RIP Harmon Killebrew

[UPChip]

Multiple Twitter feeds reporting that he died this morning in Scottsdale.

 

[Machine Head]

http://www.startribune.com/122004519.html

R.I.P.

 

[JackReacher]

RIP.

I remember watching him on that old Home Run Derby show in black and white. According to the always trusty wikipedia, he was 2-2 in four appearances.

 

[MileHigh]

RIP.

 

[Machine Head]

 

[jr/shotglass]

A humble, good man. Hope his suffering was minimal.

RIP.

 

[tripleoption34]

RIP. Sports could use more good men like Killebrew.

Godspeed, Mr. Twin.

 

[Steak Snabler]

In a 12-year period from 1959-1970, he hit 40 or more homers eight times, and 39 once. That's pretty staggering for what was unequivocally a pitcher's era.

This kind of hits home for me because my mother died in very much the same way. She came home from the hospital and entered hospice care after our family elected to end her cancer treatments (she was incapacitated by a stroke), and died three days later.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

3:40 in:

 

[Baron Scicluna]

RIP, to the Fat Kid.

 

[MTM]

In 2003 or so, my wife and I were driving home from a Dodgers game and listening to Dodgers Talk when the trivia question was "Besides Babe Ruth, who hit the most home runs in the American League."
People were guessing Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle, but I knew it was Killebrew.
Since I was driving, I had my wife call the radio station and when she got on the air and said she knew the answer, Ross Porter kind of scoffed.
Well, she was correct and we won tickets to a future game.
A couple years later we were in a memorabilia shop on the Strip in Las Vegas, and someone said Killebrew was signing autographs up the street. We told the shop owner our story and he said we had to share it with Harmon.
He locked the door and walked us to where Harmon was. Killebrew was gracious as we told the story and shook our hands, although we felt trapped into paying $30 for an autographed photo.
That experience proved to be worth much more than the $30 and the photo remains on the wall in our family room.
RIP to a great baseball player and a better man.

 

[shockey]

r.i.p. to one more childhood, bigger-than-life figure.

we knew it was cominga when they announced over the weekend he was being move to a hospice -- always seems to be within 3 days of making that decision -- but it still hurts nonetheless. by all accounts a wonderful, gentle man.

for all our youngin's, think: right-handed jim thome.

 

[nietsroob17]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/2011-05-17-1776440648_x.htm

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't see the purpose behind this. I guess it's kinda like a time capsule or burial, but to me it seems a little insensitive that every time a player crosses the plate, they'll be stomping on the picture of Killebrew.

 

[Steak Snabler]

r.i.p. to one more childhood, bigger-than-life figure.

we knew it was cominga when they announced over the weekend he was being move to a hospice -- always seems to be within 3 days of making that decision -- but it still hurts nonetheless. by all accounts a wonderful, gentle man.

for all our youngin's, think: right-handed jim thome.

Yeah, I was thinking Thome or Adam Dunn.

 

[doubledown68]

I read somewhere the Twins are wearing their throwback unis at their remaining home games as a tribute. Wonderful gesture. RIP, Mr. Killebrew

 

[Steak Snabler]

Pretty serendipitous that Killebrew dies this week in Scottsdale and the Twins play an interleague series at Arizona this weekend.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

RIP

When I was a kid, in probably 1979 or so, I went with my grandfather to a garage sale and there was a box of old baseball cards for sale. I think my grandpa paid $5 for the box that was mostly 1967-68 cards.

The box was a goldmine with a Bench rookie and a Carew rookie among the gems.

But as he was going through the box, the first card he stopped on was a Harmon Killebrew. I remember he said, "You would have loved this guy..."

I'll never forget that.

 

[Liut]

My earliest and only memory is his lone season with the Royals. Obviously, I missed a lot.

R.I.P. to someone who seems to have been a gracious gentleman, in addition to a baseball great.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

 

[Sam Mills 51]

RIP. All I knew about him what the scant bit in baseball books, and he didn't get the publicity that someone of his obvious ability should have. I do that, in one book of all-time lineups, they were trying to decide where to put him in the Twins lineup, mentioning that "Killebrew played both positions equally badly, but he has to be in here somewhere because of his bat."

I think if I had been born long before I was and was a bigger seamhead, I would have really liked Harmon Killebrew. A great baseball player and a better man by every account that matters.

RIP, good sir.