Hrbek statue to be unveiled on 14th, of course

By foxsports
Published

MINNEAPOLIS — First baseman Kent Hrbek won two World Series titles with his hometown Minnesota Twins. Now, Hrbek will be immortalized with a bronze statue of his likeness that will stand outside Target Field.

The Twins officially announced Wednesday that Hrbek's statue will be unveiled Saturday, April 14 before Minnesota hosts the Texas Rangers. It will be outside Gate 14, which is numbered in honor of Hrbek and is right outside of his restaurant, Hrbek's, inside Target Field.

"It's humbling," Hrbek told FOXSportsNorth.com in February. "You're lucky enough to play here and play in your hometown and win a couple championships and they retire your number. I didn't know how much farther they could go.

"It's like waking up from a dream and they tell you they're going to make a statue of you, which is going to be on the earth for a hell of a lot longer than I'll be."

Hrbek finished his Twins career with 293 home runs, 1,086 RBIs and 1,749 hits in 14 seasons. He hit a career-high 34 homers in 1987, the same year the Twins won their first World Series. During that World Series, Hrbek hit a grand slam in Game 6 to propel Minnesota to an 11-5 win over St. Louis. The Twins went on to win Game 7 by a 4-2 final, with Hrbek catching the final out at first base after a ground ball hit to third.

Four years later, Hrbek and the Twins had their second World Series title, defeating the Atlanta Braves in a memorable seven-game series. Hrbek homered in Game 1, a 5-2 Twins victory. He also had a memorable play at first base involving Atlanta's Ron Gant during Game 2. The two players were tangled at the base, with Hrbek tagging Gant out. Some claim Hrbek pulled Gant off the bag, but Hrbek insists -- even 20 years later -- that Gant fell off the base.

Bill Mack, the same Minneapolis-based artist who created the others around Target Field, will make Hrbek's bronze statue. The current statues include Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, former owner Calvin Griffith and late owner Carl Pohlad, along with his wife Eloise.

Hrbek said he didn't want his statue to be unveiled on Opening Day this Monday, wanting instead to keep that day special for the current Twins. Saturday's unveiling will come prior the Twins' fourth home game of the season.


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