Reusse: Twins' action says thanks to Reardon

The Twins did this in August 1997. They brought in the 1987 World Series champions for a reunion. Ten years later, there was nothing but laughs and war stories and Metrodome chants of "Bruuu-no" and the banner with the scrawled "Sweet Music."

A majority of those Twins had not yet reached 40. For most, life had not yet showed its cruel side.

Mark Davidson, the backup outfielder, was at a Saturday night party and said: "Family's good, job's good. Life's great. But I would give anything to go back 10 years, and play that season all over again."

It has been another 10 years and the Twins of '87 are here this weekend for a second reunion.

These now are Twins who have buried parents and gone through divorces and hoped for the best as their children entered adolescence.

They also have shed tears at the death of Kirby Puckett, their superstar and symbol of how much fun it could be to play a ballgame.

Puck was eight days shy of his 46th birthday last March when he died of a brain aneurysm. It's a death that often comes in a snap of a finger, and Joe Niekro, 61, a veteran pitcher with those '87 champs, died in that same instant last October.

Twins followers worried about Puck becoming a cube, and we didn't know Niekro that well, and that meant neither of these premature deaths was our most shocking occurrence of 2006 when it came to members of Minnesota's first World Series champs.

That happened in late December, when we read of Jeff Reardon's arrest for the robbery of a jewelry store in a mall near his Florida home.

There was no one more important to the champs than Reardon, the closer who was acquired from Montreal on Feb. 3, 1987. He was the replacement for Ron Davis, traded the previous summer after permanently placing visions of horrific ninth innings into the heads of Kirby, Herbie, Frankie and the rest of the team's nucleus.

Reardon was as professional and as stable a personality as you could find among those champs. He found financial security by signing a three-year, $6.8 million contract with Boston after his third season (1989) in Minnesota.

He closed his big-league career by working nine innings as a knuckleball pitcher for the Yankees in 1994. He went home to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to help his wife, Phebe, raise the three kids: Jay, Shane and Kristi.

The Reardons' lives changed in 2004 when Shane, 20, died of a drug overdose. Jeff went into a depression that was revealed to a disbelieving baseball world when he was arrested in that mall last Dec. 26.

The robbery made no sense. He had $600 in his wallet and received $170 at the store. In a daze, he turned himself into a security guard before he left the mall.

The authorities let him walk. He was hospitalized for a considerable time. His teammates were enormously relieved that Reardon's recovery has reached a point that he felt comfortable coming to Minnesota for this reunion.

There were '87 Twins signing autographs in clusters on the Dome's plaza before Friday's game. Reardon was at a station with Gene Larkin and Sal Butera. There were words of encouragement for Reardon from fans when they reached the head of the autograph line.

Several of the players were introduced to the crowd inside before the game. There was a highlight of Reardon getting the last out in the World Series on that ground ball to third baseman Gary Gaetti.

The closer then was introduced, and a good share of the fans rose for a mini-standing ovation.

Reardon stood alone for a half-minute, then was joined by Phebe, Jay and Kristi. It was announced that the proceeds from the Twins' sale of '87 bobblehead sets would be part of a contribution to the Shane Reardon Memorial Fund to assist families affected by the chemical abuse of loved ones.

One of those oversized, ceremonial checks was presented from the Twins, and the Reardons were stunned to see that it was in the amount of $100,000.

"It was the biggest shock of my life," Jeff said later. "It's the nicest thing that's ever been done for our family. We only had $18,000 in the account for the foundation. You can't help many kids with $18,000, but we can do some good work now.

"It's great. My son always loved helping other kids."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com