MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
On a warm summer night, there's nothing better than watching the boys of summer play ball -- and one neighborhood's new field of dreams is drawing it's newly-donned name from a local legend.
"I like a lot of baseball players, but some of the Twins players are my favorites -- and he's definitely one of them," Matthew Lassegard said of Harmon Killebrew.
After spending 22 seasons as a professional baseball player, it's easy to see why Killebrew is considered one of the greatest Twins players ever -- both on and off the field. His widow threw out the first pitch at the rededication of the field on Thursday.
"It's heartwarming and it's very impressive," said Nita Killebrew. "We're so grateful. Harmon had the ability to touch people, and that hasn't gone away. That's amazing to me."
The Minneapolis Park Board re-named the field at Pearl Park after the Hall-of-Fame hero -- but the moniker isn't the only new feature. The field also has new dugouts, foul poles and a scoreboard -- and Lassegard was the first player to step up to the plate.
"I've been able to watch all this happen," he said. "It's great to see the field get all fixed up, looking great. Really excited to play on it."
Lassegard told FOX 9 News he hopes the name will inspire a new generation of players to follow their dreams.
"I feel like this is what he'd want," he said. "It's helping people play better baseball and keeping kids in the game. It's just great."
