Angels a Sideshow on Puckett’s Night

The Angels and Minnesota Twins interrupted Saturday night’s Kirby-fest to play some baseball, and in between video highlights of Kirby Puckett, a field tour of a 20-foot-high, inflatable Puckett-covered Wheaties box, and Bert Blyleven singing--well, trying to sing--”Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the Twins found time to beat the Angels, 6-3, in front of 51,011 in the Metrodome.

The Twins broke a 3-3 tie with runs in the fifth, on Matt Lawton’s sacrifice fly, the sixth, on Rich Becker’s RBI double, and the eighth, when Greg Myers’ drive to right caromed off a speaker hanging from the Metrodome roof for a triple and Jeff Reboulet singled.

The victory kept the Twins 4 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League wild-card race and buried the Angels a season-high 16 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers in the West.

Twin ace Rick Aguilera left in the fifth because of a strained left hamstring, star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch left in the sixth after he was hit in the left elbow by a Shawn Boskie pitch, and Angel second baseman Randy Velarde left in the sixth because of back spasms.

Boskie, who pitched the night Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played, was again on the mound for a historic evening, and, as he did in Camden Yards last Sept. 6, Boskie lost.

“I was glad Kirby wasn’t in the lineup--that would have added another dimension to the game,” Boskie said. “But it was exciting to be a part of it.”

Puckett, the Twins’ career leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414) and runs (1,071), was honored in an hourlong pregame ceremony, the highlight of which may have been his introduction.

With the house lights dimmed, a spotlight zoomed in on the left-center field bleachers, to Section 101, Row 5, Seat 27--the exact spot Puckett’s game-winning home run landed during the sixth game of the 1991 World Series.

Sitting there was Puckett.

Greeted by a standing ovation and the theme of “The Natural,” he made his way to a podium near second base.

“As a kid, all I ever dreamed about was being a professional baseball player,” Puckett said. “But I never dreamed it could have been this good.”

After thanking everyone from Twin owner Carl Pohlad to clubhouse employees, Puckett, who retired July 12 because of glaucoma in his right eye, recalled his dramatic Game 6, 11th-inning homer off Atlanta’s Charlie Leibrandt in the ’91 Series.

“Chili Davis was on deck and I said, ‘What do you think, Chill, I’m gonna lay down a bunt right here,’ ” Puckett said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Bleep, bleep.’ I hit the ball out, and [television announcer] Jack Buck said, ‘We’ll see you tomorrow night.’ ”

The homer gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory, and a 1-0, 10-inning win over the Braves the next night clinched the championship for the Twins, the second of Puckett’s memorable 12-year career.

“Lou Gehrig once said he was the luckiest man in the world,” Puckett said. “Tonight, Kirby Puckett is the luckiest man in the world.”

Davis, recalling that Puckett was hit in the face by a pitch in his last at-bat Sept. 28, 1995, wasn’t so sure.

“You can make a lot of money in this game, but people don’t realize there are health risks that can affect your everyday life,” Davis said. “For Kirby, he may never see out of that eye again. Stuff like that only seems to happen to good people . . . that’s probably why I’m going to live to 100.”