Harmon Killebrew, baseball player, 573 home runs, 1954-1975

Harmon Killebrew

⭐ Hall of Fame 1984

Born: 6/29/1936 in Payette, ID, USA

Died: 5/17/2011 in Scottsdale, AZ, USA

MLB Debut: 1954-06-23 | Final Game: 1975-09-26

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: Harmon Clayton Killebrew

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Biography

Harmon Killebrew, born in 1936, was a prominent American baseball player who enjoyed a prolific career in Major League Baseball from 1954 until his retirement in 1975. A powerful slugger, Killebrew was best known for his exceptional ability to hit home runs, amassing a total of 573 during his career. He played in 2,435 games, recorded 2,086 hits, and drove in an impressive 1,584 runs, contributing significantly to his teams' successes. With a batting average of .256, Killebrew showcased a powerful yet sometimes inconsistent batting style that made him a feared presence in the lineup. His speed on the basepaths was less emphasized, as evidenced by his 19 stolen bases. Killebrew was selected to the All-Star Game 13 times, a testament to his consistent performance and popularity throughout his career. He played during an era characterized by the emergence of power hitters, effectively making him a key figure in the transition to a more offensively focused game. His impact on baseball was recognized with his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1984, solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest sluggers of his time. Killebrew's contributions to the game not only helped define the role of the power hitter but also left a lasting imprint on the history of baseball.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2435 8147 1283 2086 290 24 573 1584 19 1559 1699 0.256 0.376 0.509 0.884 48188.4

Career AVG .256 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .376 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — +17.5% above league average.

Career SLG .509 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — +34.9% above league average.

Career OPS 0.884 vs. league average 0.697 across their career seasons — +26.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1954 WSN AL 9 13 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 2 3 0.308 — — — — 0.0
1955 WSN AL 38 80 12 16 1 0 4 7 0 9 31 0.200 .258 (-23%) .332 (-15%) .393 (-8%) .726 (-11%) -158.1
1956 WSN AL 44 99 10 22 2 0 5 13 0 10 39 0.222 .258 (-14%) .331 (-12%) .397 (-1%) .728 (-6%) -119.5
1957 WSN AL 9 31 4 9 2 0 2 5 0 2 8 0.290 — — — — 0.0
1958 WSN AL 13 31 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 12 0.194 — — — — 0.0
1959 WSN AL 153 546 98 132 20 2 42 105 3 90 116 0.242 .256 (-6%) .323 (+9%) .392 (+32%) .715 (+22%) 2533.1
1960 WSN AL 124 442 84 122 19 1 31 80 1 71 106 0.276 .255 (+8%) .323 (+16%) .387 (+38%) .711 (+28%) 2498.9
1961 MIN AL 150 541 94 156 20 7 46 122 1 107 109 0.288 .258 (+12%) .328 (+24%) .399 (+52%) .727 (+39%) 4553.1
1962 MIN AL 155 552 85 134 21 1 48 126 1 106 142 0.243 .257 (-6%) .326 (+12%) .393 (+39%) .719 (+27%) 3186.6
1963 MIN AL 142 515 88 133 18 0 45 96 0 72 105 0.258 .246 (+5%) .308 (+13%) .371 (+49%) .680 (+33%) 3217.3
1964 MIN AL 158 577 95 156 11 1 49 111 0 93 135 0.270 .250 (+8%) .312 (+21%) .377 (+45%) .690 (+34%) 4123.7
1965 MIN AL 113 401 78 108 16 1 25 75 0 72 69 0.269 .245 (+10%) .310 (+24%) .371 (+35%) .682 (+30%) 2425.9
1966 MIN AL 162 569 89 160 27 1 39 110 0 103 98 0.281 .248 (+13%) .309 (+26%) .376 (+43%) .685 (+35%) 4331.4
1967 MIN AL 163 547 105 147 24 1 44 113 1 131 111 0.269 .242 (+11%) .306 (+33%) .357 (+56%) .663 (+45%) 5340.1
1968 MIN AL 100 295 40 62 7 2 17 40 0 70 70 0.210 .236 (-11%) .298 (+21%) .340 (+24%) .638 (+22%) 1397.9
1969 MIN AL 162 555 106 153 20 2 49 140 8 145 84 0.276 .248 (+11%) .320 (+34%) .369 (+58%) .689 (+47%) 5827.5
1970 MIN AL 157 527 96 143 20 1 41 113 0 128 84 0.271 .253 (+7%) .325 (+26%) .385 (+42%) .711 (+35%) 4165.1
1971 MIN AL 147 500 61 127 19 1 28 119 3 114 96 0.254 .249 (+2%) .316 (+22%) .365 (+27%) .682 (+25%) 2772.3
1972 MIN AL 139 433 53 100 13 2 26 74 0 94 91 0.231 .243 (-5%) .310 (+18%) .353 (+27%) .664 (+23%) 2161.2
1973 MIN AL 69 248 29 60 9 1 5 32 0 41 59 0.242 .256 (-6%) .325 (+8%) .378 (-8%) .703 (-1%) 101.9
1974 MIN AL 122 333 28 74 7 0 13 54 0 45 61 0.222 .256 (-13%) .324 (-4%) .369 (-2%) .693 (-3%) -161.4
1975 KCR AL 106 312 25 62 13 0 14 44 1 54 70 0.199 .257 (-23%) .327 (-3%) .374 (avg) .701 (-1%) -8.7

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 40 6 10 1 0 3 6 14 10 0.250

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 ALCS MIN 3 11 2 3 0 0 2 4 2 4 0.273
1969 ALCS MIN 3 8 2 1 1 0 0 0 6 2 0.125
1965 WS MIN 7 21 2 6 0 0 1 2 6 4 0.286

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 969 929 7521 555 69 678
2B 11 5 12 6 1 1
3B 791 718 607 1388 127 88
OF 470 468 709 14 18 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 WS1 2B 3 3 5 2 0 0
1955 WS1 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0
1955 WS1 3B 23 17 23 49 5 3
1956 WS1 2B 4 2 6 4 1 1
1956 WS1 3B 20 18 18 40 3 3
1957 WS1 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WS1 3B 7 7 2 16 1 2
1958 WS1 3B 9 8 8 13 0 1
1959 WS1 3B 150 149 129 325 30 18
1959 WS1 OF 4 4 6 0 0 0
1960 WS1 1B 71 71 584 32 8 69
1960 WS1 3B 65 45 45 103 9 7
1961 MIN 1B 119 115 972 67 14 91
1961 MIN 3B 45 33 28 75 9 10
1961 MIN OF 2 2 3 1 0 0
1962 MIN 1B 4 2 14 0 1 4
1962 MIN OF 151 150 227 5 8 0
1963 MIN OF 137 137 219 7 3 0
1964 MIN OF 157 157 232 1 7 0
1965 MIN 1B 72 70 636 35 8 64
1965 MIN 3B 44 40 37 78 4 3
1965 MIN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1966 MIN 1B 42 40 330 15 4 30
1966 MIN 3B 107 103 83 190 14 11
1966 MIN OF 18 18 22 0 0 0
1967 MIN 1B 160 160 1283 86 11 100
1967 MIN 3B 3 3 2 3 1 0
1968 MIN 1B 77 77 594 56 4 50
1968 MIN 3B 11 10 7 15 3 1
1969 MIN 1B 80 66 574 34 2 55
1969 MIN 3B 105 96 75 185 20 12
1970 MIN 1B 28 26 204 9 3 14
1970 MIN 3B 138 129 108 203 17 14
1971 MIN 1B 90 82 658 56 2 52
1971 MIN 3B 64 60 42 93 11 3
1972 MIN 1B 130 128 995 99 9 82
1973 MIN 1B 57 57 431 45 1 42
1974 MIN 1B 33 31 218 21 2 21
1975 KCA 1B 6 4 28 0 0 4

Career Games by Position

Position Games
First Base 970
Second Base 11
Third Base 791
Left Field 471
Right Field 1
Designated Hitter 158

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1971 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1970 TSN All-Star 3B
1970 TSN Player of the Year
1969 Most Valuable Player
1969 TSN All-Star 3B
1969 TSN Player of the Year
1967 TSN All-Star 1B
1964 TSN All-Star OF

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 5.0 336 0
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 152.0 336 1
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 294.0 336 16
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 161.0 280 0
1966 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 96.0 280 0
1965 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 15.0 280 0
1964 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 31.0 280 0
1963 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 85.0 280 0
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 99.0 280 1
1961 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 29.0 280 0
1959 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 21.0 336 0