Harmon Killebrew | |||
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Killebrew in 1962
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First baseman / Third baseman / Left fielder | |||
Born: Payette, Idaho |
June 29, 1936|||
Died: May 17, 2011 Scottsdale, Arizona |
(aged 74)|||
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MLB debut | |||
June 23, 1954, for the Washington Senators | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 26, 1975, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .256 | ||
Hits | 2,086 | ||
Home runs | 573 | ||
Runs batted in | 1,584 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1984 | ||
Vote | 83.1% (fourth ballot) |
Harmon Clayton Killebrew (/ˈkɪlᵻbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Minnesota Twins, Killebrew was a prolific power hitter who, at the time of his retirement, was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter (since broken by Alex Rodriguez). He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Killebrew was a 5-foot-11-inch (180 cm) tall, 213-pound (97 kg) hitter with a compact swing that generated tremendous power. He became one of the AL's most feared power hitters of the 1960s, hitting 40 home runs in a season eight times. In 1965, he played in the World Series with the Twins, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His finest season was 1969, when he hit 49 home runs, recorded 140 runs batted in (RBIs), and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs, and was named to eleven All-Star teams.