RIP Harmon Killebrew

[LuvCuteBoys]

A man who wielded significant power in Washington, D.C., in the 1950s and is generally recognized as the first player to admire the parabolic trajectories of self-launched baseballs has died. Harmon Killebrew, slugger supreme, Hall of Famer and civic treasure in the Twin Cities, has joined the great majority, among whom he will stand with distinction because of achievement, friendly persuasion, unusual name and "Killer" nickname.

Killebrew succumbed to esophageal cancer Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 74. Diagnosis of the rare disease was made public in late December and he underwent treatment in Arizona, his adopted home state. But he began hospice care on Friday, issuing a statement that said, in part, "I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure."

He is the fifth Hall of Famer to pass in slightly more than a year. The passing of Robin Roberts last May has been followed by the deaths of Sparky Anderson, Bob Feller, Duke Snider and now the slugger who, until 2009, had more home runs, 573, than any right-handed hitter in American League history.

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The whole article is here. So sad.

 

[Snoozan]

I remember being at his last game ever at Fenway Park and he got a huge ovation at his last at-bat there.