Kirby Puckett

TIME Magazine has a short section, titled Notebook: Milestones, in which they briefly announce deaths, arrests, resignations, and other events in the lives of famous people. In the March 20, 2006 issue of TIME Magazine, someone wrote this about Kirby Puckett:

Died. Kirby Puckett, 45, Hall of Fame outfielder who led the Minnesota Twins to World Series titles in 1991 and 1994; of a stroke; in Phoenix, Ariz. Before Game 6 of the 1991 Series he famously told teammates, "Tonight I'm drivin' the bus, boys," then hit two homers to force a Game 7--which the Twins won to capture the title.

Did you notice the errors? As a Twins fan, I did, twice. 1) the World Series dates. 2) the World Series highlight.

The writer was correct about 1991, but 1994 is wrong. That was the year of the baseball strike, so nobody won the World Series. Besides the Twins were sliding into the cellar from 1993-1999. The other World Series win actually came in 1987.

In Game 6 of the 1991 Series, Kirby was the hero. However, he did not have two homeruns, just one in the 11th inning. While I was pretty sure about this stat, I looked it up online.

Kirby was a hero to many. I was at the Memorial Service on March 12, 2006. Despite threats of a heavy snow storm coming, 15,000-20,000 other people also showed up. In a picture in Monday's Star Tribune, I could point out the blob in the stands that represented me. But the night was all about Kirby and reliving the highlights of his life.

Being such a great man, I can't believe the editors of TIME let these errors get published. Perhaps there is correction in the March 27 issue. He deserves it.