Kirby Puckett's Mortal Flaw - Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma

Readers of this blog may already know that the I have glaucoma, but not the acute type that ended Kirby Pucket's career. Mine is much slower, indeed its progression is almost unnoticable to me. Yet for an artist, just like Kirby Puckett's Acute version, it is a very grave physical flaw. For Kirby, it precipitated his disintegration which eventually lead to his downfall.

It is quite Shakespearean. Kirby Puckett, A noble character, admired and beloved by almost everyone was born with a tragic flaw. One that was eventually triggered by a physical one. - Kirby's flaw was that he loved to play baseball, and that he he lived with a tremendous appetite for fun and fame. Glaucoma took the spotlight away from him very early in his All Star, Hall Of Fame Career. He lost his vision at the age of 35. Blinded and out of the spotlight he turned to self destructive behavior and eventually isolation, then death.

I will always remember the 1987 World Series. The disbelieving cheers. - Minnesota (you pick the sport) had never won a major sports title. No, Minnesotans had almost resigned themselves to "The Big Letdown". Kirby, at his finest just could not let that happen, and with his all out exhuberance he gave everyone a new outlook.

10 time All Star in his 12 years of play, here is a reminder that money did not buy him happiness:

1985 Minnesota Twins $130,000
1986 Minnesota Twins $255,000
1987 Minnesota Twins $465,000
1988 Minnesota Twins $1,090,000
1989 Minnesota Twins $2,000,000
1990 Minnesota Twins $2,816,667
1991 Minnesota Twins $3,166,667
1992 Minnesota Twins $2,966,667
1993 Minnesota Twins $5,300,000
1994 Minnesota Twins $5,300,000
1995 Minnesota Twins $6,300,000
1996 Minnesota Twins $6,200,000
1997 Minnesota Twins $7,200,000
Career (may be incomplete) $43,190,001

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