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No obvious Los Angeles angle that I can think of, other than the delight that he gave to local baseball fans. Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett died today of the stroke he suffered at home in Arizona over the weekend. He played his entire career for the Minnesota Twins and had to retire in his prime at age 34 because he went blind in one eye from glaucoma. Puckett carved himself a niche in the statistical lore of baseball by hitting zero home runs in his first season in the American League, yet going on to become a feared slugger. A lot of 5'8" guys with no power hope that will magically happen to them—that the home run swing will appear—but it very rarely does. Puckett was 45 years old—though throughout his career he and the Twins claimed he was a year younger.
Some links: Minnesota's respected baseball blogger, Batgirl; the Twins' release; Bob Timmermann at The Griddle.
Photo: AP via Yahoo