Harmon Killebrew, 74, succumbs to cancer

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS

Harmon Killebrew earned every bit of his frightening nickname, hitting tape-measure home runs that awed even his fellow Hall of Famers.

Yet there was a softer side to “The Killer,” too.

The balding gentleman who enjoyed a milkshake after each game. The fisherman who was afraid of bumping into alligators. The MVP who always had time to help a rookie.

Killebrew, the big-swinging slugger for the Minnesota Twins and the face of the franchise for so many years, died Tuesday at age 74 after battling esophageal cancer.

“It’s a sad day. We lost an icon. We lost Paul Bunyan,” former Twins star Kent Hrbek said.

The team said Killebrew died peacefully at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his wife, Nita, and their family at his side. He announced his diagnosis just six months ago, and last week Killebrew said he was settling in for the final days of his life with hospice care after doctors deemed the “awful disease” incurable.

At Target Field, the scoreboard showed a picture of a smiling Killebrew and his retired No. 3 was etched in the dirt behind second base. Plus, there was a more personal tribute — the Twins’ ground crew slowly lifted home plate and put under it a plastic-encased, black-and-white photo of Killebrew.

His 573 home runs still rank 11th on the all-time list. His uppercut swing formed the silhouette that inspired Major League Baseball’s official logo.

“You shake his hand, still at 70-some years old, and he’d crush your hand. You can see where he got that power,” Twins slugger Justin Morneau said.

Along with a statue in Killebrew’s likeness outside Target Field, there’s a giant bronze glove where fans pose for snapshots — the glove is 520 feet from home plate, fittingly the distance of his longest home run.

Whether as an 18-year-old with the Washington Senators in 1954 or playing for Kansas City in his final season in 1975, Killebrew carried himself the same unassuming way.

“He never walked around with his nose in the air. Never, ever. He used to go out after every game and get a milkshake. A super guy,” said former Royals second baseman Frank White, a youngster who played with Killebrew that final year.

The Twins played at Seattle on Tuesday night. Manager Ron Gardenhire said it was a somber clubhouse.

“A lot of guys out there are really sad. We’re all honored that at least we had the chance to hang out with him a little and get to know him. He touched a lot of lives out there, not just on the baseball field, but the way you should handle yourself and a little bit about respect,” Gardenhire said.