QUINCY -- Tom Niemann will never forget the first time he saw Kirby Puckett play baseball.
They were teammates for the summer of 1981 with the Quincy Rivermen, which was a member of the four-team Central Illinois Collegiate League. Niemann batted sixth in the order, one spot behind Puckett, for the season opener with the Danville Roosters.
It was an inauspicious debut. Puckett went hitless in five at-bats.
"He struck out three times on changeups," Niemann said with a laugh. "I think it made everybody wonder what the coach was doing.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL STORY WRITTEN BY DAVID ADAM OF THE QUINCY HERALD-WHIG
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