Harmon Killebrew
The youngest of four children, Harmon Killebrew was an honor student
in high school who batted .500 or better during his four seasons of high school
baseball. He turned his back on a University of Oregon baseball scholarship,
signed with the Washington Senators and pulled on a major-league uniform for
the first time at age 17.
Called "a speedster" when he made his professional debut against
the Philadelphia A's, he started at second base, collecting two singles to
center field, a double to left. He drove in two runs during a 10-3 win in which
the Senators collected a season-high 18 hits.
Known as a quiet man on the field, he was no pushover. In his early seasons
he was reported to have "occassionally argued with umpires," and one
day when veteran White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox slid into Killebrew
at third base, he verbally ripped into Fox.
But he was sheepish after hitting home runs. A coach noted a small grin on
Killebrew's face after a home run in Chicago during the '59 season, and
commented, "that's showing emotion for him."
The SALK shots
Killebrew was not overjoyed when the Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961. He
was concerned how the cold and wind in Minnesota would affect the team's
hitting. The Senators did not win much, but in 1959, the SALK shots -- Roy
Sievers, Bob Allison, Jim Lemon
Killebrew -- started a long stretch during which owner Calvin Griffith's teams
were known for power.
But Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota could not hold Killebrew,
and he credited the symmetrical ballpark with helping him out of slumps. With
the fences in left and right equidistance from home plate, Killebrew -- a
pull-hitter who slumped when he tried to pull the ball to left field too much
-- claimed he could hit the ball where it was pitched during slumps, go to
right field and get his timing back without sacrificing power.
He was the American League's premier power source in the early 1960s. His
40th home run during his first season in a Minnesota Twins' uniform came in
Kansas City and was reported at 480-feet -- the longest ever hit in the A's
stadium.
Allison, Killebrew, Tony Oliva and
Jim Kaat were four of the more popular Minnesota Twins during the 1960s.
They were originally signed for less than $45,000; Killebrew got $30,000 of
that.
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