Harmon Killebrew

In the pre-steroids era, the most fearsome home-run hitter in the American League not named Babe Ruth (Mickey Mantle was a switch-hitter) was named Harmon Killebrew. The surname seemed to fit, as the husky Harmon certainly "killed" the ball, launching many massive moon-shots in old-time ball-yards that took the breath away of fans, both home and away. His nickname in baseball, fittingly, was "The Killer". Since 1934 (when the Babe went over to the National League Boston Braves, no other player has hit more home runs in the American League than has Killebrew, and only Hammering Hank Aaron, and the Say-Hey Kid ('Willie Mays' (qv in the National League and the dual-league Frank Robinson (Robby won Most Valuable Player Awards in both the National League with the Reds and in the A.L. with the Orioles) surpass him in total number of circuit clouts until the first of the new lively ball sluggers, Mark McGwire, overcame him in 2001. Harmon Killebrew led the American League six times in home-r