On January 16 2001 — Outfielders Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett are elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The former Minnesota Twins are the fourth pair of teammates selected by BBWAA in the same year.
Dave Winfield, a true five-tool athlete who never spent a day in the Minor Leagues, played 22 seasons, earning 12 All-Star Game selections. At 6-foot-6, he was an imposing figure and a durable strongman with the rare ability to combine power and consistency. In tours of duty with six Major League teams, Winfield batted .283, hit 465 home runs and amassed 3,110 hits. He was a seven-time Gold Glove winner and helped lead the Toronto Blue Jays to their first World Championship in 1992.
Kirby Puckett totaled 12 solid seasons with the Minnesota Twins. The 1982 first-round draft choice hit for power and average, batting .318 with 207 home runs. A true team leader, Puckett led the Twins to a pair of World Series titles in 1987 and ’91. The six-time Gold Glove winner was named to 10 consecutive All-Star teams from 1986-95. Puckett finished among the top 10 in MVP voting seven times, only to have his career end prematurely after the 1995 season due to irreversible retina damage in his right eye.
