***Official Harmon Killebrew Appreciation Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Long Ball Larry]

Saw an old dude wearing a Killebrew Washington jersey at the game today.  Clearly a recent purchase, so not quite as cool, but really I think that dude is under appreciated.

even when I was a kid and the 500 hr club really meant something, I think he didn’t get his due.  Maybe he was a bit of a very rich man’s dave kingman, but the dude played a long time and just mashed taters and in terms of baseball stars as Americans should maybe be in the holy trinity with Aaron and mays.

 

[wikkidpissah]

kindly man, too. i'm too young to remember him from the Senators, but i was at the Saturday game in '67 when the Impossible Dream Red Sox tied the Twins (they would win the pennant from em the next day). Yaz took the the HR lead from Killebrew earlier in the game, but Killer tied it back up in the 9th. i didnt seek autographs and never sat on the 3rd base side (bleacher kid) but i know he never left a kid wanting one and i remember those who met him thought from TV and his prodigious homers that he was a giant like Frank Howard of the new Senators, but it turned out he was Dad size

 

[Eephus]

By all accounts, one of the nicest of the all-time greats.  The nickname "Killer" was easy pickings for teammates and writers but didn't really fit the man.

His prime coincided with an era that strongly favored pitchers although playing in Metropolitan Stadium helped his HR numbers.  He had a 17.3% SO% over his career which was high for the time but is way under the current MLB aggregate.

I vaguely remember Killebrew as a TV commentator for the Athletics when I first moved to the Bay Area.