What Was Kirby Puckett's Net Worth?
Kirby Puckett was an American professional baseball player who had a net worth of $3 million at the time of his death in 2006. Kirby Puckett spent his entire 12-year career with the Minnesota Twins, winning multiple Gold Glove Awards, Silver Slugger Awards, and World Series Championships. He is widely regarded as one of the best center fielders in MLB history.
Early Life
Kirby Puckett was born on March 14, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in a housing project on Chicago's South Side called Robert Taylor Homes. Kirby played baseball at Calumet High School but received no scholarship offers after graduation, so he went to work on the Ford Motor Company assembly line before attending Bradley University. He then transferred to Triton College a year later. The five-foot-eight centerfielder played well enough to garner the interest of big-league scouts.
MLB Career
The Minnesota Twins selected Kirby Puckett with the third overall pick in the first round of the 1982 Major League Baseball January Draft-Regular Phase. He was assigned to their minor league system, where he had success and flew through the ranks. Kirby was promoted to the AAA Toledo Mud Hens in 1984 and brought up to the majors for good just 21 games into the season.
Puckett made his big league debut on May 8, 1984, against the California Angels. Within the first few years, he established himself as more than just a singles hitter. He played for the Twins his entire career until 1995 when he won two World Series Championships and an ALCS MVP. Kirby was a 10-time All-Star and was recognized for his abilities at the plate and in the field with six Silver Slugger Awards and six Gold Glove Awards. He was the AL batting champion in 1989 and the AL RBI leader in 1994. He received the Roberto Clemente Award in 1996.
Puckett was forced to retire after losing sight in one eye when he was 35. He finished his career with a .318 batting average, 2,304 hits, 207 home runs, and 1,085 RBIs. The Twins retired his No. 34, and he was enshrined into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Kirby was a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Famer in 2001.
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Contracts & Career Earnings
Puckett signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Minnesota Twins in 1990. He was the first professional baseball player to earn $3 million per year in salary. In his previous seasons, Kirby earned $50,000, $130,000, $265,000, $465,000, $1.21 million and $2.05 million.
In 1993, he signed a five-year, $30 million deal with the Twins.
Puckett earned an estimated $43 million in salary alone over the course of his MLB career.
Personal Life
Following his retirement, Kirby's wife was accused of threatening to murder another woman who was allegedly having an affair with Puckett. Soon after, Kirby was accused of shoving another woman, and in 2002, he was charged with groping a woman in a bathroom. He was later found not guilty but was forced to give up his role as executive VP of the Twins. Puckett and his fiancée, Jodi Olson, moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2003.
Kirby Puckett died on March 6, 2006, at the age of 45, a day after suffering a massive hemorrhagic stroke. He is the second-youngest Hall of Famer to die.
