Wow. I am not really a baseball fan, but when Kirby led the Minnesota Twins to World Series Championships in 1987 and 1991, he was a hero to so many people I knew. I grew up in North Dakota. There is no professional sports team there, so we look to the Twins. They are our guys, too.
My grandpa Don loved baseball. Loved it. I don't remember riding in his old green pickup where there wasn't a game on the AM radio. He was a Twins fan when they were the worst team in baseball. How grateful I am that in his lifetime his team won the Series twice -- the last win coming a few short months before he died.
My mother-in-law works for a radio station that carries the Twins, so she has access to tickets periodically, and she, too, loves the game. She met Kirby several times, has pictures of herself with him, and has a virtual shrine to the team in her family room.
There is a nice piece here that talks about Kirby and his relationship with Minnesota fans.
I am sad today for all the fans out there, sad for my mother-in-law who I know really liked Kirby and had a lot of respect for him as a man and a player, sad for baseball, because a player like that doesn't come around every day, sad for his family.
If there is a heaven, I figure my grandpa is up there waiting for Kirby, ready to have a beer with him and ask if he wants to join the game or just have a seat and watch all the great ones play. I'll bet Kirby plays.
I saw that and that Dana Reeve dies today too. They say it comes in threes. I wonder who will be next?
ReplyDeleteIt has been a sad couple of days. I have been watching every piece of news and specials I can on Kirby. We carried a two hour special today on the radio and what a tribute to a fine man. I am so happy to have met him twice and to have had the opportunity to watch him play baseball and am thankful for all the things he did for the youth. Was also very sad to hear about Dana Reeve, again cancer takes it grip.
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