Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew dies of esophageal cancer at 74

Harmon Killebrew, an 11-time All-Star who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, died Tuesday morning at the age of 74.

Killebrew announced last December that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and he entered hospice care last week after undergoing unsuccessful treatments.

“No individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and millions of fans across Twins territory than Harmon Killebrew,” Twins president Dave St. Peter said in a statement issued following the news of Killebrew’s death, NBC Sports reports.

“Harmon’s legacy will be the class, dignity, and humility he demonstrated each and every day as a Hall of Fame-quality husband, father, friend, teammate, and man.

Killebrew played for the Twins from 1954 to 1974 and became known as one of the most productive power hitters in the history of Major League Baseball. Babe Ruth is the only other player in history to hit 40 or more home runs in eight seasons, according to ESPN.

“I found out early in life that I could hit a baseball farther than most players and that’s what I tried to do,” the 1969 AL MVP said before his passing.

Several current Twins players formed friendships with Killebrew, who was known as one of the most humble and approachable athletes of his time.