Still muscle-bound more than 20 years after retiring from baseball, Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew thinks even he could join the legion of hitters jacking balls beyond stadium fences this season.
"If I was playing right now, I think I could probably hit 20 home runs," said Killebrew, whose 573 rank him fifth on the career list. "I could hit more, but you got to remember I'm 60 years old."Killebrew and many other of the game's old-timers were in Cooperstown for induction ceremonies earlier this month at the Hall of Fame. The principal topic of conversation was the longball.
"Expansion has created more jobs for pitchers that wouldn't have been in the majors if there were less teams," former Pittsburgh player Ralph Kiner said.
Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer Bob Feller was highly critical of the state of today's pitching. "The pitching now, especially in the American League, is the worst I've seen it since I got into baseball 60 years ago," he said. "It's very pathetic."
Pete Rose, the game's greatest hit maker, disagrees with Feller. He said smaller ballparks, not pitchers, are to blame for more home runs.