BASEBALLThe people who make up the baseball world saw Kirby Puckett's retirement news conference on clubhouse televisions around the league or heard the bad news from reporters. They saw. They heard. They did not want to believe.
When reporters told Bobby Bonilla the news in Baltimore, the Orioles' outfielder reacted by saying, "No, No. That's not right." In Detroit, Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens said he felt, "funny just talking about it, like he's already past tense. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope he can come back next year." In Texas, Rangers manager Johnny Oates said he got chills watching the press conference on the clubhouse television.Baltimore first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said the news ruined his day.
"He can't retire," Palmeiro said. "Maybe he can just take the rest of the year off and come back. He's better with one eye than most guys with two. I have to give him a call. I have to talk to him. It's just not baseball without him."
"It's a very sad day. The game was better yesterday than it is today," Cubs chief executive officer and former Twins general manager Andy MacPhail said from his Chicago home.
In St. Paul, Jack Morris spoke Friday from the St. Paul Saints' dugout at Midway Stadium.
"I feel very lucky to have pitched against Kirby and to have had the chance to be his teammate," Morris said. "I used to love to pitch against Kirby, even though I didn't do that well. I knew if I won, I'd had a good day, I'd earned that day."
"He not only was a great baseball player, he's one of the best friends you could ever meet," former Twin Chili Davis said in Seattle.