Harmon Killebrew: Killebrew Passes, Leaves Proud Legacy as Player and Person

Harmon Killebrew makes bigger mark off the field

Major League Baseball tweeted this morning that Minnesota Twins legend and baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew passed away today at the age of 74.

The proud Twins icon finished his career with an MVP award and 573 career home runs.

Killebrew had announced his move into hospice last week, letting the world know there was no longer hope of beating his cancer.

The news of his death this morning saddens the heart of baseball purists and those who knew Killebrew as a player, but more importantly, those who knew him as a person.

To read about Killebrew in the last week, as baseball writers all over America were paying tribute to one of the greatest home run sluggers of all time, was to realize that Killebrew was a great player and an even better man.

In an age of no secrets, where media, fans, teammates and the like all air dirty laundry, even in times of great distress and reflection, not one could find a single bad word to say about Killebrew.

While they called him “Killer,” he was anything but.

During his time in the game he was considered to be a gentleman from head to toe. It’s a rare honor in baseball (or any sport for that matter) to be remembered with equal fondness for your play on the field as well as the way you carried yourself off the field.

What should be learned from Harmon Killebrew’s passing is just how fleeting greatness is.

Athletes, no matter how dynamic or exciting they are (and anyone who ever saw Killebrew's short, powerful swing knows just how exciting it was), have a short window of greatness and we must savor every moment.

Eventually, the game passes them by, or in our worst nightmares, they flame out long before their time.

We must hold on to greatness and understand that players like Killebrew were a once-in-a-generational treasure.

Sure, his numbers have been eclipsed, but we have learned the true value of his 573 clean home runs. If you weren’t paying attention to as many of them as you could, you missed out on an opportunity to witness greatness.

Greatness doesn’t always come in the form of athletic ability. Greatness can exist in a player’s character.

It’s not uncommon to see towering home runs or players win MVPs, but to do so with the respect and the admiration Killebrew earned from his peers is a special accomplishment. While none of us can ever hope to be the kind of player that “Killer” was, we can all strive to be the kind of person he was: a gentleman his whole life—from start to finish.

Harmon Killebrew was a Hall of Famer every time he took the field, and his grace made him a treasure and an inspiration before, during and after.