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GRETA CUNNINGHAM: Good afternoon. It's 12:04. With news from Minnesota Public radio, I'm Greta Cunningham.

The group behind a state constitutional amendment to protect hunting and fishing in Minnesota warned today that its opponents pose a serious threat to the pastime in Minnesota. Jerry Conrad, president of the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Foundation, says anti-hunting activists are on the fringe, and most Minnesotans support hunting and fishing. But he says Minnesotans can't be complacent because hunting and fishing have been restricted in other states.

JERRY CONRAD: In 1996, there were eight states that have had initiatives put on their ballot. Seven of those states, their initiatives were successful. Only one state took it seriously and won, and that was by a very narrow margin.

GRETA CUNNINGHAM: Most recently, activists have protested the use of steel-jaw leghold traps. The proposal, appearing on the November ballot in Minnesota, says hunting and fishing shall be forever preserved for the people.

Mayo Clinic researchers developed a new test to help doctors diagnose the group A strain of strep. The American Medical Association says strains of group A strep can rapidly invade the body and cause massive infection and death. Doctors faced with invasive group A strep must use their best judgment and begin treatment immediately because it normally takes days for a lab to confirm the diagnosis.

The Mayo's new DNA fingerprinting test means doctors can now confirm the diagnosis in a day. Mayo doctors developed the test after an invasive strep outbreak in Rochester area killed eight people.

The forecast for the state of Minnesota today calls for partly cloudy skies statewide. High temperatures will range from 68 in the Northeast near Duluth to 82 in the far southwestern portion of the state near Worthington. At this hour, mostly sunny skies reported in Duluth report sunshine and 56, sunny in International Falls and 55, sunny in Saint Cloud and 65. And in the Twin cities, mostly sunny, 68.

That's the news update. I'm Greta Cunningham.

GARY EICHTEN: Thank you, Greta. 6 minutes past 12 o'clock.

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Good afternoon and welcome back to Midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary Eichten. Glad you could join us.

Major League Baseball playoffs are getting underway in just a few minutes with the Boston Red Sox playing in Cleveland. Later this afternoon, San Diego plays Houston. Tonight, the Yankees play the Texas Rangers.

The playoffs cap one of baseball's most successful seasons in history. All kinds of records have been broken this past summer. National league's wild card race turned out to be a real jewel. And, of course, the Home Run Derby moved baseball from the sports pages to the front pages.

Here in Minnesota, things were a little different. Twins suffered through another dismal losing season. Attendance was down. And talk continues that the team will soon be leaving Minnesota for greener pastures.

Next year could even be worse. The Twins best player, future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor may retire. Molitor, the Twins designated hitter these last three years, turned 42 last month and says he may have played his last game on Sunday.

Today, on Midday, we're going to hear from local kid made good Paul Molitor. Later, we'll hear from the Chicago kid who made good here, another future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett. But first, Paul Molitor.

Paul Molitor has compiled a list of accomplishments in his 20-year career that rank him among the very best players who have ever played baseball. Case in point, only seven other players in history have gotten more hits than Paul Molitor.

Today, as part of our Voices of Minnesota series, Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki talks with Paul Molitor about his rise from the Saint Paul Sandlots to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Minnesota Twins.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: When was it that you thought to yourself that you wanted to play professional baseball? I mean, was there anyone that you saw playing at the time and said, boy, I just want to play like that guy?

PAUL MOLITOR: About as long as I can remember, back even to the years of being four or five, I would anticipate the spring thaw to get my father out to the backyard, to have a game of catch, just to be able to take the glove out of the basement storage and begin to think about getting involved in some type of baseball program. I think I had the passion for the game because a lot of my time as a very young boy was spent watching the Minnesota Twins games on television and listening to the radio with my family. And it created a lot of visual pictures for me, particularly listening to the games on the radio.

So even back in the early days, I began to fantasize and which eventually had those fantasies turn into dreams about potentially getting to the major leagues. As a kid, you don't realize the odds that you're facing in pursuing those dreams, but it enabled me to have the goal in mind of when I did get a chance to play little league or school ball or climbing the ladder along the way, that somewhere in the back of my mind, I was motivated to make sure that someday, even if I didn't make it, that I wasn't going to have any questions about whether I gave the game every possible effort to be successful.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Did the aggressiveness and the hustling kind of play that you're known for also starred at that same time? Because there are pro baseball players that I see even now who don't run out of grounder. And you go to the extent of stealing second, third and home in one inning.

PAUL MOLITOR: Right. Well, I'm not sure if the aggressiveness that I try to approach the game with now began at that early stage. I think that the players that I remember watching mostly were, of course, Twins players from Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison and Tony Oliva and a young Rod Carew.

But when I would get a game of the week and I would get a chance to see a person like Pete Rose, someone who was very aggressive, he would catch your eye in the fact that he was one of the few players that would dive into a base rather than slide into a base. And so when you would go play, you would try to do those things and emulate some of these players.

I think the real aggressive part of my game was mostly instilled by a coach that I had through my high school and American Legion years by the name of Bill Peterson in Saint Paul, who was Saint Paul Parks and Recreation director for many years after he got out of the coaching business. And his philosophy of practice was just constantly being aggressive, putting pressure on the defensive team to the extent that a lot of our drills just included lining up on the first base line and everybody going and running and diving into the dirt at second and going back to first and doing an over and over again.

If we didn't go home sweaty and dirty and totally depleted of energy, then he felt like it was a wasted practice. So I think I got a lot of the aggressive style of play from Bill, also who coached Dave Winfield for many years. And although Dave was more of a power type hitter in the Major Leagues, he was still a very aggressive one.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Do you remember when it was that you first set foot in a Major League ballpark as a player? Was that in Milwaukee?

PAUL MOLITOR: There's a couple ways to look at that. When I played for the United States All-Star team, so to speak, when I was a freshman in college and we played an exhibition game in Fenway Park. So I guess as a player, I was in Fenway Park before I was a Major League player in County Stadium.

My first day as a professional in a Major League stadium was opening day in 1978. I made the Milwaukee Brewers team in spring training, somewhat surprisingly, and mainly because of an injury to the shortstop Robin Yount, and was the opening day shortstop. So I always was thankful that my first day as a Major League player was an opening day as opposed to a September call up.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: And why is that?

PAUL MOLITOR: Not that that's a bad way to start your career, but something about an opening day and being in the lineup and getting the full effect of the magic and the anticipation of the beginning of a season and being part of an expectation of a Major League club, I think, added to the memory of that first day and that first game.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Was that when you met Robin Yount and called him Mr. Yount?

PAUL MOLITOR: No, actually the previous summer when I had signed with the Brewers in 1977, I had to go to Milwaukee for a so-called press conference to announce as the number one draft choice being signed and having to report to Burlington, Iowa. And before the game in Milwaukee that night, before I was off on a plane to Burlington, they brought me down to the dugout and introduced me to a few of the players. And that's when Robin, although he was only 10 months older than I was, was referred to as Mr. Yount. And he still kids me about that to this day.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: And what has been more important to you in those early days in Major League Baseball? Has it been the first couple of hits, the steals, the home run, all of the above? Or what is most memorable to you?

PAUL MOLITOR: About the early days? Well, I would say the fulfillment of the dream that we talked about earlier and actually realizing that some of those games that I listened to as a youngster and would listen for the detail or the sound of the bat or the inflection of the announcer's voice, according to the drama on a given game. All of a sudden I was a part of that. And I was on the field living that dream that I had some 14, 15, 16 years previous to stepping foot on a Major League field as a player.

So naturally, as a first year player, you try to establish yourself and the respect of your teammates. Even though it's only 21 years ago, I think the demeanor of a rookie back then is different than what we see now is a little bit more of a confident player and maybe even the extreme case, a cockiness that we see in the younger players. Back then it was you just minded your own business and tried not to get in the way of the veteran players and go about your business.

So I tried to earn their respect and play hard and establish myself and hopefully and thankfully was able to avoid having to go back to the minor leagues. Once I got there, I was able to stay.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Who taught you the most in Milwaukee?

PAUL MOLITOR: I think of all the people that influenced me and helped me develop a professionalism not only on the field but off the field, I would point to Robin Yount. And that is because, as we mentioned, we were relatively close in age. I think Robin and I, as I said, was almost a year older than I was, but by the time I got there, he had already played four years in the Major Leagues.

He was a Major League shortstop at the age of 18, which is incredible. So he was a contemporary, yet he was a mentor. And to watch him play and develop into a most valuable player type contributor on our team twice. He won the Most Valuable Player in the American League, and he won Gold Gloves both at shortstop and center field.

But what I learned was about the consistency of his approach and the unselfishness of whether he contributed or not contributed and more concerned with winning. I think naturally, players are compensated according to how they perform. But when you're on the field, to the best of your abilities, you try to forget about that and do what you can to help your team win on that given day.

And Robin really was the one person that not only talked that but walked that. And I saw him do it for 15 years. And I think that influenced me probably as much as anything else during my time in Milwaukee.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Also at your time in Milwaukee, and I know you probably want the press to forget about this, but it has been well publicized that you had a cocaine problem for a while when you were there. The reason that I bring it up now is because I think a few people are still somewhat curious. And maybe young people wonder, too, how is it somebody who was and is such a straight arrow baseball player runs out all the grounders, who takes good care of his body, how were you able to slip off the edge? I mean, what was going on at that time?

PAUL MOLITOR: I wish that I could pinpoint one particular reason. Naturally, over the past 17 or 18 years, I've done a lot of speaking on the topic of substance abuse and have tried to turn some of those poor choices that I made into helping others make better choices. But in going back in time and reflecting on the late '70s and the beginning of the '80s, and I think it was probably a combination of a few things, and those being peer pressure of people and teammates that were involved as well.

I think the fact that I had a lot of success at a young age as well as was built up to have a certain image. And it became difficult as a 21-year-old kid being removed from home and into his own living environment and into a Major League environment to try to keep that image up on a day to day basis.

I think it was a matter also that the fact that my first couple of years I went through some injury problems and found myself with a lot of idle time and wasn't sure how to fill that void. None of these are reasons as much as they are excuses that I think of at that time that made me vulnerable to dabble into the area of drugs.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Were you depressed at that time, too? I mean--

PAUL MOLITOR: I don't know if I would call it a depression as much as maybe a searching as-- you talk a lot about the getting of the major leagues and you fulfill that dream. All of a sudden you're injured and you're separated from your club and maybe you're not sure how to handle that time that you're expecting to be back out there on the field.

I certainly can't blame anyone or anyone other than myself for making poor choices back at that time of my life. The amazing thing is that despite going through that period of my life that-- here we are almost 20 years later and I've still been able to play. In a lot of ways maybe going through that is part of the reason I stayed hungry to play as long as I have, because I don't take for granted, maybe because the injuries, maybe because the experiences of going through those problems, the privilege of going out there and competing at this level.

So it's changed my perspective on how baseball fits into the whole scheme of things. But on the other hand, I've realized the privilege of being able to play as long as I have.

GARY EICHTEN: Minnesota Twins star Paul Molitor talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki, part of our Voices of Minnesota series. Later this hour, former Twins great Kirby Puckett looks back at his life and career.

But right now, let's get back to our conversation with Paul Molitor. Elizabeth Stawicki asked Molitor about leaving Milwaukee for Toronto, his subsequent World Series heroics, and finally, whether Paul Molitor is, in fact, going to retire.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Well, after you played with Milwaukee, you moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays. And I'm curious. There have been a lot of questions about why you did leave the Milwaukee Brewers.

PAUL MOLITOR: When I look back at that time after the 1992 season, I had been with the Brewers for 15 years. And really, for all intentions and purposes thought I would be a lifetime Brewer. Around that period in baseball was when we really began to see a separation of large market from the small market.

The competitive balance question started to become an issue because of the tremendous disparity in revenues being able to be generated from a club like the New York Yankees as opposed to the Milwaukee Brewers. I was a free agent and had really every intention of staying in Milwaukee, but was told early on in our talks that they were in a position where they were going to have to cut back on their budget next year, which including cutting back on their payroll, and the fact that I was a designated hitter that it was going to affect their ability to compensate me what they had in the past. And even though I had been voted the Most Valuable Player on the team the past two years, they thought that they had to make some changes in how their players were going to be compensated.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: So they offered you one third less in your pay. Isn't that correct?

PAUL MOLITOR: They offered me about half. I was a little bit surprised. And I understood that they were in a rough situation, but I still wasn't sure how to handle that.

So when other clubs began to get involved with the picture and the Brewers didn't really or weren't able to change their position, I began to look at other options. I'm not going to lie to you and say it wasn't about money, but there was such a tremendous disparity in terms of actual dollars, not that people care about it. Toronto was talking about a three-year deal for $14 million and Milwaukee was talking about less than $2 million for one year.

And I just felt that at that time, being a 36, 37-year-old player, that it was time to make that decision for myself and for my family. It was very difficult, very emotional.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: How do you respond, though? I'm sure that there are still hardcore Milwaukee purists who are sore that you left and that who might say that you exemplify this problem that's ripping at the heart of baseball today, and that is the money differences between the teams in that a player will get his start at one team move off into somewhere else where they can pay him a lot more money.

PAUL MOLITOR: There are people in Milwaukee who are bitter towards me to this day. There's no question they feel that I stole that organization out after they had stood behind me for many years through injuries, through some of the other problems we talked about earlier. And when I went there for five years as a player and we get booed by a portion of the crowds, it was a hurtful thing. Believe me, it wasn't something that I could just simply ignore.

And I think the difficult part was that my 15 years in Milwaukee, I chose to live there year round. I stayed there in the winter. I was involved with a lot of things off the field and tried to be a positive person in that community, particularly after what happened when I was there as a younger player.

So as far as people who think that that is a reflection of the problem of the game as opposed to holding it, personally, I've come to agree with that. I think in the last strike that we had in 1994, the biggest concern of players and ownership is how we're going to address giving the Milwaukee's and the Montreal's and the Minnesota's of the world a chance to compete against the powerhouses of New York's and Boston's and Baltimore's and Atlanta's and those type of clubs.

We tried to address the issue by putting a tax on payrolls that exceeded a certain amount, as well as we tried to increase the revenue sharing amongst clubs. But it has been a drop in the bucket in terms of addressing the problem.

I think part of baseball's best years in the past 20 or 30 years is because a guy like Cal Ripken has been a lifetime Oriole or Kirby Puckett a lifetime Twin or George Brett, a lifetime Kansas City Royal or Carl Yastrzemski, a lifetime Boston Red Sox. And because of the way things are set up now, we're not seeing that. And local fans have trouble identifying with their team year to year because players keep changing.

Whether I'm to blame or not, because I left, I don't think I made a bad choice but as far as the game having to deal with that potentially in the future. As an example, Barry Larkin should be a Cincinnati Red forever. He's considering leaving there because that club can't be competitive.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: I've heard coaches from Milwaukee to the Blue Jays and in between, say Paul Molitor is baseball's best kept secret. You don't seem to get the endorsements like a lot of other players get at the bigger teams. And do you wish that on some point that you would have left Milwaukee a lot sooner than you did?

PAUL MOLITOR: I don't because I enjoyed my 15 years in Milwaukee. I played on some great teams. I was in a World Series in 1982. The teammates Robin Yount and Jim Gantner, in particular, I played with the entire 15 years I was there. The community was very supportive during my time there.

I don't think my career has been about trying to gain exposure. The move to Toronto was more one out of really common sense than it was a desire to leave. And it just worked out that in my first year, leaving Milwaukee, I happened to stumble into a situation where a team was able to win a World championship. And all of a sudden maybe I received more recognition in that one year than I had in the previous 15. But that's just the way it worked out, and there's no guarantees when you leave a city that that's going to happen.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Did you learn anything playing for the Blue Jays or playing in their World Series and being MVP that you hadn't known anywhere else in your early baseball career, either with the Brewers or even before that?

PAUL MOLITOR: I think maybe if I learned anything, it was maybe about myself. I think that Robin Yount and I had been asked to carry the load in Milwaukee for many years, particularly after we went to the World Series in 1982, when we had a lot of great players. We made a lot of changes, and for the next 9 or 10 years, we had to carry that team.

And I began to question whether myself had the ability as a leader or as a player to be a part or be a guy to help lead a team back into postseason play. And going to Toronto and going up there a year after they had won their first World championship and replacing Dave Winfield, and that added to the reward of being able to be a part of the Blue Jays defending their championship.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: So what's next for you? Are you going to play next season?

PAUL MOLITOR: Well, should we have an announcement right here today or?

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Please.

PAUL MOLITOR: I think some days I'm sure about not playing. And then there will be a couple of days stretch where I'll be teased a little bit either about how good my body feels or how well I swing the bat. Or I'll talk to a friend and they'll tell me I'm crazy to retire and just enough to keep me confused long enough to keep putting the decision on hold.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: So have you set a deadline for yourself?

PAUL MOLITOR: Not a date or a deadline. I think that I've learned from experience that the ups and downs of a season affects your ability to maybe make a clear choice, so the time away from the game in October when you do have a chance to be around friends and family. And, of course, I plan to meet with Tom Kelly and Terry Ryan and Mr. Pohlad, begin to talk a little bit about next year and what their plans are.

There's a lot of talk about the Twins making a lot of changes next year. And if that's indeed true, maybe they're going to tell me that they don't want me to be a part of that club, even if I would choose to be as far as playing status.

So I'm going to just take the time allowed. And when it comes time to reveal it, I don't think it's going to be anything too shattering. But people will find out which direction I'm going to go.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: So when your uniform goes to the Hall of Fame, which one is it going to be? The Brewers, the Twins, the Blue Jays?

PAUL MOLITOR: I guess you can make arguments for all three. Milwaukee.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Well, but tell me, which one are you going to choose?

PAUL MOLITOR: Well--

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: I thought it's up to the player.

PAUL MOLITOR: I have to be-- well, I'll get a choice. But the thing is, I have to be elected in first.

ELIZABETH STAWICKI: Well, you'll be elected in, I'm sure. With your statistics, this is a given at this point. So let's just play that you do get in.

PAUL MOLITOR: OK. We'll say that. We'll be presumptuous. Without tying myself in completely, I would be leaning to tenure being the biggest issue in my decision. And although three years in Toronto provided me my only World Series ring and playing for the team I followed as a youngster for three years has been very rewarding, I was a Brewer for 15 years.

And while the recognition there might not have been what it has been in the other two places, certainly that was a lot of time spent in one organization. I guess the irony would be that they're a National League team now, so be inducted as a National League player.

GARY EICHTEN: Saint Paul native and Minnesota Twins star Paul Molitor talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki. You're listening to a special baseball edition of our Voices of Minnesota series here on Midday.

While Paul Molitor was growing up in Minnesota and playing most of his career elsewhere, it was just the opposite for Kirby Puckett. Kirby Puckett was a stranger to Minnesota when he arrived to play for the Twins as a rookie back in 1984. But over the next 12 seasons, he would be selected to the All-Star team 10 times, win six Golden Gloves, a batting title, collect over 2,300 hits, and lead his team to two World championships. His accomplishments as a player and his enthusiasm for the game would make Kirby Puckett one of the most popular sports figures in Minnesota history. Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickel talked with Kirby Puckett about his life and his career in baseball.

Kirby's story begins on the South side of Chicago, where Puckett spent the first 12 years of his life. His family lived in the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project notorious for its poverty, crime, and despair. Puckett says for him, it wasn't a bad place to grow up.

KIRBY PUCKETT: For me, it was a good experience. I tell people, if I had to do it all over again, I'd do it the same way. I think growing up in that neighborhood taught me to be tough.

First of all, I'm a baby of nine kids, so I got beat up by my five brothers and three sisters a lot. So I had to take a lot of whippings. But I mean, that was just part of the program. While I grew up, you had to take your beatings and go on. And if you bounce back from it, you're going to be a nice, stronger person. But if you didn't, you kind of be lost in the shuffle somewhere. And I always considered myself a survivor.

I was going to do whatever it took to reach my goals. And I thank God that ever since I was five years old, I look at my son, little Kirby, every day, and he's five years old. Ever since I was his age, I just knew that I was going to be a professional baseball player.

I knew that it was in the cards because I was going to put everything I had into it. And I played baseball for a long time, and it paid off for me. I got to play 12 wonderful years in the big leagues and win two World championships and do-- I mean, I consider myself a overachiever, but I worked hard at it.

JIM BICKEL: What drew you to baseball? What was it about it?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Nobody pushed me towards baseball. I know my brothers played it in high school, and they didn't pursue it any further. My family played my dad pitched in the Negro Leagues. He pitched for a little while. And so I saw it on TV one day, and that's what I wanted to do.

Of course, I grew up in Chicago and, of course, we had welcome, Bob Love. And all these guys jumped me and got when I was a kid growing up, but I knew I wasn't going to be very tall, so I knew it wasn't basketball I wanted to play, even though I was good at it. Baseball was my love.

I mean, I was a heck of a basketball player. I really was. I was quick and I could jump and I could play football. I could run and I could catch and I could tackle. But I just love baseball. For some reason, I saw baseball.

I mean, when I was seven, eight years old, I used to sit down and watch a whole baseball game. You know how boring that is as a kid? But when the Cubs and the White Sox came on, I watched baseball because I love baseball.

JIM BICKEL: Was there much of an opportunity to play in your neighborhood?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Yes, the opportunity was to go in between two buildings and play up against the wall. That's the only chance I had.

I didn't play my first organized baseball until I was a freshman in high school. That's the first organized baseball I ever played. All the rest of the time I just played pickup ball in the streets or stickball or whatever. But my first organized baseball didn't come until I was a freshman in high school.

JIM BICKEL: Do you think that affected the way you approach the game?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Not really, because I always knew that somehow, some way, once I got to show people what I had, they like it. I was a hustler. I was a good player. And when it came to basketball and I go play basketball here on this little 5 foot short guy, I was the last guy chosen. But when it came to playing baseball in my neighborhood, everybody, my name, Kirby Puckett's name was mentioned first.

We're going to pick teams. I got Kirby. Kirby was the first guy that was chosen. And I mean, so it just goes to show you that from a basketball standpoint, even though I could play, I was a short guy. It didn't make a difference in baseball. It didn't matter. As long as you can play, that's all they cared about.

JIM BICKEL: Now, you said that unlike somebody like Ken Griffey Jr. or somebody, it took you a while to get noticed outside of your neighborhood and stuff that there were some hurdles to clear.

KIRBY PUCKETT: Well, actually, I only lived in the projects until I was 12 years old, and then we moved out to a better neighborhood. My dad got a raise, and so we moved out to 79th and Walcott, a nice mixed neighborhood. And I got a chance to play with other people of different nationalities. And I mean, it was great for me. I didn't have a problem.

I used to play with older guys my whole life. My brothers told me that if I wanted to get better at playing baseball, I had to play with guys that are older. When I was 15 years old, I was playing semi-pro ball with guys that were in Double-A, Triple-A Major League ball clubs.

And these are guys that have been in the minor leagues for years and years and unfortunately they never made it. But I was holding my own with these guys. I was hitting balls just as far as they were, and I was learning how to play defense. And I could run and throw.

I could do everything they can do. And I was holding my own. So I knew right then that was my calling card that I knew that I belonged. I knew that somehow, some way, if somebody gave me a chance to show what I had, they were going to what they saw.

JIM BICKEL: Well, when you finally did make it to the major leagues, I guess you had a reputation, as the legend goes, of being a little naive. You called some of the players Mister and had your phone number in the phone book and stuff. Do you think you were more naive than the typical rookie?

KIRBY PUCKETT: I don't think I was naive at all. I think it was somebody that just worked so hard to get to where I was. It was a matter of respect.

The guys that I was saying Mister to and thank you and sir, I mean not sir, but I mean I was saying Mister to a lot of guys because they paved the way for me where I was trying to go. I mean, they had already been there and done what I was trying to achieve. And so I thought that was just a matter of respect, and it wasn't anything wrong with it.

And I think the guys, they laughed at me. But I mean, I was very sincere in my actions. And before I knew it, people was coming to the big leagues and calling me Mister and sir. So it's one big circle. You start off at the bottom and you work your way up and you work to get respect. And once you're respected, people respect you always.

JIM BICKEL: Well, talk about your approach to hitting. You weren't the kind of hitter that had a-- was a real disciplined wait for the perfect pitch. How would you characterize your approach to hitting?

KIRBY PUCKETT: I consider myself a hacker, kind of a Tony Oliva-type hitter, if you got to see Tony Oliva play at all. Tony Oliva said he was the same kind of hitter that I was. We'd go up and we swing the bat. That's what we get paid to do is put the ball in play.

And as you know, if you put the ball in play, you do have a chance of good things happening that's compared to setting up that take and take and take and wait for the perfect pitch. And then once you miss it and then now where do you go?

I guess my aggressiveness at the play was just that's the way I grew up playing baseball. Thou shalt not pass. I guess that was pretty much it.

But where I grew up in a neighborhood, we played against the wall. They had a square against the wall. It was so big. And if they threw the ball in that square, it was a strike.

Well, I don't want no strike to be called against me. So anything that was close, I'd swing and I'd hit it, and I'd hit it hard. And it was the same way in the big leagues.

I mean, I never-- I wish I could have been the kind of hitter that could like the [INAUDIBLE] have, a Tony Gwynn or a Wade Boggs and guys like that, but I wasn't blessed to have that. But I was blessed to hit a lot of balls that weren't strikes for hits.

I think if you ask some guys in baseball, they're not Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs, they see some of the balls I hit on my video, see me hitting balls on the ground, balls over my head, balls everywhere. Man, I wish I could hit like Curry Pocket. But it wasn't an art.

It's not something that I try to teach my son or try to teach other guys in this organization. What I did was different, and I was successful with it because I had done it all my life. I don't think it's very unorthodox. It's nothing that you try to teach others. I mean, it just has to be a natural instinct. But for me, that's what it was.

JIM BICKEL: Talk about your evolution from being a singles hitter to being more of a power hitter. How did that happen?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Well, it happened overnight for me, actually. In 1984, I came up to the big leagues. And I was hitting first for the Twins leading off. And my job at that time was to get on base any way I could and steal bases and get in scoring position for the Hrbek to get the Guy Eddie, the Brunanskies for the big boppers. That was my job.

In my rookie, I had 31 hits and my job stole about 20 some bases. So that was my job. And I did that well, and I enjoyed doing that.

Little did I know that a year and a half later, Billy Gardner would get fired and Ray Miller would take over. For half a year before he got fired and Ray Miller would call me in his office in 1986 and say, Puck, I just want you to know that you're my new number three hitter.

If you know baseball at all, your number three hitter is supposed to be your best hitter. I mean, here we are with Hrbek and Guy Eddie and Brunansky, all these guys that can hit, Castillo, all these guys that can hit. And he chose me to hit third. I thought he was joking, of course, you know how people always playing games and stuff.

I said come on, skip, stop playing. He said, I'm serious, Puck, you're my number three hitter. He said, you're a good hitter. You put the ball in play, I want you to hit third.

And I took that with me, and I went to spring training. And I talked to Tony Oliva. I said, Tony, I said, Ray told me that I'm going to hit third. And I need to do something to generate more power.

And that's when we developed my so-called leg kick that you see everybody doing now that I consider myself-- I got Ed Ott perfected it, I guess, but-- Mel Ott. And here I am. I threw it into my regime and threw it in and it worked for me.

It's kind of a timing mechanism that sometimes doesn't work. If it's not timed right, it's no good. But if you time it right, it works good.

And so I went to spring training. I worked hard at this. I really did every single day, I met at the ballpark early, doing it early. Didn't have to practice me and Antonio working again. And I mean hard work.

I mean, I went from no home runs in '84 to 4 home runs in '85 to 31 home runs in '86. I mean, I couldn't believe it, but it was just a weight shift that just had me going back and keeping my weight back. And when I attack the ball, all my power and strength and everything was just going head and head. And when strength meet strength, it generates more power. And that's what happened.

JIM BICKEL: In addition to your hitting, what I think people remember most about you is those great catches you made. Why are you able to make so many of those home run saving catches?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Well, I think what people have to understand is that when I as a kid, I never played outfield. I didn't play outfield till I got to college. My freshman year in college at Bradley University, Dewey Kellman, the coach at Bradley University, told me that I was going to be there and I was going to play third base every day because I was recruited as a third baseman or second baseman. I like the infield.

And when I got there, he didn't tell me-- he wasn't honest with me and told me that he had a whole senior infield. So when I go there, hey, Ray, I'm sitting on the bench. I'm warming the bench, and he just used me to steal bases late in the game.

And in the fall in Illinois, it was cold. And so I sit on the bench for seven or eight innings and all of a sudden, Puck, go steal a base or two. And I go in there and I was like for 15 stolen bases in the fall. And that's all he used me for.

So I figured I'm man enough to go talk to this man. And I said, Dewey, I said, you brought me here on the first false circumstances. And I just want to know, you told me I was going to play, and I get here and you get all senior infield.

He said, well, can you play outfield? I said, I can play anywhere as long as you put me out there. And so when he put me in the outfield, I knew nothing about the outfield. I knew that the center fielder was the boss out there. If he called the ball, whether it was the right fielder or the left fielder, the center fielder was the general out there.

And he said, just catch everything you can. Call it. If you can catch it, call it. If you can't catch it, then don't call it.

I was like, fine. And so it was something that I had to work at hard again. Here I am again being converted from an infielder to an outfielder, and I worked hard at it. Even in the minor leagues, I used to take extra ground balls, extra fly balls because I wanted to be prepared because in the game, you don't know what the game is going to hold. I mean, you could get all 27 outs in the outfield. Anything's possible in baseball. There's no way you can predict it.

And in the minor leagues, I mean, I always worked hard on my defense because I always said, I want to be one dimensional. I know I can run fast. I know I've got a good arm. I know I can hit. But I want to be-- I want to excel in all facets of the game. And I work really hard at it.

And than [INAUDIBLE]. When I came to this organization, I got to play for Tom Kelly and the managers in the minor leagues. They said, Puck, you're the man I hear. You call it, you got it. You run things out here. You control everything.

I'm like an aviation guy. I'm controlling-- you got it. Want to throw it. And by this time, I'm thinking now I always want to be a couple of steps ahead.

If you'd asked me when I was playing, what was I going to do as a manager? You can ask me anything. Just write off your mental second and third one out. And the guy on third is fast. You're going to throw home on a sacrifice fly. What are you going to do?

I said, well, if it's a short sacrifice, fly, if it's not too deep and I feel I can throw this guy, I'm going to go home. If I can't, I'm going to throw to third to try to keep that guy second from going to third. It's just like that. It's just repetitious.

And so it wasn't jumping on the wall and catching-- taking home runs away. You can't practice that.

I love to play defense. I love playing defense more than I did hitting. I got a kick out of it, taking a home run away from somebody because you see that guy in the dugout, he's talking to everybody. The fans are excited, and that team is going wild. I can't believe you did that.

My team is going, man, that's awesome. People talk about that just like they do the home runs. And taking the home run away is not as exciting as hitting one for Mark McGwire, Sosa. But for me, it gave me the same kind of rush.

GARY EICHTEN: You're listening to our Voices of Minnesota conversation with former Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett. When Puckett was called up to the Twins in 1984, he joined a group of young players who had come to the team two years earlier. Puckett and the so-called class of 1982 would form the nucleus of the Twins 1987 world championship team.

Puckett and the Twins would go on to win another championship in 1991. But Puckett told Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickel that the 1987 team is the one he'll never forget.

KIRBY PUCKETT: People say, what was the difference between '87 and '91, Kirby? And I said, you know what, '91 was a great world series, but the '87 was more special to me because I've never been around a close knit group of guys than we were. I think we had got our butts kicked together ever since I come up in 1984, and they were getting their butts kicked way before I got here.

So it was a situation where they were losing a hundred plus games. The Violas, the Hrbeks, the Guy Eddies, the Brunanskies, they know what it was like to lose. And I came here in 1984, and we almost won our division by going 500 in 1984, and we ended up losing. And we didn't make the playoffs.

But I mean, it was still. It was disheartening because I looked around the room and I said, man, we got all this talent. Why can't we win? And I look at other teams and we had just as much talent as they had, but we were just younger.

We had to just put our time in. That's all we had to do, was just buy out our time and hopefully get the right combination of guys to help us. And '87 we did that. We went out and got Dan Gladden in '87, and we went out and we got some help.

We got Bert Blyleven back from the Indians. And we and we got Juan Berenguer from Detroit. I mean, here, all of a sudden we're piecing these guys together. And all of a sudden you're trying to make a puzzle, and we got these pieces to these final pieces now that we think it's going to make a difference.

We get Jeff Reardon free agent from the Expos. And so all of a sudden we're like, OK, now we got everything we need now. All we need to do is just put it together. And that year just seemed to be a magical year.

I mean, when you came in this place in the Metrodome, we knew that we were going to win at home. Now, on the road, it was a different story. It's not like we were trying to lose or anything, but it just wasn't clicking for us on the road. But when you came into the Metrodome, the House of Terror, you knew that with our fans screaming and the way we played the game, no matter what the score was, we could be losing 8 to 0 in the first, second inning, we knew that somehow we were going to come back. And we won like, what, 50 some games in here, whatever it was, 58 games at home.

That's unheard of. But we did that. And that allowed us to win because we were so good at home and we were just mediocre on the road. We ended up winning our division and nobody expected us to do anything.

And they said, well, you never guys will never beat Detroit. We beat Detroit. Or there's no way you guys are going to go and beat the Cardinals. We beat the Cardinals in seven. We won the games, and all of a sudden we were world champions.

And I can't forget that team ever, because those guys, I mean, we genuinely we loved each other. I mean, we sacrificed a lot for each other. You don't see that these days because the most guys are out there for themselves. It's every man for themselves. It's not like we used to be because we knew in order to win, it was going to be a lot of sacrifices made.

It was days that I wasn't swinging well that I bunted on my own. TK didn't give me no bunting. I bunted on my own because I knew my swing wasn't right. So I bunted to get them over and for Hrbek and Guy Eddie or whatever.

And them guys ended up getting an RBI. I didn't want any credit, but I was just trying to do anything I possibly could to help us win. And that's what made us so special.

I mean, we went out on the road. I mean, after the games, you see 14 or 15 of us at the same place eating together, a table for 15 or 16. You don't do that now. You might see one guy, one or two, one or two guys or maybe one guy over here, one. It's all spread out. Whereas we were together.

We knew we were going to be around each other all year, and we loved being around each other. And that's why '87 was so special.

JIM BICKEL: Yeah, I was listening to some old tape that came out of that, and there was-- after the game when you clinched it, the division in Texas, Lombardozzi got a big hit. And I remember you were quoted as saying when Lombo got that hit. I was so excited. I jumped up and hit my head on the top of the dugout. It was great.

SPEAKER: Yeah, it was.

JIM BICKEL: It seemed like it.

KIRBY PUCKETT: Actually. I had a bad headache. In Texas, the dugouts were small. And when Lombo got the big hit for us, I went, yeah. And I jumped up, and I remember I got big headed, big knot on my head and everybody was laughing.

But he got that hit for us, man. I'll never forget Jeffrey Gordon was on the mound. And last hour, Hrbek called it at first base, and he jumped up, and we tore up Texas at old field. And I don't think they appreciated that too much. But we were happy, man.

And because finally, our hard work, we persevered. we knew that it was going to be a while. And I think we had like four or five days after that where we had games and TK gave the regulars a rest and gave us a rest.

And we were no good. I mean, we lost every game after that, but we knew that TK got us right back on schedule again. So OK, you guys got a nice little rest now. We got to get after it and got to get out to Detroit. And we did that, and we beat Detroit, man. And it was just unbelievable.

JIM BICKEL: And I've seen sports teams and towns get excited, but I've never seen a town as excited about a sports team as this town was about the Twins in '87. That was-- what was it like being the focus of that?

KIRBY PUCKETT: I'll tell you, after we won in '87, I just sat downstairs in our weight room. They moved all the weights and stuff out because they knew we were going to get champagne and everything all over. And Hrbek and myself and Guy Eddie and Al Newman, I remember sitting on the ground and had a bottle of champagne in my hand.

And I was just looking in the mirrors. It's a whole room full of mirrors. And I'm just looking in the mirrors going, I can't believe that we're world champions. We're the best team in baseball right now.

Nobody can tell us anything. We are the best there is right now. And then you go outside and people were tearing up the streets and just turning buses and cars and stuff over. And I just picked my head out of the gate and I see all this stuff.

And I was like, I can't believe it. And all the parades and everything that we had, I mean, that's-- people play all their lives. I mean, I idolize Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, and these guys never got a chance to do that. And I thought Ernie Banks frequently. And he says, Kirby, I'll give you my Hall of Fame credentials and my numbers for one of them rings.

And I say, Ernie, I said, no, man. I said, because I had to earn these. And these are special. And a lot of guys don't get a chance to do this.

So, I mean, not only did I achieve it once, but I achieved it twice within a four-year period. And believe me, what we did was really special. And I mean, the people here were wonderful. And it's just a shame that we've had to fall off the last six or seven years. But I think that those are memories that I'll never forget. I mean, even if--

Of course, the money that we got, the money's all gone, and everything's all gone. But I still got the ring, and I still got the memories. And the people here in Minnesota, they have their memories, too.

JIM BICKEL: Well, let's go up to '91, that game 6, when you made the great catch and then hit the home run. Is that the highlight of your career?

KIRBY PUCKETT: No, people ask me that. I got asked this question all the day and people say, what was the highlight of my career? I said, well, actually, the highlight of my career was being called up in 1984 going to Anaheim. And the whole controversy with the-- not the controversy, but the funny story that everybody still laughs at me about it to this day, where I was in Maine when I got called up.

And I had to fly all the way across the map. I'll never forget I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning and a taxi picked me up at 4:30. And I got on a 5 o'clock flight in Maine. And I connected on a flight in Atlanta.

So I'm flying all the way across the map. And then I remember I got to the airport in Atlanta, and they had to change the windshield on this plane three different times. And I was supposed to get into LAX at like 1 o'clock. I ended up getting in to 5:30 right in the heart of traffic, 5:30 or something like that. And nobody was there waiting on me.

I got $10 in my pocket and a couple of credit cards, and I get these two bags, bats hanging out and my equipment. That's all I got. That's all I got to my name.

And I remember just growing up in a big city. I guess I said, what would a normal person do in this situation? I said, well, I got to go to Orange County. I got to go to Anaheim Stadium.

And so I remember I said, what would the person do? So I just jumped in the taxi not knowing how much it would cost. And I told a gentleman my whole story.

I said, well, I just got called up, and he saw my bats and stuff. I said, I need to go to Anaheim Stadium. He said, it's about a hour away, sir. I said, I don't care how far it is. I got to go.

He said, it's going to cost a little bit. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm not going to pay for it. I know that this much when you make it to the big leagues, the traveling secretary, they take care of you. I said, no problem.

And he took me over there, and the cab ride was like $65. But I gave him like $80 or something like $80. It was like $60. I gave him a $25 tip because he was so nice because he trusted me. He didn't have to do that.

And I remember I walked into the clubhouse and I saw Randy Bush was the first guy. I saw and Tim Lawton and Kent Hrbek. And I called them all Mr. and Mr. Viola.

And I got there just in time to take a couple of swings. And when I walked on that field in Anaheim, I knew that I belonged, I mean, because I worked so hard. And I knew that ever since I was five years old, that was my dream. And I got a chance to live my dream for 12 years. So making it to the big leagues was my highlight.

JIM BICKEL: Well, let's talk about the end of your playing career and that the morning you woke up March 28th, 1996, and you had trouble seeing out of your right eye and led to your retirement, I guess, in July of that year. What was going through your mind during that stretch of time?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Well, actually, nothing. I mean, I've been totally healthy my whole career. And actually that year I've been in the best shape of my life. I mean, I had a personal trainer, and here I am. I'm in perfect shape, and I'm hitting about three 80 in spring training. I'm ready to just go ahead and ready to get it on as usual.

And I'll never forget it. It was a getaway day. We were going to Colorado. They had just opened up their new stadium, and we were going to play two exhibition games against the Rockies. And I was excited about that.

And I woke up, and my wife Tanya was standing in front of me and I couldn't see her face, but I could see her hair and her shoulders and everything. I see peripherally.

I didn't know much about it then. I thought that maybe I slept on my eye wrong or whatever. But I can tell you exactly what happened now after the fact. What happened is that my central vision went out. So that means straight ahead, I couldn't see, but peripherally I could see around.

And I can tell you as the day progressed, that was about 7:00, 7:30 in the morning, as I took my rent a car back and as the day progressed, I mean, I get to the park around 7:30 or something like that, like I said. And I told the trainer, Dick Martin, I said, Dick, I said something wrong with my eye. I think I slept on it wrong or something. Give me some ice or something.

I put ice bag on it. And I said, Dick, is something wrong? I can't see. And so he called the doctor at home and the doctor came over and took me right to the place. And I can tell you, before noon that day, my vision had deteriorated to where I couldn't see anything at all out of my right eye.

I mean, I didn't know what was going on. I was like, man, here I am totally healthy. Never been hurt in my whole life in the big leagues. Played hurt my whole career, just played every single day, every day. And now something's wrong with my eyes?

I mean, I took care of myself, took four or five physicals a year. I'm the perfect healthy specimen. That's no way. But it just goes to show you that sometimes things happen, and they happen for a reason.

So I never sat in the mirror and go, why me? I just thought that God or somebody wants me to have this disease to get the word out and spread the word to other people. Because right now there's over 3 million Americans walking around with glaucoma right now and over half of them don't even know it. And that's the scariest part of all, because I get letters.

And as a matter of fact, about four months ago, I got a letter from this gentleman. And he said, because of me, you heard about me and talking about my glaucoma on TV. And him and his wife were driving.

This is an elderly gentleman. He's about 65 years old. Him and his wife just going for a trip and he's driving a car. Both eyes are fine. He's just driving.

And do you know that both his eyes just shut down at once? He couldn't see anything. He's driving the car and all of a sudden he tells me the story. Honey, I can't see.

Where am I? Tell me to pull over. Is anybody on the side of me? He doesn't panic, he says, and he pulls over. And when he pulls over.

His wife says, what's wrong? He says, sweetie, my eyes just went out. And that's how it happens. It happens within a snap of a finger.

It can happen and your eyesight could be gone. And so that's my job is, I'm a national spokesperson for glaucoma right now, thank God. And my job is to go out and make people aware. And that's what I do. And I enjoy doing that because if I can save one person's eyesight, it's all worth it.

JIM BICKEL: Well, tell me about your post baseball playing life. You're happy? Are you having fun? Tell me what you're doing with the Twins.

KIRBY PUCKETT: I'm very happy. Right now I'm executive vice president of the Twins, so I get to be part of some decisions that are being made around here. And I like that. I like everything that's going on around here. And hopefully I'm trying to get us to be a better team like anybody else. And right now, it's not meant to be, but we're going to keep plugging at it and keep plugging it. And hopefully in the years to come we can get us back where we need to be.

But I mean, I get to do things with the Twins, and I get to go out in the community and still make a difference in people's lives. And like I said, I'm a national spokesperson for glaucoma, and so I stay busy, as you can see. I stay busy doing lots of things. And plus, I have a eight year old and a six-year-old at home that keeps me busy also. So I stay pretty busy.

My life away from baseball is great. I haven't missed a beat. I'm asked a question daily, and I mean daily. Do I miss the game?

And people think I'm crazy. They think I'm in denial or whatever when I tell them no, I don't miss the game at all. I mean, I got to play the game for 12 years.

I think that if this would have happened to me, say, if I'd have been working my whole life and just come up my rookie year and this would have happened, of course, it would have been devastating. I wouldn't have had a chance to live my dream or do anything. But no, I got to play 12 years before this, and I got a chance to make 10 All-Star teams and win MVP and stuff like that.

These things are just icing on the cake that I got to do that I wouldn't. If it wasn't for God, I wouldn't have got a chance to do that. So, I mean, I don't look at it as a bad thing. I look at it as a good thing.

I mean, it was just time for me to do what I was going to do. I was only going to play for four more years anyway. Three or four more years, I was to get 3,000 hits. And I was going to shut it down.

So, I mean, it wasn't a problem. Of course, I got short on my goal. But things happen for a reason, and I'm not upset about it. I mean, I still got to achieve more, and I'll take my numbers in 12 years and put them up against anybody's.

JIM BICKEL: Would making the Hall of Fame be an important thing to you?

KIRBY PUCKETT: Well, I can't sit here and lie and say that it wasn't, of course. I mean, it's the highest achievement that you can possibly get as an athlete going to baseball athletes, going to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That is not what I played for. I played because I love the game, and I've always played.

I didn't play for the love of money or anything. I played because I loved the game of baseball ever since I was five years old. This is what I wanted to do, and this is what I loved.

Of course, now with the Hall of Fame comes knocking on my door in 2000, 2001, whenever it is, and they tell me that I've made it to the Hall of Fame, that's good. I mean, I'm happy. That's great. But I never thought I'd do that.

But if they don't call me and I don't make it, then, I still think that my life has been great. I mean, I never worry about things I can't control. I've done everything I possibly could in 12 years.

Now it's up to the big time reporters and all these guys to cast their votes. And if they want me to be in, I'll be in. If they don't, then I won't. But as far as I'm concerned, hopefully that day will come. But that's not the reason that I played the game the way that I did. I played because I loved the game, and I wanted the game to thrive and go on and be the greatest game in the world that it is.

I played because that is all that I grew up playing was baseball. And to me, that was special. So if they come calling, great. If they don't, that's great too.

GARY EICHTEN: Former Twins star Kirby Puckett and the Voices of Minnesota conversation with Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Beckel. Sports analyst Howard Sinker, are they going to come knocking on Kirby Puckett's door, Paul Molitor's door?

HOWARD SINKER: Oh, I think they will at some point. I don't know that either of them are first ballot selections. But I think that at some point, both of them will be in the Hall of Fame.

GARY EICHTEN: Why not the first ballot? Those of us around here would say, I guess, boy, they're just shoo-ins.

HOWARD SINKER: Oh, to us, it's a no brainer. But I think that considering that you need 75% of the ballots cast in your favor to get in, the sportswriters who make up the Baseball Writers Association sometimes like to reserve that honor for what they consider the best and the brightest. Molitor might have a chance based on his longevity. Puckett, if he had played another few years, would have been a definite.

But we saw a lot during 12 years, and the other people just didn't see all of that. It's a lot like Tony Oliva in that way. Tony Oliva, if he'd played another five years, would have been a surefire Hall of Famer.

GARY EICHTEN: What about the other three big leaguers from our area who we've watched in the last few years, Jack Morris, Dave Winfield, and Kent Hrbek?

HOWARD SINKER: I think Winfield is a Hall of Famer. He spent most of his career in New York. He spent his formative years there. He played for a number of teams over time, which will also help Molitor.

Jack Morris. He had some very good years, and he had some years where he struggled. He may not be right up there. He might. He'll be an interesting call.

And again, I think Kent Hrbek just didn't play as long as you'd like to make him a surefire Hall of Famer. He'll get some votes, but I wouldn't bet on him.

GARY EICHTEN: Are we likely to ever see this big a collection of great players again from our area?

HOWARD SINKER: We may, but I don't think you could possibly predict it. I don't think they're there right now. Remember, back then, it's like Puckett said, all he did was play baseball. All these guys did was play baseball. Now there are so many other avenues for a talented athlete to take.

GARY EICHTEN: Howard, before we run playoffs start today, which is where we started this program, can we get you on record as to who's going to end up World Series champs this year?

HOWARD SINKER: No. But I think it would be good for baseball if it wasn't in Atlanta versus New York World Series. So that gives all of us six other rooting interests.

GARY EICHTEN: OK. Thanks for joining us, Howard.

HOWARD SINKER: Always a pleasure.

GARY EICHTEN: Minnesota Public Radio's sports analyst Howard Sinker, who in his other life is state news editor for the Star Tribune Newspaper. Well, that does it for our Midday program today, special Voices of Minnesota edition of Midday.

We're going to be rebroadcasting this program at 9 o'clock tonight here on Minnesota Public radio, 9 o'clock tonight so you get a second chance to hear from Paul Molitor and Kirby Puckett. 9 o'clock rebroadcast.

Programming on NPR is supported by Merrill Corporation, celebrating United Way's annual campaign where you can make a difference in your community.

We're out of time. Coming up next, Ray Suarez will be along with Talk of the Nation first hour, an examination of customer service or lack thereof. Tomorrow on Midday, we'll be talking with Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson about controlling crime in the city of Minneapolis. That's coming up tomorrow.

Gary Eichten here. Thanks for tuning in today.

SPEAKER 2: On the next All Things Considered, a new Minnesota nonprofit decides how to spend $200 million of the tobacco settlement money. That story on the next All Things Considered weekdays at 3:00 on Minnesota Public Radio, KNOW FM 91.1.

GARY EICHTEN: You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. We have a sunny sky. It's up to 71 degrees at KNOW FM, 91.1. Minneapolis. And Saint Paul should be sunny all afternoon with a high reaching 75 degrees, 20% chance for rain late tonight with a low in the low 50s, 30% chance for rain tomorrow, windy and cooler tomorrow with a high in the middle 60s.