Editing Kirby Puckett (section)

===Legacy===
Puckett won the 1989 American League batting title with a .339 batting average. He also led the league in runs batted in with 112 in 1994. Puckett won six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Gloves during his playing career. He was named to the AL All-Star Team 10 times. He finished his career with a .318 batting average, 207 home runs, and 1085 runs batted in.<ref name="auto1"/> At the time of Puckett's retirement, his .318 career [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] was the highest of any right-handed batter since [[Joe DiMaggio]]. Also, he amassed 2,040 hits in the first 10 seasons of his career; this total exceeded that of any other 20th-century player.<ref name="bye" />
[[File:Kirby_Puckett_retired.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Puckett in 1997]]
The Twins [[Retired number|retired]] Puckett's number 34 in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.postbulletin.com/twins-retire-pucketts-jersey|title=Twins retire Puckett's jersey|date=May 26, 1997|last=Lesko|first=Ron|work=[[Post-Bulletin]] |access-date=September 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104183130/https://www.postbulletin.com/twins-retire-pucketts-jersey |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[2001 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|2001 balloting]], he was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he ranked Number 86 on ''[[Sporting News|The Sporting News]]'' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml |date=1998 |title=Baseball's 100 Greatest Players|access-date=September 10, 2009 |publisher=[[The Sporting News]] |work=[[Baseball Almanac]] }}</ref>

In 1993, Puckett received the [[Branch Rickey Award]] for his lifetime of community service work.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_br.shtml |title = Branch Rickey Award|access-date = September 10, 2009 |website = Baseball Almanac }}</ref>

On April 12, 2010, a statue of Puckett was unveiled at the plaza of [[Target Field]] in Minneapolis. The plaza runs up against the stadium's largest gate, Gate 34, numbered in honor of Puckett. The statue, by sculptor [[Bill Mack (sculptor)|Bill Mack]], represents Puckett pumping his fist while running the bases after his winning home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Does bronze become him? |last=J. |first=C. |date=April 24, 2010 |url=https://www.startribune.com/does-bronze-become-him/92019819/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=Minnesota Star Tribune}}</ref>

At the time of his own retirement in 2016, longtime [[Boston Red Sox]] first baseman/designated hitter [[David Ortiz]] stated that he had used uniform number 34 with the Red Sox to honor Puckett's friendship with him. Ortiz began his MLB career with the Twins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19721607/david-ortiz-no-34-joins-pantheon-boston-red-sox-great |title=David Ortiz's No. 34 becomes 10th retired Red Sox jersey number |last=Lauber |first=Scott |date=June 24, 2017 |publisher=ESPN |access-date=April 30, 2018 |quote=Ortiz asked for No. 34 when he arrived in Boston before the 2003 season because he wanted to honor Minnesota Twins great Kirby Puckett. In a poignant moment, the Red Sox invited the late Puckett's family to Fenway Park and introduced them on the field... 'When I chose to wear that number, I was proud of wearing it because of the person that I was wearing it for,' Ortiz said. 'It was somebody that was very special to my career even if it was early in my career. He did special things, and somebody that special needs special things. When I saw [Puckett's children] coming toward me, I thought about Kirby—a lot.'}}</ref>

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".<ref name="bye" />

According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', Puckett was known "for his sunny personality and his passion for baseball".<ref name="times" /> 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".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.startribune.com/the-morning-kirby-puckett-woke-up-with-blindness-25-years-ago-changed-everything/600039470/ |last=Souhan |first=Jim |title=The morning Kirby Puckett woke up with blindness, 25 years ago, changed everything |date=March 29, 2021 |website=Minnesota Star Tribune |access-date=September 20, 2024 }}</ref> However, Puckett's reputation was affected by various incidents in his personal life following his retirement.<ref name="risefall" />