As noted below, Harmon Killebrew meant a lot to me, and the same can be said of Rod Carew. If Killebrew was the hero of my youth, Carew was the one who kept me in a fanatical relationship with baseball through my high school and college years. In particular, his MVP season of 1977 - .388 batting average, 100 RBI, 128 runs scored, and I don't even have to look up those numbers - was incredibly memorable. I probably attended 45 or 50 Twins home games that season, plus a few on the road, and Carew made it all worthwhile, so much so that my oldest son is named Travis Carew Droogsma.
Rod and Harmon had a special relationship, not just as former teammates, but as long-time friends as well. Here is Carew's stirring eulogy from Thursday's memorial service at Target Field.
I was also pleased to learn during the service that Harmon loved 'What a Wonderful World," which has always been one of my favorites as well, another song that I'd like played at my funeral. Here is former Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant - who had a nice off-season singing career while playing for the Twins - performing the song at the service.
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