Harmon Killebrew
From BR Bullpen
Harmon Clayton Killebrew (Killer)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 213 lb.
- Debut June 23, 1954
- Final Game September 26, 1975
- Born June 29, 1936 in Payette, ID USA
- Died May 17, 2011 in Scottsdale, AZ USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1984
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[edit] Biographical Information
"If Harmon Killebrew isn't this league's #1 player, I've never seen one. He's one of the greatest of all time." - Reggie Jackson, 1969
Harmon Killebrew was baseball's top slugger of the 1960s, hitting 393 home runs during the decade, more than anyone else. He clubbed 573 homers during his career and was in the top five in the MVP voting six times. Despite being regarded by some as a one-dimensional player, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.
Born and raised in Idaho, Killebrew played baseball, football, and basketball at Payette High School. He planned to attend the University of Oregon, where he was offered a scholarship, until Washington Senators scout Ossie Bluege signed him to a $30,000 contract in 1954. He made his big league debut on June 23rd of that year, and as a bonus baby, he was required to remain on the Senators roster for two full seasons. He played sparingly during that time, seeing action at second and third base and hitting 8 homers during that span. Midway through the 1956 campaign, he was sent down to the minors. The next year, with the Chattanooga Lookouts, he hit 27 homers and drove in 101 runs, leading the Southern Association in both categories.
Killebrew spent most of 1958 in the minors, but after Eddie Yost was traded away after the season, he became Washington's regular third baseman in 1959. He immediately made a splash, hitting 42 home runs to tie Rocky Colavito for the American League lead. The Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, and he smashed 46 homers that summer. The next year, he paced the AL with 48 homers and 142 RBI and set the major league record for most home runs by a batter who failed to hit .250 (.243). The following September 21st, he hit four homers in a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, and he again led the AL in homers while setting the major league record for most home runs (45) by a batter who had fewer than 100 RBI (96). In 1964, he paced the circuit with 49 homers, his third straight summer leading the AL in that category, while stroking only 11 doubles - the fewest doubles of any major leaguer hitting over 40 home runs in one season. He dropped to 25 homers in 1965, but the Twins won the American League pennant that year. He hit a home run in Game Four of the World Series, but Minnesota fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.
Killebrew tied Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski for the American League lead in home runs in 1967 but struggled with injuries in 1968, hitting just .210 with 17 round trippers. However, he bounced back in grand fashion the next summer, leading the league with 49 homers and 140 RBI to win the 1969 American League Most Valuable Player Award. The Twins made the playoffs that year and the next, falling to the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS in both seasons. He led the AL in runs batted in for a third and final time in 1971. His numbers declined in the next three years, and he was released by the Twins after the 1974 season.
Killebrew signed with the Kansas City Royals for $125,000 prior to the 1975 season. Primarily seeing action as the team's designated hitter, he bashed 14 home runs but hit just .199 and was released at the end of the year. At the time of his retirement, he was fifth on the all-time home run list.
As of 2011, Killebrew stands 11th on the all-time home run list. Along with Lou Gehrig, he hit 49 home runs in a season twice but was never able to hit 50 in a single season (although he hit more than 40 eight times). The seat that he hit with the longest home run at Metropolitan Stadium is suspended from the roof of the Mall of America, on the former site of Met Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Following his playing days, Killebrew was a television broadcaster for the Twins from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1984 to 1988.
Killebrew was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 10, 1984 by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He was a bit controversial as a Hall of Fame selection due to his low batting average of .256. However, he played during the second dead-ball era and drew copious walks, so his lifetime Adjusted OPS is 143, definitely in Hall of Fame range. His #3 is also retired by the Twins.
Killebrew was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late December 2010, and underwent treatments at the nearby Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ where he lived. On May 13, 2011, he issued a short statement stating that his fight against the disease was coming to an end and that there was no hope for recovery. He died four days later, at the age of 74.
Although Killebrew supposedly was the model for the Major League Baseball logo, MLB.com says, "No one player has ever been identified as the model of the 1969 Major League Baseball batter logo."
His son Cam Killebrew played in the minor leagues for three seasons.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 11-time AL All-Star (1959, 1961 & 1963-1971)
- AL MVP (1969)
- AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1969)
- AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1963)
- 6-time AL Home Runs Leader (1959, 1962-1964, 1967 & 1969)
- 3-time AL RBI Leader (1962, 1969 & 1971)
- 4-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1966, 1967, 1969 & 1971)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 13 (1959-1967 & 1969-1972)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 10 (1959-1964, 1966, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
- 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1959, 1961-1964, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 9 (1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967 & 1969-1971)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1967 & 1969)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1984
[edit] Trivia
Most home runs 1960s- 393
| AL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Denny McLain | Harmon Killebrew | Boog Powell |
[edit] Further Reading
- Harmon Killebrew (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget," Baseball Digest (February 1972), pp. 77-78
- Fay Vincent: "Harmon Killebrew", in We Would Have Played For Nothing, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2008, pp. 198-228.
