Harmon Killebrew (1936–2011)

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Harmon Killebrew announced Friday that he no longer plans to fight 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.

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.

Relief pitcher Joe Nathan(notes) didn’t know Killebrew until he joined in the team in 2004, but it didn’t take long to feel like he was a lifelong friend.

“Hopefully we can honor what he’s done in the game and outside of the game, and I hope he can continue to fight a little longer and especially be comfortable right now and be at peace,” Nathan said.

Killebrew lives in the Phoenix area and was receiving treatment at a branch of the Mayo Clinic nearby after his diagnosis in December. He expressed optimism at the time, saying he expected to make a full recovery while acknowledging he was in “perhaps the most difficult battle” of his life.

Killebrew was able to travel to Fort Myers, Fla., in March for his annual stint as a guest instructor at spring training with the Twins. He was in good spirits and appeared healthy, only thinner, quipping that manager Ron Gardenhire gave him the OK to show up late. He said he relished the opportunity to immerse himself in baseball and divert his focus from the treatment and the disease.

But his plan to throw out the first pitch at the team’s home opener in April was scrapped. He said then in a statement that such a trip would disrupt his treatment schedule, though he remained hopeful for a recovery.

Twins spokesman Kevin Smith said there was no prognosis given by Killebrew’s doctors for how much longer he might live. Instead of enduring chemotherapy, he’ll now be kept as comfortable as possible to deal with pain. Smith is one of a handful of Twins officials who have been in contact with the Killebrew and his family over the last few months. Former Twins teammate Tony Oliva said he planned to visit Killebrew in Arizona this weekend, too.

Killebrew made 11 All-Star appearances during a 22-year career spent mostly with the Washington Senators and the Twins when they moved to Minnesota in 1961. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 and was fifth on the career home run list when he retired in 1975 after one season with the Kansas City Royals.

Killebrew’s eight seasons with 40 or more homers is tied for second in league history to Babe Ruth. He won the American League MVP award in 1969, when the Twins won their division and lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL championship series.

The 49 homers, 140 RBIs and 145 walks he compiled that season remain Twins records.

In the plaza outside Target Field, there is a giant bronze glove where fans pose for pictures. It is the same distance from home plate, 520 feet, as that longest home run Killebrew ever hit. His No. 3 jersey is retired, and a replica will be in Minnesota’s dugout for the rest of the season. There’s a statue in his likeness outside the ballpark, too, and two roses were left near the base of the statue on Friday. Right fielder Michael Cuddyer said the players want to wear the 1961 throwback jerseys for every home game the rest of the season in Killebrew’s honor.

Killebrew has maintained a regular presence around the Twins over the years. He made an effort to get to know almost all the current players, striking particularly close friendships with Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Jim Thome among others.

“I never watched him play. The only way I do know him is as a mentor, as a genuine person,” Cuddyer said. “He was a father figure to pretty much everybody he met. That says it all.”

Gardenhire said one of his favorite memories was seeing Killebrew walk in his office in full uniform in spring training a few years ago after the manager had invited him to join the team.

“He was excited and ready to go,” Gardenhire said. “He asked me, ‘What do you want? What do you need me to do?’ I said, ‘Just be you,’ and that’s what he did.”

His nickname, “The Killer,” defied his humble, gentle demeanor, but he sure could crush a baseball with that big bat of his.

“I didn’t have evil intentions,” Killebrew once said, “but I guess I did have power.”

His home run totals turned out to be that much more impressive, given the smaller parks, watered-down pitching staffs and juiced balls and players that came in the decades after he retired.

Though Killebrew has been passed in recent years by Alex Rodriguez(notes) and Thome on the homer list to fall out of the top 10, he ought to be in 11th place for some time, particularly as dominant young pitchers have taken control of this post-steroid era in baseball. With Manny Ramirez’s(notes) sudden retirement last month, the next closest active players are Vladimir Guerrero(notes) and Chipper Jones(notes) with 440.

Albert Pujols(notes), with 415 homers at age 31, might be the next threat to reach Killebrew’s mark.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmon_Killebrew

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Teammates, family honor Hall of Famer Killebrew
By Bob Baum , 05.20.11, 04:29 PM EDT

Peoria, Ariz. -- Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew was remembered for his kindness and respect for all those he encountered in a moving funeral service on Friday.

Several hundred mourners, including past and present members of the Minnesota Twins, attended the service at a suburban north Phoenix church on a gorgeous sunny morning.

Killebrew, who hit 573 home runs in his long major league career, died Tuesday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., of esophageal cancer at 74.

Former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven had those in attendance stand and cheer Killebrew for an imagined home run No. 574 near the end of the service, and the crowd responded with a rousing effort.

The nickname "Killer" didn't seem to fit a man so gentle, his grandson Eric Queathem said.

But it was Killebrew the man who was celebrated far more than Killebrew the baseball player.

"In his modest and caring way, he always tried to make people feel good about themselves," Queathem said.

Son Cam spoke of the outpouring of support his father had received in recent months as he fought the deadly disease.

"I don't think he really realized how much he was loved," he said. "That's the kind of man he was. He was so humble. He got a lot of things but I'm not sure he really got that, and it was just beautiful."

A private burial is planned Monday in Killebrew's hometown of Payette, Idaho. A memorial service is scheduled next Thursday night at Target Field in Minneapolis.

The Twins, in a twist of fate, were in Arizona to begin a three-game interleague series against the Diamondbacks on Friday night, so the entire squad was on hand.

Current Twins Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, were pall bearers, along with ex-Twin Paul Molitor and Killebrew's former teammates Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici. Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Frank Robinson also attended the service, which was open to the public.

Afterward, Cuddyer said it is his goal to "strive to be Harmon Killebrew."

"Strive to treat people the way he treated people," he said, "and make everybody feel comfortable, make everybody feel like they're special. For one of the biggest names in a sport to be able to make every single person he came into contact with feel special, that's a pretty big achievement."

A lone bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as the casket was rolled into the giant auditorium, followed by the members of Killebrew's large family.

Country great Charley Pride sang "Precious Lord Take My Hand," "I'll Fly Away" and a Killebrew favorite, "Mountain of Love."

Lifelong friend Ray Looney spoke of Killebrew's $30,000 bonus to sign with the Washington Senators and the joys of a golfing trip to Scotland. Son-in-law Craig Bair read some thoughts from Killebrew's wife, Nita, and from Killebrew himself.

"Harmon's philosophy was so simple and very clear and he wanted to make it clear to us," Bair said. "It goes like this. 'Always give more than you take. Always maintain an even calmness that you might calm others. Truly know that you are loved beyond measure and go out and share that love. Find a place of peace with your partner. Experience daily the love of your family. Enjoy your friends. Know your neighbors and especially go out of your way to do the same to the people new in your life.'"

Daughter Shawn Bair spoke of how she and her sister had driven to see him not long after he was diagnosed with cancer, and when they arrived at his hospital room, even though he was connected to all kinds of tubes, he did what his grandchildren called the "Papa Dance."

"He does love to dance," she said.

He was consumed by neatness, she said.

Hopefully in heaven, his daughter said, "there will be a patio to hose off and floors to vacuum."

Blyleven, now a Twins broadcaster, was the only non-family member other than the pastor to speak at the service. He said he had talked to Killebrew on the phone on Monday. The former slugger's biggest concern seemed to be the Twins' eight-game losing streak. The streak would reach nine before it ended Tuesday, the day Killebrew died.

The Twins beat Seattle 2-1 - a total of three, Blyleven noted. Minnesota had three hits, Seattle three. Coming to Arizona, the Twins had won three straight.

Killebrew, as any Twins fan will tell you, wore No. 3.

"The service was beautiful," Oliva said afterward. "It touched all the points, because that was the man."