Killebrew receives Twins’ support, Target Field to get Tony Oliva statue
Hall of Famers and Minnesota Twins’ fabled players, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva were recently in the news today, as both men were involved in two different headlines.
The Twins, who have been fairly active in the free market lately, are preparing for the coming season as time draws near for spring training. The club has been active in the winter break and the management has made it clear to fight for a better position
in the coming regular season. A challenge awaits the club and that will act as a reminder to the club that they have not been successful in their post-season ventures in recent years.
The American League Central tables host an incredible number of teams, and at the moment it seems that the division could fairly be split between the competitive levels of the National League East and American League East. Some of Major League Baseball’s
top clubs are in the spotlight and that provides a challenge to the Twins and their manager, Ron Gardenhire. Nevertheless, fans will be upbeat by the recent signings of Jim Thome, Carl Pavano and Japanese sensation, Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
However, that’s not one of the positive highlights of the winter season. In the recent Hall of Fame ballot elections, long running Twins’ pitcher, Bert Blyleven, won his seat to the 2011 Hall of Fame class. The victory came after 14 long years of waiting.
The fans are sentimental about their team’s heritage, and it seems they will ride their hope through the coming season.
Recently, Manager Ron Gardenhire was spotted in Shady’s Restaurant for lunch. The fans walked up to meet the skipper. However, one of the fans jumped to pass on a message that the supporters were backing Harmon Killebrew in his battle against esophageal
cancer. The Twins’ legend has been receiving treatment from the Mayo Clinic that specializes in cancer treatment.
It didn’t take long for the club’s President, Dave St. Peter to respond to the mass support that was backing Killebrew. He passed on a message from Killebrew and his wife, Nita, saying they were overwhelmed with the support they had obtained from the crowd.
"They are very touched by all of it," St. Peter said. "Harmon continues to be very upbeat, very determined, and focused on the treatment plan as prescribed by his doctors. He's very focused on getting to Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla. We're all very
optimistic and hopeful that good news is ahead on Harmon's health front."
The President wasn’t just going to talk about Killebrew, as he made an announcement concerning Tony Oliva. The management spokesperson went on to declare that the legend would be reanimated in the form of a statue in Target Field. The Hall of Famer would
join the ranks of Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew who are already in the stadium.
"Tony we all know is a player with a Hall of Fame resume and we're keeping our fingers crossed for the Veterans Committee voting that takes place next December," St. Peter said. "But he's also probably been as good an ambassador as we've had in our franchise.
So we as an organization frankly felt really good about the fact that Tony Oliva should be the next statue. Over time there will be additional legend player statues, but we are really proud of the fact that there will be a Tony Oliva statue on or around Opening
Day next year."
The fans will be more than happy to see the franchise honour its players for their services. Would this, however, be the strength behind their success, next season? Who knows, perhaps it will be.
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