Author: David Shama

Good guy Harmon Killebrew, who will be in town from Arizona later this month for activities to help children with mental and physical challenges, told Sports Headliners the Twins have a few players capable of hitting 25 or more home runs per season.  For many years the Twins haven’t produced much power and this season the club ranks 13^th in home runs and 11^th in runs scored among the 14 American League teams.

Killebrew, who will celebrate his 73^rd birthday next month, is the greatest slugger in Twins history.  His 573 career home runs ranks ninth on the all-time major league list.  Killebrew is close to Twins players as a special consultant to team president Dave St. Peter.

Who are the Twins with the best long ball potential?  “There’s actually four of them,” Killebrew said.  “(Justin) Morneau, no telling how many he can hit if he changed himself a little bit and with the experience he gets every year.  He’s come a long, long ways, and he’s got tremendous power and ability.  Joey Mauer does too.  But Joey has been successful hitting a certain way and I doubt that he’ll ever want to change what he’s doing.

“Then (Jason) Kubel is certainly capable of hitting a lot of home runs as well as Michael Cuddyer.  I feel badly for Michael because of that injury he got last year, he’s just never really gotten into where he was when that happened. …”

Then Killebrew thought about erratic 23-year-old center fielder Carlos Gomez, who is hitting .196 this season and during parts of three major league seasons has hit nine home runs.  Killebrew said not only is Gomez fast, he is strong and has the potential to hit a lot more home runs than he has so far.

Morneau, 27, has twice hit more than 25 home runs in his major league career, now in its seventh year.  Mauer, 26, is in his sixth season and only once had a double digit home run season, 13 in 2006.  Kubel, a 26-year-old whose five year career has been slowed by injury, hit a high of 20 home runs last season.  Cuddyer is 30 years old with a nine year career best of 24 home runs in 2006 (16 in 2007).

Morneau is the team’s annual home run leader and the player with the most upside for power.  Killebrew said the “sky’s the limit” for Morneau as a hitter and first baseman.  The powerful Morneau hit a career high 34 home runs in 2007, his American League MVP season.  Last season his total fell to 23 and so far in 2009 he’s hit six, ranking 10th in the American League.

“I’d just like to see him hit a few more home runs because home runs help win ball games,” Killebrew said.  “I don’t know if that’s going to happen but I hope it will.”

Killebrew believes Morneau needs to pull the ball more to increase his home runs.  “If you want to hit home runs consistently, you’ve got to pull the ball,” Killebrew said. “There’s no way around it.”

Killebrew hit a home run every 14.2 times at bat during his 22 year career.  Morneau hits a home run every 20 at bats.  Killebrew was only a .256 lifetime hitter, though, while Morneau is batting .327 this season and is .283 during his career.

Killebrew said it takes different styles for a successful team and pulling the ball isn’t right for everyone.  As an 18-year-old he hit the ball all over the field, similar to Mauer.  “Ralph Kiner (hall of fame slugger) came to me one day in spring training when I was 18,” Killebrew remembered.  “He said, ‘Kid, it looks like you’ve got some power but you’re never going to be able to hit a lot of home runs consistently unless you pull the ball.’  He said, ‘If you’d move up on home plate a little bit, and start pulling the ball, you’d hit more home runs.’ …I tried that and it worked out pretty good, but it hurt my batting average and I struck out more that way. …”

Killebrew grew up with a mother and father who encouraged him to care about people.  “My mother would say things like, ‘The reason we’re here is to love and help one another.’  I guess that kind of stuck with me over the years.  I got a lot of help when I was coming up through the ranks as a young player. …”

He will host the 6^th Annual Kwik Trip Harmon Killebrew Classic on May 31 and June 1 to benefit the Twins Community Fund and the Miracle League of Minnesota, a charitable organization providing children with mental and/or physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball on a team in an organized league.

Killebrew said his foundation found a niche helping the Miracle League which has a presence in various parts of the country including Minnesota.  The Miracle League’s work includes providing fields for the kids to play. “My wife and I are just enthralled with the thought of these kids all getting a chance to play the game,” Killebrew said.  “It fits so well with us. …This one is something special.”

Miracle League rules stipulate that every child must hit and score a run in a game.  “You should see the smiles on their faces when they do that,” Killebrew said.  “It’s just great. …”

The Killebrew Classic will include a dinner and golf, with more information available at  www.harmonkillebrewfoundation.org, or call 612-414-4506.

Wide receiver Troy Stoudermire excited the crowd at the Gophers spring game last month running 54 yards from scrimmage to score a touchdown, catching three passes for 31 yards and averaging 47.7 and 18.5 yards returning kickoffs and punts.  Stoudermire, who will be a sophomore next fall, is obviously a playmaker who can help the Gophers even more than last year when he caught just three passes and averaged 25.8 yards on kickoff returns but had no touchdowns.

“He’s a very dynamic guy,” coach Tim Brewster said.  “He’s going to be really good. …The sky’s the limit for his ability.”

Brewster said Stoudermire needs to improve his route running as a receiver.  He’s also played defensive back while with the Gophers.

Other players drawing Brewster’s praise are defensive tackles Garrett Brown and Eric Small, Jewhan Edwards and Brandon Kirksey.  He describes the foursome as “good (and) as deep as anybody in the Big Ten.”

Brown, Small, and linebackers Simoni Lawrence and Lee Campbell were voted in as defensive captains last week.  The offensive captains are quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker.

During the off season Brewster is looking forward to his 25^th wedding anniversary with wife Cathy.  They will be celebrating the anniversary on June 16 in New Jersey with the same people who were in the wedding party.

Hockey lost a wonderful contributor, and I am mourning the passing of friend and mentor Frank Jirik who died last Thursday.  Frank’s successful sports and entertainment management career included the position of vice president of marketing and building operations for the Met Center and the Minnesota North Stars in the late 1980s.  He fought a courageous battle against cancer for several years.  Visitation will be tonight from 4 to 8 p.m. at White Funeral Home in Apple Valley.  Services are tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Risen Savior Catholic Church in Burnsville.

The Wild were 12-9-2 overall against NHL teams that remain in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Minnesota was 5-0-0 versus the East (Carolina, Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington) and 7-9-2 versus the West teams  (Anaheim, Chicago, Detroit, Vancouver) remaining.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Awards banquet will be Thursday in St. Paul.  Among those honored will be Hobey Baker recipient Matt Gilroy from Boston University and also Don Roberts from Gustavus, the Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey award winner.

Harmon Killebrew (see story at top of page) said it was only during the last few years of his career that players began to lift weights.  Killebrew, whose career was from 1954-1975, grew up in Idaho and as a young man lifted bales of hay and 10 gallon milk cans.

“To me those were the golden years of baseball, 50’s, 60’s and early 70s,” Killebrew said.  “I think there was more great players during that era than any other era in the history of the game.  Just look at the guys that played during that period.  …”  Killebrew played with and against many of baseball’s greatest names including Twins teammate Rod Carew, plus Henry Aaron, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Stan Musial, Reggie Jackson, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, and Sandy Koufax.

Gophers cornerback Marcus Sherels missed all of spring practice after shoulder surgery.  His brother Mike Sherels, a formers Gophers linebacker, said Marcus should be ready for the 2009 season.  He said Marcus was one of the Big Ten Conference’s best cornerbacks last season and can play in the NFL.  He also likes the team’s other starting cornerback, Traye Simmons, a senior too.  “I don’t see there’s any reason why those two won’t get a lot of recognition this year,” Mike said.

Tommy Valentini, a native of Duluth, has been named the head men’s tennis coach at Gustavus.  Valentini, who has been an assistant coach for the Gusties for the past three years, will replace Steve Wilkinson who is retiring after serving as the head coach for the last 39 years.  Steve is one of the great college tennis coaches of all-time and has liver cancer.