On Jan. 13, 1982, Kirby Puckett was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the third overall pick of the regular phase of the January Draft. Instituted in 1966 for players who graduated from school in the winter, the January Draft was discontinued after 1986.

Puckett an unknown at the time, The  Twins offered him $6,000, so he decided to stay at Triton for the spring semester. He led the Trojans to the Junior College World Series by hitting .472 with 16 homers and 78 RBIs, along with 28 doubles, eight triples and 42 stolen bases. He was named the national juco player of the year—and he was no longer an unknown. “Thank God we had the rights to him,” Rantz said. The Twins eventually offered him $20,000 and he signed with them. 5 years later the Twins were world champions.