MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Harmon Killebrew, the affable,
big-swinging Hall of Famer whose tape-measure home runs made him the
cornerstone of the Minnesota Twins and perhaps the most popular player
in the team’s 51-year history, died Tuesday after battling esophageal
cancer. He was 74.
The Twins said Killebrew passed away peacefully
at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his wife, Nita, and their family
at his side. He announced his diagnosis just six months ago, and last
week Killebrew said he was settling in for the final days of his life
after doctors deemed the "awful disease" incurable.
Killebrew is
11th on baseball’s all-time home run list after an exceptional 22-year
career. His eight seasons with 40 or more homers still is tied for
second in league history to Babe Ruth, and his uppercut swing formed the
silhouette that inspired Major League Baseball’s official logo.
"No
individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and
millions of fans across Twins territory than Harmon Killebrew," Twins
president Dave St. Peter said. He said Killebrew’s legacy "will be the
class, dignity and humility he demonstrated each and every day as a Hall
of Fame-quality husband, father, friend, teammate and man."
At
Target Field, where the video board showed a picture of Killebrew,
members of the Twins’ ground crew slowly lifted home plate and slipped
under it a plastic-encased, black-and-white photo of Killebrew winding
up for a swing. The picture, believed to be from the 1960s, will stay
beneath the plate the rest of the season.
Twins catcher Joe Mauer said he felt like he had lost a family member.
"He
has treated me like one of his own," Mauer said. "It’s hard to put into
words what Harmon has meant to me. He first welcomed me into the Twins
family as an 18-year-old kid and has continued to influence my life in
many ways. He is someone I will never forget and will always treasure
the time we spent together."
The Minnesota House observed a moment
of silence at the state capitol. Rep. Bob Barrett of Shafer recalled
how his father once did contracting work at Killebrew’s home and
"couldn’t remember having met a nicer man."
Said Barrett: "He was a great player, but he was an even greater man."
Bob
Wolf was walking near Target Field as he reflected on the death of a
fan favorite he had followed since the Twins arrived in Minnesota in
1961.
"It’s going to be a loss for the Twins and the state of
Minnesota. He was a great person and a great ambassador for baseball,"
Wolf said.
What set him apart?
"Just the power," Wolf said, shaking his head. "He went up there to put ’em out."
That he did.
Killebrew
broke in with the Washington Senators in 1954 as an 18-year-old. He
spent most of his first five seasons in the minors, then hit 42 homers
in his first full season in 1959. The Senators moved to Minnesota in
1961, and Killebrew hit 190 homers in his first four seasons there,
including 49 in 1964.
The 11-time All-Star was the American
League’s Most Valuable Player in 1969 after hitting 49 home runs with
140 RBIs and 145 walks, all team records that stand to this day.
"I found out early in life that I could hit a baseball farther than most players and that’s what I
tried to do," Killebrew said.
Behind
their soft-spoken slugger nicknamed "The Killer," the Twins reached the
World Series for the first time in 1965 and back-to-back AL
Championship Series in 1969 and 1970.
Former Twins owner Calvin
Griffith used to call Killebrew the backbone of the franchise. "He kept
us in business," Griffith said.
Killebrew was elected to the Hall
of Fame in 1984, the first Twin to be enshrined. Killebrew’s No. 3
jersey was retired in 1975. Killebrew’s easygoing demeanor contrasted
starkly with his nickname and standing as one of baseball’s most feared
hitters.
"I didn’t have evil intentions," Killebrew said on his website. "But I guess I did have
power."
Harmon
Clayton Killebrew was born June 29, 1936, in the Idaho farm town of
Payette. He was an all-state quarterback in high school, but it was his
power with a baseball bat in his hands that got Killebrew noticed by
Washington Senators scout Ossie Bluege.
On Killebrew’s website, Bluege recounted how he signed the 17-year-old to a $30,000 contract in 1953.
"I
waited for the rain to stop in Payette, Idaho, and then he hit one a
mile over the left field fence," Bluege said. "I stepped it off the next
morning and measured it at 435 feet. That convinced me."
Killebrew
didn’t just hit balls over the fence, he turned at-bats into
longest-drive contests. He never worried much about his short game,
preferring instead to swing for the fences, and wound up with a career
.256 average.
"I didn’t think much about batting average when I was playing," Killebrew said.
On
June 3, 1967, Killebrew belted the longest home run in Met Stadium
history, a shot that reached the second deck of the bleachers in the old
park, some 500 feet from home plate.
"He hit line drives that put
the opposition in jeopardy," Bluege once said. "And I don’t mean the
infielders. I mean the outfielders."
Killebrew finished his career with one season in Kansas City in 1975.
Commissioner Bud Selig said he was saddened by the death of a "true gentleman."
"Harmon
was as tough and feared a competitor on the field as the game has ever
seen, while off the field he touched everyone he encountered with his
sensitive and humble nature," Selig said. "He led his life with modesty
and dignity and I will miss him forever."
Killebrew and Nita had
nine children. In retirement, he became a successful businessman in
insurance, financial planning and car sales. He also traveled the
country with baseball memorabilia shows and returned to the Twin Cities
regularly, delighting in conversations with fans and reunions with
teammates.
With strong competition from Kirby Puckett in the
generation that followed him, Killebrew will go down as perhaps the most
popular Twins player in history, possibly in all of Minnesota sports.
Killebrew Root Beer is sold at Target Field, and there’s a Killebrew
Drive next to the mall where Metropolitan Stadium once stood in suburban
Bloomington.
"Harmon Killebrew was a gem. I can never thank him
enough for all I learned from him," said former teammate Rod Carew. "He
was a consummate professional who treated everyone from the brashest of
rookies to the groundskeepers to the ushers in the stadium with the
utmost of respect. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t
for Harmon Killebrew. He was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the
word."
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AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski and Associated Press Writers Tara Bannow and Patrick Condon contributed
to this report.
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Online:
Harmon Killebrew’s website: http://www.harmonkillebrew.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.