69 Yankees At Twins, 11 July, 1965. Harmon Killebrew, Idaho's Friendly Slugger

22 January 2024

Album art features Harmon Killebrew.

A gentleman in demeanour but a superman when slugging. That was Harmon Killebrew, Idaho's greatest home-run hitter and a legend at the plate. He was a 13-times All-Star, a 6-time AL home-run leader, a 3x AL RBI leader, and the 1969 MVP.

When he retired, he was fifth in the all-time Home Run record, and his 573 bombs are still enough to hold twelfth place today. He could easily reach the edge of the yard, notably being the first of only four players to ever bat over the left field roof of Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

The batting earned him the nickname of "killer" no doubt helped by his name, yet he was seen as one of the politest players in the game. And he's definitely not the slugger in the MLB logo.

We join Killebrew and the Twins as they welcome the Yankees to the Metropolitan Stadium. The twins have a commanding 53-29 record—they are on their way to a 102-win season and the first AL pennant for the Twins in Minnesota. Killebrew is in his beloved role as the cleanup hitter and is facing the Yankees Al Downing.

Jerry Coleman and Red Barber share the microphone for the Yankees Radio Network.

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was played on 11 July, 1965.