-
Muslim, Er, Youth Riots in Sweden
May 24, 2013 | 7 comments
-
Good Luck Quin
May 24, 2013 | 5 comments
-
One of The London Soldier Beheading Suspects British Born
May 23, 2013 | 7 comments
-
The Religion of Peace Strikes London Again
May 22, 2013 | 7 comments
-
Carney Goes Birther on Major Garrett
May 22, 2013 | 7 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Harmon Killebrew, one of baseball’s greatest sluggers, died this morning of esophageal cancer. He was 74.
Killebrew announced his diagnosis late last December and was optimistic about making a full recovery.
However, a few days ago, Killebrew stopped cancer treatment and entered hospice.
Killebrew’s Hall of Fame career began at the age of 18 as a member of the 1954 Washington Senators. He followed the team as they moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1961 to become the Minnesota Twins. Killebrew became one of the baseball’s most feared homerun hitters during the 1960s and early 1970s. He led the American League in homeruns on six occasions while hitting 40 or more homeruns in a season eight times. Killebrew led the AL in RBIs thrice and nine times in his career drove at least 100 runs a season.
In 1965, Killebrew played in his only World Series as the Twins fell to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. His best individual season came in 1969 when he won the AL MVP with a .276 batting average, 49 home runs and 140 RBI for a Twins team which won the AL West under the leadership of Billy Martin.
Killebrew finished his career with the Kansas City Royals in 1975 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. In all, Killebrew finished his career with 573 homeruns. Those were the days when 573 homeruns meant something.
Away from the field, Killebrew shied away from the spotlight but always conducted himself as a gentleman and treated the public with the utmost respect. He organized an annual golf tournament in memory of Danny Thompson, a Twins teammate who died of leukemia in 1976. Killebrew not only graciously accepted autograph requests but he made sure his signature was legible and encouraged younger players to do the same.
If young baseball players want someone to emulate they couldn’t do much better than Harmon Killebrew.
View all comments (16) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/05/17/harmon-killebrew-rip
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
Wayne | 5.17.11 @ 1:42PM
When home runs were earned. Great player
Sparky| 5.17.11 @ 1:42PM
I second your sentiments. Plus, he had one of the all-time great names for a slugger.
LarryK| 5.17.11 @ 1:55PM
When I was a boy, I saw him blast a home run in center field in the Old Indian's stadium. What a hitter!
Quin| 5.17.11 @ 2:02PM
Well said, Aaron. Well said.
I Survived Arlen Specter| 5.17.11 @ 2:02PM
Mr. Killebrew was the type of MLB player that no longer exists. A class act that actually appreciated fans, especially kids & played the game for more than just a multi-million dollar contract. Modern day MLB is a sham which I no longer attend or fund in any way & do not miss in the least. Today's MLB "players" could learn a lot from Harmon Killebrew. I won't hold my breath though. MLB's current "homerun" king symbolizes perfectly everything wrong with modern MLB. If I want to attend a baseball game I'll go watch little leaguers or minor league baseball. Steroidball is a waste of time & money. MLB's glory days are long gone & they're not returning.
Sparky| 5.17.11 @ 3:58PM
Give the game another chance. The day of the 'roided-up slugger is gone. Check the stats; pitchers are dominant. Look at the current A.L. home run leaders; neither Jose Bautista nor Curtis Granderson is sporting a Bonds-like melon or a McGwire-like bod.
Richard Baker| 5.17.11 @ 2:56PM
Watched him in DC stadium when the Twins came to play the Senators. Watching him hit line drives as if they were shot out of a cannon was amazing. The only other player who hit as hard was Frank Howard of the Senators. RIP, Mr. Killebrew.
Occam's Tool| 5.17.11 @ 3:06PM
I know a fellow who did baseball card shows for a living (in Minnesota), and, of course, knew Harmon. Very, very classy act.
BD57| 5.17.11 @ 3:55PM
I had the pleasure of seeing Harmon play once - of course, he hit a home run that day and the Twins won.
And when it's all said and done, Harmon Killebrew was a better man than he was a ballplayer.
Clint| 5.17.11 @ 3:56PM
I often used Harmon Killebrew Spec Bats up & into my collegiate baseball. While they were not the primary reason I was an accomplished hitter, they did seem to work with my batting mechanics.
He made his mark in The Bigs.
Ammo Guy| 5.17.11 @ 4:52PM
I well remember the exploits of Mr. Killebrew as I grew up in the 1960s and was pleased to meet him at Ramstein Air Base in the late 1990s. He signed a baseball card of his that I had saved from the clutches of my mother in one of her cleaning moods and we had a pleasant conversation about baseball as it was in his day. At the time, he was still in the top ten all time HR leaders, but McGwire was hot on his trail at the time and eventually passed him, barely. He was a class act all around, may he RIP.
J.C.Eaton| 5.17.11 @ 4:54PM
"Killer" was a hell of a man. Nice call Goldstein.
Bob K.| 5.17.11 @ 7:00PM
Great man and great player. He played 3rd Base, the outfield and 1st Base later on. He played shortstop in HS. I saw him hit 2 awesome Home Runs in Wash. DC. The 1st one in Griffith Stadium came within a foot of clearing the very high wall behind the Left Field stands. It was 382' down the left field line there. Mantle pulled his epic home run there a little bit more which is why it cleared the fence.
The other one was hit in the new DC stadium deep into the upper deck in left center field. Only Frank Howard reached that area.
Michael L. Hauschild| 5.17.11 @ 7:30PM
You could tell the instant he hit the ball that it was going out. It sounded different. Mantle had the same sound quality.
C.C. Ng | 5.17.11 @ 10:25PM
In the macro point of view, seems like conservation of energy. No one gain and no one loss.
Occam's Tool| 5.20.11 @ 7:59PM
CC? WTF?