Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball, he had the fourth-most home runs in major league history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. He became one of the AL’s most feared power hitters of the 1960s.

About Harmon Killebrew in brief

Summary Harmon KillebrewHarmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball, he had the fourth-most home runs in major league history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. He became one of the AL’s most feared power hitters of the 1960s, hitting 40 home Runs in a season eight times. He hit the longest measured home runs at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium, 520 ft, and Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, 471 ft. He worked as a farmhand in his youth, where he lifted ten-gallon milk cans, each weighing about 95 pounds. After retiring from baseball, he became a television broadcaster for several baseball teams from 1976 to 1988. He also served as a hitting instructor for the Oakland Athletics. His father, a painter and sheriff, was a member of an undefeated Millikin College football team who was later named an All-American. According to family legend, Harmon’s grandfather was the strongest man in the Union Army, winning every available heavyweight wrestling championship. His grandfather encouraged Harmon and his brothers to stay active in various sports before his sudden death in 1953 at age 59. In the early 1950s, Senator Herman Welker of Idaho told Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith about Kille brew, who was hitting for an. 847 batting average for a semi-professional baseball team at the time.

The Boston Red Sox also expressed interest but Bluege succeeded in signing him to a USD 50,000 contract on June 19, 1954. He made his major league debut four days after signing and six days from his 18th birthday, running for pinch-hitter Clyde Vollmer, who had been hit by a pitch with the bases loaded by Chicago White Sox starter Harshman Jack. 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, and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs, and was named to thirteen All-Star teams. In 1956, he was sent to the minor leagues where he played behind veteran veteran Eddie Yost. In his first two seasons at third base, he struck out 34 times in 93 at bats, contributing to a 215 batting average with four home runs. On August 23, 1954, he made his first start in the game against the Philadelphia Senators, hitting two singles and a double. On June 24, 1955, he hit his first home run on the 5th inning in the 5rd inning of a doubleheader, and one day after making his big league debut. He played two doubleheader doubleheader games as a second baseman for the Athletics, hitting a double and a home run in the 10–3 doubleheader victory over the Detroit Tigers. He died in a car accident in 1987.