Harmon Killebrew has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, the Hall of Famer announced Thursday. Killebrew, 74, released a statement through the Twins and the Hall of Fame saying he has begun treatment at the Mayo Clinic.
"While my condition is very serious, I have confidence in my doctors and the medical staff and I anticipate a full recovery," the statement read in part.
Killebrew had a 22-year major league career and played all but his final season with the same franchise. He broke in with the Washington Senators in 1954 as an 18-year-old and had established himself as a regular by the time the franchise moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season.
He led the American League in home runs six times and was named MVP in 1969. He played in all 162 games that year, hitting .276 with 49 homers, 140 RBI, 145 walks (to just 84 strikeouts), a .427 on-base percentage and a .584 slugging percentage.
Killebrew was released by the Twins after the 1974 season and played one final year for the Royals before retiring at age 39. He finished his career with 573 home runs and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
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