MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Twins outfielder Kirby Puckett reached agreement on a new three-year, $9 million contract that makes him the first baseball player to reach the $3 million-per-year level, the club said Wednesday.
Puckett's agent Ron Shapiro and Twins general manager Andy MacPhail agreed on terms Tuesday. Final details were ironed out Wednesday, the club said.
'All I have to do is sign it,' Puckett said. 'It's a done deal.'
MacPhail said he was delighted in getting Puckett in a new contract.
'From our standpoint, we feel the same way that Kirby's peers among the major league players felt when they voted him as baseball's best player last summer,' MacPhail said.
'We share that feeling entirely. We're delighted, too, because of the kind of person Puckett is, not only on the field but off the field as well. He means so much to this ballclub in all respects.'
Puckett, who could have become a free agent after the 1990 season, will get a reported signing bonus of more than $1 million as part of the $9 million.
The Twins had a chance to sign Puckett to a three-year contract for $2.1 million a year, a total of $6.3 million, last spring. At the time, MacPhail was more concerned about signing pitcher Frank Viola, who could have become a free agent at the end of the season. Viola eventually signed and later was traded to the New York Mets.
MacPhail signed Puckett for $2 million for 1989. He also earned a $25,000 incentive bonus for being named to the American League All-Star team and will get another $25,000 if he wins a Gold Glove.
'I feel great about it. I want to play in Minnesota,' Puckett said Tuesday night.
Last season, Puckett hit .339 with nine homers and 85 RBI and became the first righthanded batter to win a full-season American League batting title since California's Alex Johnson in 1970.
A .320 career hitter, Puckett has appeared in four straight All-Star Games.
In 1988, Puckett batted .356, the highest mark for an AL righthanded hitter since Jo DiMaggio's .357 in 1941. His 234 hits in 1988 made him the fourth player to get 1,000 hits in his first five seasons, and he led the majors in at-bats, hits, singles, total bases, multi-hit games and runs produced.
Puckett's 215 hits in 1989 led the major leagues and made it the fourth time in his career that he has surpassed 200 hits.
Pucketts' salary was $50,000 when he joined the team in 1984. He became the Twins first $2 million player in January when he avoided arbitration by signing a one-year contract. In 1988, he made $1.21 million in total salary.
One reason the Twins were eager to sign Puckett is the expected bidding contest for Oakland free-agent outfielder Rickey Henderson.
