Puckett's weight, with estimates putting it above 300 pounds. However there was also optimism with news that Puckett planned to marry Olson in June 2005.