A little Harmon follow-up

Everyone with a keyboard is writing their "memories of Harmon" story this week, which is as it should be. There are tons of great stories about Killebrew as both a player, and as a person, and they are all fun to read.

Many of them I have heard before, but a writer at mlb.com had one I had never heard before, about multi-sport star Dave DeBusschere. A native of Detroit, DeBusschere had a 12-year NBA career, including a starting spot on the NBA champion New York Knicks team, and was named as one of the NBA's top 50 players during the league's 50th anniversary season.

He also tried his hand as a major league pitcher, spending parts of two seasons with the White Sox. MLB.com had this story, however, about how he decided what sport to specialize in:

Dave DeBusschere, who made his athletic mark in the NBA, also pitched for the White Sox in 1962-63. He abandoned baseball, he said, for one reason: "Harmon Killebrew."

DeBusschere faced Killebrew four times -- struck him out, walked him and surrendered two home runs. The 443 other batters DeBusschere faced combined for eight. "I've got a better chance against Chamberlain," DeBusschere said years later. "Wilt's a lot bigger, but Harmon might have been stronger."