Topic: Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Clayton Killebrew ( /ˈkɪlɨbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During a 22-year baseball career in which he played for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals, he was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs and retired as 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 stocky 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 210-pound (95.3 kg) hitter with a compact swing that generated tremendous power. He became one of the AL's most feared power hitters of the 1960s, belting 40 homers in a season eight times during an era in which pitching was dominant. In 1965, he helped the Minnesota Twins reach the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had his finest season in 1969, hitting 49 home runs, recording 140 runs batted in (RBI), and winning the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Killebrew led the league in home runs six times and in RBI three times, and he was named to eleven All-Star teams. He hit the most home runs for any player in the 1960s.

With quick hands and exceptional upper-body strength, Killebrew was known not just for the frequency of his home runs but also for their great distance. He hit the longest measured home runs at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium and Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, and was the first of just four batters to hit a baseball over the left field roof at Detroit's Tiger Stadium.