The Killer Clouts Number 500

On this day, August 10, 1971, Harmon Killebrew joined the exclusive 500 home run club as a belted a towering shot over the left field fence at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. At the time, he was only the tenth major leaguer to accomplish the feat, and he did it in the era before the lowered mound, steroids, and watered down pitching staffs. "The Killer", as he was known, was a true slugger in every sense of the word. He never strived for a high batting average, and he wasn't paid to do so. His game was the long ball, RBIs, and run production, and not many have excelled in these areas more than Killebrew. In addition to hitting, Harmon was quite valuable as a defensive player for the Twins. He could play first base, third base, and the outfield when needed.

Killebrew was drafted by the Washington Senators in 1954. He became a regular in 1959 when he stroked 42 homers. The team moved to Minnesota in 1961 and the Killer made quite an impression on the Twin Cities with 46 roundtrippers and 122 RBI in the inaugural campaign. Those numbers were fairly emblematic of Killebrew's production in the 1960's. His best year was 1969 when he tallied a whopping 49 home runs and 140 RBI en route to MVP honors. He was a an RBI champ three times, led the league in homers six times, and an 11 time All Star. In honor of the prodigious power of Harmon Killebrew, we offer the Twins Heater as the shirt of the day.