BB: Requiem in pace (R.I.P.)

[bulk19]

This is slightly premature (thankfully), but in case you missed it Harmon Killebrew has ended his battle against esophagal cancer and entered hospice care.

'Killer' is still in the top ten home run hitters of all time if you leave out the juiced guys (officially he has fallen to eleventh).

Yep. Saw that... Bummer. Class act...

Hank Aaron and Roger Maris are the all-time and single season HR champs, as far as I am concerned...

[Mr. Ypsi]

Agreed on Aaron and Maris (AND on 'class act' for the Killer).

(Amazing how much we have in common when we stay off politics!   JT and I both revere (should be HoFer) Thurman Munson! )

[Just Bill]

Killer has passed...

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2115414.shtml?cat=1

[CrashDavisD3]

[Mr. Ypsi]

Harmon was the first player ever to hit one out of Tiger stadium to left field - 54 feet high and probably at least 450 feet from home.  Since Tiger Stadium no longer exists ( ), that MAY be the longest ball EVER hit there.  The only competition might be a ball that Cecil Fielder hit c. 15 years later.

While eulogies can sometimes get rather sappy, it seems to be the unanimous take that as great a ballplayer as 'Killer' was, he was an even better man.

[bulk19]

RIP Killer...

He was the first true superstar ballplayer I got to see, at the old Metropolitan Stadium, as a kid... And I will echo all the positive sentiments that friends, family and players will surely share during his eulogy...

Thanks for the memories... Here's a link to the AP obit:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-obit-killebrew

(The MLB logo is modeled after his fierce swing!)

Here are some comments from others about about Killebrew:
http://lacrossetribune.com/sports/baseball/article_a9e55fa4-446f-5256-b7af-ae91553dd9ed.html

[Just Bill]

(The MLB logo is modeled after his fierce swing!)

Debatable...

Killebrew's stroke was so powerful that many -- including Harmon -- believed it was the basis for major league baseball's logo, though the designer said that isn't the case.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=6549955

[bulk19]

Tough crowd, tough crowd...

My last four posts have been: two about Killebrew, one about a former UWEC football player who is speaking out about the seriousness of injuries, and a positive post in the political forums about Military Appreciation Day at Miller Park this past weekend...

And my karma goes down. Ha.

[Will2Win]

Tough crowd, tough crowd...

My last four posts have been: two about Killebrew, one about a former UWEC football player who is speaking out about the seriousness of injuries, and a positive post in the political forums about Military Appreciation Day at Miller Park this past weekend...

And my karma goes down. Ha.

I got ya bulk...

+1

[Just Bill]

Tough crowd, tough crowd...

My last four posts have been: two about Killebrew, one about a former UWEC football player who is speaking out about the seriousness of injuries, and a positive post in the political forums about Military Appreciation Day at Miller Park this past weekend...

And my karma goes down. Ha.

You also have 784 other previous posts which also could have raised or lowered your karma. There's no way to know who is reading what and when.

[Ralph Turner]

Paul Splittorff, Kansas City Royals.

[CrashDavisD3]

[Mr. Ypsi]

Jim Northrup, a product of d3 Alma and 1968 Tigers hero in the World Series (his triple drove in the winning runs in game seven).  He was 71 and had been in failing health (including Alzheimers).

[Mr. Ypsi]

Having now seen more on Jim Northrup, I'm even more impressed.  At Alma, he earned 15 varsity letters in a total of 5 different sports.  (This was before d3 existed, but I'd imagine that Alma was following at least basically the same rules as today - they were never a 'big time' school that became a d3 school.)

[Sorry, got interrupted by the end of Dallas over Miami. ]

For an all-around athlete, I would imagine that Northrup must have been in the top 10 or 15 of 'd3' athletes ever, even if he was 'only' an above average MLBer.

[CrashDavisD3]