Harmon Killebrew

Killebrew was an intimidating home-run hitter, but teammates and opponents alike remember him for his softspokenness and community outreach. "I didn't have evil intentions, but I guess I did have power," he once said. Killebrew still visits baseball parks and autograph shows across the country while promoting hospice care and typically gives short shrift to his baseball accomplishments. "People get all excited about players who hit home runs," he said at one minor league ballpark. "I actually always felt runs batted in were more important than home runs."

The Twins' unexpected appearance in the 2002 American League playoffs—Minnesota won the AL Central and upset Oakland in the first round before losing to eventual World Series champion Anaheim—brought back memories of the Killebrew days in Minnesota, and reminded out-of-towners what "Killer" meant to one of baseball's smaller markets. Eric Slater of the Los Angeles Times described the Twins as one of "history's great smaller-town teams, a club that lost more often than it won but came through just frequently enough—with the help of Hall of Famers such as Harmon Killebrew—to allow major league baseball to survive even in a place where the number crunchers said it couldn't."