Field of Dreams and Memories

On Sunday, August 5, Kirby Puckett will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Puckett spent his entire 12-year career with the Minnesota Twins. He was a member of two World Series championship teams and was selected as an All-Star ten times. He retired in 1995 with a .318 career batting average. Today he is an executive vice-president in the Twins organization.

Kirby Puckett grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes. Last week several brightly colored signs celebrating his induction into the Hall of Fame appeared on the cyclone fence that encloses the vacant lot, as spacious as a baseball field, where 4444 South State Street once stood.

After a few days, the hand-lettered signs disappeared. One sign remains. It reads: “Danger: Demolition in Progress.”