Harmon Killebrew Died Today

Harmon Killebrew died today. He was 74. He was a professional baseball player from 1954 to 1975. He hit 573 home runs. He started out playing for the Washington Senators. The Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961. Harmon played for the Twins until 1974.
Instead of retiring when the Twins management thought he should, he played one more year for the Kansas City Royals. As a kid collecting baseball cards and playing Strat-O-Matic baseball, I kept Harmon on the Twins. It didn't matter that he batted .199 that year, he still hit 14 home runs in 369 at bats.
Like a lot of Twins fans, I loved Harmon Killebrew. Even though he was born in Idaho, he embodied many things Minnesotan. He was humble. He was a team player. And he could hit a baseball farther than anyone.
My first baseball memories were in 1965 when the Twins played the Dodgers in the World Series. Sadly, we had just moved from Minnesota to Virginia and I didn't get to go to any of the games. But my grandfather went. He showed me the programs later.
The Twins lost to the Dodgers in seven games, as they couldn't hit Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale (well, Harmon did). I remember I was a teenager in Virginia and listened to the game on the radio when Harmon hit home run number 500 against Mike Cuellar of the Baltimore Orioles in 1971. Back then, the Orioles were a great team, they beat the Twins in 1969 and 1970 in the American League Championship series.
Harmon never did win a World Series. But he won the hearts and minds of Twins fans forever. He was the heart and soul of the team. The following quote from umpire Ron Luciano summed up what people who played with him thought about him:
"He was one of the most feared sluggers in baseball history, but he was also one of the nicest people to play the game. He was one of the few players who would go out of his way to compliment umpires on a good job, even if their calls went against him."
In an era before steroids and rampant drug use, Killebrew had some remarkable seasons. Here's the stat line on his 1969 MVP season:
Played in 162 games, 109 runs scored, 49 home runs, 140 rbi's, 145 walks and struck out only 84 times. For those who love stats, his OPS was 1.011 (on base percentage plus slugging percentage)
Harmon Killebrew will be missed. He was a Hall of Fame player and world-class human being. A role model for many. He was for me. Thanks, Harmon. For all the memories. For everything.