When Hall of Famer Harmon "Killer" Killebrew died in May 2011, the baseball world lost one of its best hitters and one of the finest ambassadors the game has ever known. Killebrew was second only to Babe Ruth in home runs by an American League slugger, and finished his career with 573 home runs and in 11th place for all-time Major League Baseball history. This book takes a look at the 22-year career of a perennial Most Valuable Player candidate and baseball powerhouse, reviewing his life in and out of baseball and peeling back the mystery surrounding this intensely private athlete. This biography is a look not only at Killebrew's long career as a player, but his life as an announcer and businessman after his retirement from baseball. "[ Harmon Killebrew ] captured the spirit of Killebrew and the insights into Major League Baseball as it existed in the 50s and 60s."  —KnuckleBalls   "Those whose boyhoods were filled with Killebrew's towering home runs and unassuming quotes...are going to love this book."  —Twinkie Town, Minnesota Twin's blog for SB Nation  Steve Aschburner is a sports journalist. He is the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Minnesota Twins . He has written for the Minnesota-Star Tribune , NBA.com, and Sports Illustrated . He lives in Lisle, Illinois. Harmon Killebrew Ultimate Slugger By Steve Aschburner Triumph Books Copyright © 2012 Steve Aschburner All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60078-702-7 Contents Foreword by Jim Thome, Acknowledgments, Introduction, 1. Payette, Home Again, 2. Payette Back Then, 3. The Senator and the Senators, 4. Bonus Baby, 5. Finally, a Big Leaguer, 6. North by Northwest, 7. Power on the Plains, 8. Close but Not Quite, 9. MVP, 10. Facing the Killer, 11. 500, 12. Coach? Who, Me?, 13. Royal Blues, 14. After the Game, 15. "We're Raising Boys, Not Grass", 16. Back in the Game, 17. Farewell, 18. Memorial, Sources, Photo Gallery, CHAPTER 1 Payette, Home Again Driving into Payette, Idaho, the signs of Harmon Killebrew are easy to spot. They hang high, front and center at the town's entry points, clear sources of pride for the locals and maybe a little surprising for out-of-staters who happen to be passing through on the interstate highways and major roads that veer through the town on the state's western border. In most locations, draping from lampposts, there's a vertical banner on the left that reads, "Welcome to Payette / Home of the Pirates," complete with a cartoonish figure and all the accessories you'd expect — skull and crossbones on his hat, eye patch on his face, stiletto clenched in his teeth. It's a Pittsburgh Pirates–Tampa Bay Buccaneers–Oakland Raiders type of vibe, and it's tied into the local high school's sports nickname. Right next to it, though, the one on the right features the photo of a smiling, affable big leaguer in a relaxed 1960s pose. This one gets the job done for a favorite son: "Welcome to Payette / Hometown of Harmon Killebrew." Immediately, an image forms — a happy mix of black-and-white newsreel footage and Kodachrome snapshots — of a fellow who reached the major leagues under Eisenhower and exited under Ford. From Joe McCarthy to Patty Hearst, from I Love Lucy to Saturday Night Live: Harmon Killebrew — legendary slugger for the Minnesota Twins (with brief stays at the start and end with the Washington Senators and the Kansas City Royals) — 573 "all-natural" home runs, ranking fifth in big league history when he retired and still ranking 11th as the 2012 baseball season began — high, majestic "moon shot" blasts that, modest as he was, even Killebrew would stand and admire for a couple seconds before trotting around the bases — forearms, biceps, and wrists that would have Popeye reaching for more spinach. Eight seasons hitting 40 homers or more — six American League home run titles — ranked third all-time in home run frequency upon his retirement (one every 14.2 at-bats, behind Babe Ruth's 11.76 rate and Ralph Kiner's 14.11) — nine seasons with 100 or more RBIs, 1,584 RBIs in his career — the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1969 — trips to three postseasons with the Twins (1965, '69, '70) — enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, in 1984 — a soft-spoken gentleman whose ill-fitting nicknames, "Killer" and "Harm," instantly and forever felt ironic — friend and neighbor whose battle at age 74 with esophageal cancer began late in 2010 and ended on May 17, 2011. If you're coming in from Boise, about 60 miles southeast from Payette, you can branch off to the right at the "Welcome to ..." banner and head north along US–95. Soon enough, you will see a second tribute on your left. "Harmon Killebrew Field," the two-piece sign reads. "Idaho's Athlete of the Century." And just to make sure there's no confusion — Huh? Which century? — the bottom of the sign features a sketch of Killebrew in multiple images and poses, taking a powerful cut at the plate i