- Kent Hrbek
Infobox MLB retired
name=Kent Hrbek
position=First baseman
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1960|5|21Minneapolis, Minnesota
debutdate=August 24
debutyear=by|1981
debutteam=Minnesota Twins
finaldate=August 10
finalyear=by|1994
finalteam=Minnesota Twins
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.282
stat2label=Home run s
stat2value=293
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=1,086
teams=
*Minnesota Twins (by|1981-by|1994)
highlights=
* All-Star selection (1982)
* 2xWorld Series champion (1987, 1991)
* 1991Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
* Minnesota Twins #14 retiredKent Allen Hrbek (pronEng|ˈhɝbɛk, born
May 21 ,1960 in Minneapolis,Minnesota ), nicknamed "Herbie", is a former AmericanMajor League Baseball player. He played fourteen seasons for theMinnesota Twins atfirst base , and batted left-handed. He hit the first home run in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on April 3, 1982 in an exhibition game against the Phillies. [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Kent_Hrbek_1960 The Ballplayers - Kent Hrbek | BaseballLibrary.com ] ] Fans knew Hrbek as an outstanding defensive player at his position and a perennial slugger, as well as being charismatic and often chewing bubble gum. He attended Kennedy High School inBloomington, Minnesota . While not nationally popular to the extent of his peer and friendKirby Puckett , Hrbek was a popular hometown favorite who was always cheerful to his fans.Career
Hrbek had his Major League debut on August 24, 1981 at Yankee Stadium and hit a game-winning home run off New York reliever George Frazier in the 12th inning. 1982 was his official rookie year and he played well for manager
Billy Gardner and was immediately selected as an All-Star. After batting .301 with 23 home runs and 92 RBIs, Hrbek finished second in theAmerican League Rookie of the Year vote, behindCal Ripken, Jr. For most of his career, "Herbie" batted cleanup (fourth), immediately after Kirby Puckett.Some of his most memorable moments were during the 1987 season. He hit a career best 34 home runs to help the Twins win the AL West. He was also instrumental in capturing the
World Series Championship, as he hit a grand slam in Game 6. He also is known around Minnesota for waking up very early on the morning of game 7 of the 1987 World Series to go on a duck hunt before playing in the game. [ [http://www.khotv.com/about.php Kent Hrbek Outdoors ] ]In 1991 he again helped the Twins to win the World Series, after the Twins had finished the previous season in last place. Fans may remember him best for a confrontation with
Ron Gant in Game 2, when Hrbek wrapped his arms around Gant's thigh to lift him off the bag as he was returning to first base. The commentators at the time remarked that Hrbek's "235 pound frame helped him lift the lighter (Ron) Gant who weighs only 192 pounds." The umpire, Drew Coble, called Gant out, citing forward progress would have caused Gant to step off the bag. The call was cited on ESPN's website as one of the "worst calls in history." http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/readers/worstcalls.html The move was later nicknamed the "T-Rex Tag," after Hrbek jokingly speculated on a post-baseball career in professional wrestling using the name "Tyrannosaurus rex". When the Series moved to Atlanta, Braves fans jeered him excessively, and Hrbek received much hate mail, including a death threat. [ [http://espn.go.com/classic/s/1991_series_caple.html ESPN Classic - 1991 World Series had it all ] ]Hrbek's offense turned stale after his home run in Game 1. In Game 7, with the score still tied 0-0 in the 8th inning, Hrbek executed a very uncommon 3-2-3 bases-loaded double play with catcher
Brian Harper that saved the Twins against the Braves' biggest threat of the game. The Twins eventually won the game 1-0, withGene Larkin hitting a bases-loaded single to center field that scoredDan Gladden in the bottom of the 10th inning.Hrbek was one of seven Twins to be part of both the 1987 and 1991
World Series teams. The other six wereRandy Bush , Greg Gagne,Kirby Puckett ,Al Newman ,Gene Larkin , who made the winning hit in Game 7 of the 1991 series, andDan Gladden , who was the runner Larkin scored with that hit.The
Minnesota Twins established their own "Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame", and in 2000, Hrbek was one of six former Twins inducted into the initial class. The 2000 class also included: MLB Hall of FamersRod Carew ,Harmon Killebrew andKirby Puckett along with outfielder, DH and current Twins' coach,Tony Oliva and former ownerCalvin Griffith .Retirement
Frequently injured (though seldom seriously), Hrbek retired after the players strike in 1994. Despite operating in the same lineup as
Kirby Puckett for all but two years of his career, and his long and close association with Puckett, Hrbek's numbers never approached those of the center fielder, and it is generally agreed that his career, while long and productive, was notBaseball Hall of Fame material. In 2000, his first year ofeligibility , Hrbek garnered only 5 votes, nowhere near the 5% minimum threshold for continued eligibility, and is thus ineligible for the Hall of Fame unless voted in by theVeterans Committee . His first year of Veterans' Committee eligibility is 2015.Kent Hrbek's number 14 was retired by the Twins in 1995, becoming one of only three others at the time (
Harmon Killebrew ,Rod Carew , andTony Oliva ) in franchise history. Hrbek was also inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also one of few players then (which is even rarer today) who played out his entire career with only one team.Currently, Kent Hrbek can be seen hosting an outdoor sports program on KARE TV-11 called
Kent Hrbek Outdoors . Hrbek is also a perennial pitchman for Twin Cities-area HVAC company Carrier Heating and Air Conditioning. He now has a series ofbaseball fields named after him in his hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota. Since Kent Hrbek’s father died ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1982, he has worked to increase awareness of the disease. Hrbek hosts an annual charity golf tournament in Minnesota to raise money for ALS research, and makes many public appearances on behalf of the cause.Career statistics
ee also
*
Top 500 home run hitters of all time
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI Further reading
*"Kent Hrbek" by Deegan, Paul J.; Carpenter, Jerry; DiMeglio, Steve ISBN 0-939179-32-6
*"Minnesota Twins 2008 Yearbook"
References
External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hrbekke01.shtml Kent Hrbek's Statistics at baseball-reference.com]
* [http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/min/history/hrbek.jsp Kent Hrbek's MN Twins page]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_hrbek_at_the_bat.shtml The poem "Hrbek at the Bat"]
* [http://www.kenthrbekoutdoors.com Official Site of the "Kent Hrbek Outdoors" TV Show]
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