Harmon Clayton Killebrew

Harmon "Killer" Killebrew hit more home runs than any other right-handed batter in American League history. Signed originally as a bonus baby, Killebrew rusted on the Senators' bench for five years from the age 18-22, before getting a chance to prove his power. He immediately slammed 42 homers in his first full season, the first of eight times he would reach the 40-mark. He retired with 573 homers, more than 2,000 hits, 1,500 RBI and 1,500 walks. He is the greatest slugger in Minnesota Twins' history.

Nicknames
"Killer"

Played For
Washington Senators (1954-1960), Minnesota Twins (1961-1974), Kansas City Royals (1975)

Post-Season
1965 World Series, 1969 ALCS, 1970 ALCS

World Champion?
No, the Twins were defeated in the 1965 World Series, by the Dodgers.
Killebrew had a single and a walk off Sandy Koufax, who shut out the Twins 2-0 in Game Seven of the '65 Fall Classic.

Honors
All-Star (11): 1959, 1961, 1963-1971; 1969 American League Most Valuable Player; Hall of Fame in 1984

Stats
Career stats from baseball-reference.com

Similar Players
Rocky Colavito, Mike Schmidt, Matt Williams (who looks remarkably like Killebrew in appearance)

Position
969 games at first base (mostly in 1960-1961, and 1965-1974); 791 games at third base (early in his career, 1966, and 1969-1974); 470 games in the outfield (left field mostly); 158 as a DH; 11 games at 2B.

Major League Debut: June 23, 1954

Man Without a Position
Killebrew is one of the few all-time greats who was consistently bounced around defensively. The extent to which the Twins jerked him around is amazing considering his production. When Killebrew first became a regular in 1959, the Twins tried him at third base because he'd been an infielder in the minor leagues (would you believe shortstop for several years?). Then, in 1960 and 1961, he was shuttled between third and first base. This was done for two reasons: 1) the Twins did not have a power hitter to play first and 2) Killebrew was considered to be a terrible third baseman and had committed 30 errors in '59, many of them of the throwing variety.

In 1962 Killebrew reported to spring training expecting to be used at each end of the infield, but Sam Mele, in his first full season as Minnesota's manager, surprised his star by shifting him to left field in hopes that the stability would allow the slugger to concentrate on hitting. "Killer" had a typical season (48 homers) and all seemed well. In 1963 and 1964 Killebrew remained in the outfield, and with Rich Rollins established at the hot corner and Bobby Allison now at first base, it seemed Killebrew would remain in the outer regions of the defense.

But the Twins wanted to get some at-bats for a young left-handed slugger named Don Mincher. Mincher was even more defensively-challenged than Killebrew apparently, so Mincher was given the first base job, and with 1964 AL batting champion Tony Oliva in right field, Allison was moved to left. That meant Killebrew was without a position, again. So, in one of the most amazing personnel decisions in baseball history, the Twins decided to platoon Killebrew, who had hit 49 homers in 1964, with Mincher at first, and also give Killebrew a few starts at third base. Killebrew got into 113 games in 1965, hitting 25 homers. Mincher hit 22 homers in 346 AB's, and Minnesota won the pennant. But it was obvious that the talent logjam had be taken care of. Killebrew had to play every day, but where?

So, in 1966 Rollins lost his job, having made the mistake of going from 16 homers in '62 and '63 to only five in '65. He was never again a starter. Killebrew played every one of Minnesota's games in 1966: 107 at third, and the rest at first and in the outfield. He hit 39 homers. Mincher hit 14 homers as essentially an everyday player and was traded to the Angels in the off-season, where he had his best seasons. In 1967 Killebrew was back at first to fill the hole left by Mincher's departure, but two years later he was back at third base, this time to make room for Rich Reese to play first. So in 1969, the Twins, instead of asking 27-year old Reese or someone else to play third, moved their star slugger, 33-year old Killebrew. Killebrew responded by winning the MVP Award (49 HR, 140 RBI) and the Twins, of course, won the AL West title.

Killebrew played the hot corner in 1970 as well, and Minnesota repeated as AL West champions. In 1971, rookie third baseman Steve Braun came along and Killebrew was back at first base, where he remained the rest of his career, when he wasn't the DH.

For his career, Killebrew had played 969 games at first, 791 at third, 470 in the outfield (almost all in LF), 158 as a DH and 11 at second base (all before he was 22 years old). The Twins had essentially used Killebrew to control their big problem in the 1960s - they couldn't find an acceptable third sacker. It didn't seem to bother Harmon too much, since he won an MVP Award, led the AL in homers six times, and in RBI three times.

Feats
Killebrew hit several balls over 500 feet, and is credited with one of the longest home runs in Tiger Stadium history (May 2, 1964), as well as one of the longest blasts in Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium... Hit three homers in September 21, 1963 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Uniform #'s
#25 (1954), #12 (1955-1956), #3 (1957-1975)

Transaction Data (courtesy Retrosheet.org)
Signed as an amateur free agent (bonus baby) by Washington Senators (1954); Released by Minnesota Twins (January 16, 1975); Signed by Kansas City Royals (January 24, 1975); Released by Kansas City Royals (November 10, 1975)

Best Season, 1969
Killebrew put it all together, leading the AL in homers (49), RBI (140), walks (145) and OBP (.427). He was in the top three in almost every other offensive category and led the Twins to the first AL West crown.

Gentle Killer
Throughout his career, Killebrew exhibited a calm demeanor and professional attitude. He was never, not even once, ejected from a game. Off the field he was a non-drinker and smoker and he had a non-controversial lifestyle which fit nicely into the Midwestern Minneapolis/St. Paul region he starred in. He was a team player, changing positions dutifully. He debuted in the Senators system as a second baseman, was transferred to third, then to left field for a few seasons, over to first base for a while, then back to third, back to first, and finally off the field altogether to DH. He would often shift between two positions in the same game, and never complained.

Quotes About Killebrew
"I had pretty good success against the big home run hitters in the American League, when you talk about Yastrzemski, Reggie Jackson, and Frank Howard, until you get to Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew hit his share of long home runs off me, with that short swing of his." — Mickey Lolich

Streak Hitter
Killebrew hit 27 homers and had 67 RBI in the last 68 games of the 1962 season and was known for his home run binges. In 1960 he had hit .301 with 25 homers and 61 RBI in his last 71 games. In 1961 he switched roles and hit .325 with 27 dingers and 70 RBI prior to the first All-Star break, but hit just .251 with 19 homers in the second-half. Twins' owner Calvin Griffith said, "If Harmon ever puts two good half seasons together, there's no telling what heights he can reach." In 1969 he avoided a lengthy slump, and won his only MVP Award.

Replaced
Rocky Bridges was the Senators third baseman in 1958, replaced by Killebrew in '59. Killebrew was a bonus baby and had to stay on the Senators ML roster or risk being lost in the free agent draft, thus he stayed on the bench from the age of 18-19, and then played in the minors. For some reason, the Senators still didn't think he was ready for big league pitching in 1958, and they played Bridges, who hit .247 with 16 homers in an 11-year career. Later, Bridges became famous in Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four." In his first full season, 1959, Killebrew got off to a red-hot start, clubbing 31 homers and driving in 76 runs through July 15.

Replaced By
Hal McRae, the Royals DH in 1976.

Best Strength as a Player
Power

Largest Weakness as a Player
Speed

1955	Topps	124
1955	Topps Double Header