Harmon Killebrew's Final Days

[Valadius]

The 74-year-old Twins great has ended treatment for "incurable" esophageal cancer and is entering hospice care.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AsDQhExi1h2dqg0IWVa6F1w5nYcB?slug=ap-twins-killebrew

[Guest themetfairy]

I'm sorry to hear that

[Benjamin Grimm]

Me too. I met him once and he seemed like a really nice guy.

[metirish]

What a brave man.

[Guest themetfairy]

I think I had a Harmon Killebrew bat when I was a kid. Or perhaps it was a glove.

[Guest Edgy DC]

He never grew out of the cherubic face that made him look like Don Zimmer's stronger brother.

The Twins have a long history of obtaining local talent --- whether signing them initially like Dave Goltz or Kent Hrbek or Jim Eisenreich or eventually brigning them in like Jerry Koosman, Dave Winfield, or Paul Molitor. (Keep an eye on Ike Davis.) Killebrew was an Idahoan, hailing from about 1000 miles of Dakota territory away from Minnesota, but along the right latitude, and adored in the Twin Cities like a homeboy. He was Lou Grant's favorite.

[Frayed Knot]

Playfully derided as "The Fat Kid" among some of the characters in 'Ball Four', the 5' 11" (and that might be kind) Killebrew represented Mutt to to the 6' 8" Frank Howard's Jeff when those two were the premier power duo in the AL in the era following Mantle's demise. If you were a National League fan in those days of limited TV coverage, the raw power those two threatened was a big part of why you'd tune in to the All-Star game.
Fans of a certain age will long remember the split he did in one ASG as he stretched for a throw at 1st; tore a hamstring doing so and missed a ton of time afterward.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

What a shame. He was very nice the one time I met him.

[ashie62]

Terrific ballpalyer and nice guy.

Remember the split he did at 1B in the 1967 All Star Game?

[seawolf17]

One of the forgotten baseball greats, methinks, because of when/where he played. Kinda overshadowed by everybody. I never immediately think of him when I think of the Greats, but he's in the discussion.

[ashie62]

He played outdoors in Minnesota in a decade when HR's were not as easy to come by.

[Frayed Knot]

seawolf17 wrote: One of the forgotten baseball greats, methinks, because of when/where he played. Kinda overshadowed by everybody. I never immediately think of him when I think of the Greats, but he's in the discussion.

Also was never the complete player that some of the guys he overlapped with were. Mays, Mantle, & Aaron were, of course, a few notches above, but also the likes of Frank Robinson, Kaline, Banks and others. He could slug with any of them but just wasn't the runner, defensive player compared with the real elite class.

He didn't go un-noticed by the folks at the time though: One MVP plus five other top fives in a nine year span.

[Met Hunter]

I always thought Jim Thome reminded me of Killebrew. Quiet power hitter that slowly accumulated a fantastic career. I was glad to see the two of them bond and Thome give him his just due when he came to Minnesota.

Sadly, he's not the only HOFer struggling physically. Word is Stan the Man and Brooksie aren't too healthy either.

[Theoldmole]

I lived in Minnesota during his salad years. A great player. A sad time.

[Chad ochoseis]

The article doesn't get to the bottom of whether it's true or not, but there's some speculation that he's MLB's answer to Jerry West.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Guess who died

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Guess who died

Jerry West?.....fuck!

[Valadius]

RIP.

[G-Fafif]

A staple of the American League Leaders cards of my youth. Synonymous with home runs. And one of the sweetest HOF speeches ever.

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, �You�re tearing up the grass.� �We�re not raising grass,� Dad would reply. We�re raising boys.�

And, of course, the man made for a great beverage.

[G-Fafif]

A little recollection, here.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I lived in Minnesota when they had a team laced with current and future stars (Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, and Bert Blyleven). Outside of the Mets, the Twins were my favorite team as a kid.

[nymr83]

there is a great clip about Killebrew at the beginning of the "Baseball Today" podcast today, which you can download from ESPN.com's podcenter. Karabell and Law talk about him some as well.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/

[batmagadanleadoff]

To honor Killebrew, the Twins will wear 1961 throwback Twins uniforms at every single home game for the rest of this season.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looks like he's drooling.

[MFS62]

For a guy who hit more homers in the decade of the 60's then anyone else, I'm not sure if he even got more than a brief mention in the Ken Burns series.
RIP, Harmon.

Later

[G-Fafif]

Killebrew used a great line on Pat Borzi (very good writer, btw):

So two years ago, when I saw Killebrew outside the clubhouse at the Metrodome one day, I did something I had never done in more than 20 years as a baseball writer. I introduced myself, shook his hand and told him earnestly, �You were one of my favorite players when I was a kid.� Killebrew must have heard that 12 million times in his life, but he looked me square in the eye and appeared slightly hurt. �And I�m not anymore?� he said. After a moment of uneasy silence, he started laughing. I learned later from a friend of his that Killebrew used that line a lot, to disarm people. That made me feel a little less stupid. I�d hate to think I hurt the feelings of one of the nicest guys to put on a baseball uniform.