UPDATED (2:40 p.m., 5/17) Remembering Harmon Killebrew

Tuesday, May 17
Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew died Tuesday, ending his battle with esophageal cancer. Last Friday, Killebrew announced he was endingf his 10-year battle with the disease and going to a hospice facility.

Friday, May 13
I grew up watching baseball on Saturday afternoon with Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese handling the broadcast. It was a rite of passage with my dad, who loved his baseball.

Harmon Killebrew

Dad loved the St. Louis Cardinals, and I remember meeting Ol' Diz at what they called the Major League Park in Hattiesburg once ... and it was like they were old friends. To a kid who lived for Saturday afternoon baseball with his dad in a hot house and a black and white television, having Dizzy Dean shake my hand, ask me "How yuh doin', pod'nuh?" and talk baseball with Daddy and me ... well, that was about as good as it could get.

One of the stars we watched was Harmon Killebrew of Washington Senators and, after they moved in 1961, the Minnesota Twins.

The "Killer" was one of those guys who gave it all he had. He wasn't a big bruiser, only 5'11" and 210 pounds, but when he finished his 22-year professional career he was second only to Babe Ruth in American League home runs (573) and retired as the AL right-handed home run leader, although that record has since been broken.

He became one of the AL's most feared power hitters of the 1960s, belting 40 homers in a season eight times. In 1965, he helped the 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 11 All Star teams. He hit the most home runs for any major league player in the 1960s.

The interesting thing is, in an era when the pitching was better and players did not lift weights or use PEDs, these guys actually hit balls farther than players have since. Killebrew's famous homer at Metropolitan Stadium, still marked off at the Mall of America which stands on the site, is a great example. No one's hit one that far in Minneapolis since. No one hit one any further at Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium, either, and he is one of only four or five players to ever hit the ball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium.

Oh, the Major League Baseball logo? The silhouette is that of Killebrew.

Because on Friday, he announced he was ending his fight against  his esophageal cancer and has settled in for the final days of his life, saddening friends and fans of the 74-year-old Hall of Fame slugger.

Killebrew was the model
for MLB's logo.

So why this love fest for the Killer from a diehard Yankees fan? 

In a statement released jointly by the Minnesota Twins and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Killebrew said "it is with profound sadness" that he will no longer receive treatment for the "awful disease."

He said the cancer has been deemed incurable by his doctors and he will enter hospice care.

"With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options," Killebrew said. He added: "I have spent the past decade of my life promoting hospice care and educating people on its benefits. I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides."

Killebrew, who's 11th on baseball's all-time home run list with 573, thanked his well-wishers for their support.

"I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side," he said.

When my time comes, I hope God allows me to accept it with the grace and dignity of Harmon Killebrew. He's my hero.