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August 10, 1971: Red Letter Day For Harmon K. and his fans |
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Written by Jim Rednour
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Saturday, 31 July 2010 |
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You couldn’t blame Harmon Killebrew if August was his favorite month. After all, he blasted the 500th and 501st home runs of his career on August 10, 1971, to become only the tenth man to reach the milestone at the time.
While a lot of things have changed since then, Harmon is still a fan
favorite in Minnesota and he still remembers the feeling of hitting
career dingers #500 and #501 on that hot August night. The first came
in the first inning off Mike Cuellar and his second shot tied the game
during the sixth inning.
A Special Night
The
Met saw its share of baseball history, including the night of August
10, 1971, when Harmon Killebrew became the 10th major leaguer in history
to hit 500 home runs.
My Grandfather, a Twins fan since the
beginning, came into town from Sioux Falls to visit and had wanted to go
to the previous day's game because of it's potential historic
significance. Luckily, it didn't work out for us to go, and since
Killebrew hadn't delivered yet, we got a second chance.
Because
he was going, Grandpa insisted on buying good seats for everyone, and so
for the first and only time (that I can remember) we sat in the main
grandstand. I remember lots of people, and an electric atmosphere, but
at first I didn't quite understand why the game was special.
When
Killebrew came to the plate in the first inning, the electricity in the
air increased noticeably. And when Baltimore's Mike Cuellar threw up a
fat pitch, Killebrew swung and the whole place erupted like I've never
heard before or since. The shot landed out in the left field pavilion --
our usual seats.
 Despite the fact that the Twins'
bullpen was unable to preserve the victory during extra innings, “The
Killer” still remembers the thrill of joining The 500 Home Run
Club...and he isn’t the only one. For a first-hand recollection of
Killebrew’s 500 (and 501st) moment, visit http://www.oldmetstadium.com/
and read about how young Rick Prescott witnessed him become the third
fastest to 500 with only 6,671 at bats. Only Babe Ruth, who did it in
only 5,801 trips to the plate, and Mark McGwire, who reached the famous
plateau after only 5,487 appearances had been quicker to the punch.
According
to Prescott: “My mom kept a scorecard which shows that, with the
pressure [of trying to hit #500] relieved, Harmon hit his 501st homer a
couple of innings later. It was not enough to beat the Orioles
(Killebrew got all three of the Twins RBIs in the game), but it was
enough to make a memory that will be with me for life.” |
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