Kent Hrbek
FameRank: 8

"Kent Alan Hrbek", nicknamed "Herbie", is a former American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1994). Hrbek batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He hit the first home run in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on April 3, 1982, in an exhibition game against the Phillies.[http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Kent_Hrbek_1960 The Ballplayers - Kent Hrbek/BaseballLibrary.com] Fans knew Hrbek as an outstanding defensive player, perennial slugger, and charismatic hometown favorite. Former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat considered Hrbek to be the best defensive first baseman he had ever seen. Hrbek attended Bloomington Kennedy High School/Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota.

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He covered up by saying 'don't worry about me'. But . . . it hurt him deeply. It seemed like Kirby was a different person. Something was just not right.

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Puck's been a fighter and a game-winner all his life. This sounds like a tough row to hoe now.

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I think the biggest thing I remember was there are so many animals in this state named Kirby, and if somebody had a cow or a horse, they named it Herbie. I was always second fiddle to Puck, and I loved every minute of it.

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There must be a [heck] of a baseball game going on upstairs. And God must have needed a No. 3 hitter, because he took Puck way too soon.

159

It?s a tough thing to see a guy go through something like that and come to this extent.

118

The only person who tells me what to do now is my wife. T.K. (manager Tom Kelly) can't tell me to bunt. The coaches can't tell me what to do. The only person I take orders from is my wife. She told me to cut the lawn today. So I cut the lawn.

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I think I can speak for my teammates and for you fans that we all feel that we were the luckiest people on the planet to get to play and watch Kirby Puckett.

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When things aren't going well, sometimes it's tough to go to the ballpark. But when you'd walk into the park and Puck was there, you'd have to smile. When he was in a room, he brightened it.

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