Search the Community

Harmon Killebrew hit 573 home runs in his Hall of Fame career. Most people who had the opportunity to meet the slugger talk more about the kind of person that he was. After he passed away, the Twins established the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. Each of the Twins four full-season affiliates gets one recipient each season. For the second straight year, reliever Jake Reed is the winner for the Killebrew Award for the Rochester Red Wings. Appropriately, many of the people around Rochester that had the opportunity to meet or work with Reed will likely have several stories to tell about what he did off the field. We’ve got a good one below.Jake Reed was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2015 out of the University of Oregon. He quickly moved up the organizational ladder and reached Triple-A Rochester last in the 2016 season. He is still awaiting the opportunity to take the next step, the biggest step, up to the big leagues. But Jake Reed is beloved in Rochester. That is especially true of the Red Wings general manager Dan Mason who noted, “Once again this year, Jake led our team in appearances, going to schools, corporate events, hospitals, community events, youth baseball clinics, a clinic for mentally challenged kids, and he helped host the the Challenger Baseball World Series here, featuring 10 different Challenger Baseball teams playing here at Frontier Field on a Saturday in June.” As you can see from the list at the bottom, there have been some really terrific people who have come through Rochester and been recognized with this award. Lefty reliever Logan Darnell won the award the three seasons before Jake Reed won his first in 2018. Mason continued, “The thing that separates Jake from some of the other players we’ve had here in the past is that he has built an amazing rapport with so many of the people whose lives he has touched in our town. At almost every home game I would see Challenger Baseball players coming over to him to say hello and getting a hug or a high five from him either before or after the game. So many of the kids in Challenger baseball program locally got to know him so well because every Saturday that we had a home game he would drive over to their field about 25 minutes from Frontier Field and spend hours , without ever telling any of us in the front office, pitching to the kids and helping them hit or wheeling them around the bases in their wheelchairs.“ Mason shared one story that certainly represents Reed and the impact he has on people’s lives. . “One story that truly stands out to me is that earlier this year we had a mentally challenged youngster sing the National Anthem before a game. He knew Jake through Challenger Baseball. That particular game we were playing the Syracuse Mets and Tim Tebow was on their team. After the anthem was done the young man said to me, ‘Mr Mason, I really want to meet Tim Tebow. He’s my favorite. Can you get him over here so I can say hi?” I explained that I couldn’t do that as he was getting ready for the game, and that I couldn’t bother him as he was warming up. The young man replied …” I’m gonna talk to Jake about this.’ At that moment, Jake started walking toward us and waved out toward left field where Tebow was warming up. At that point, Tebow came running over to say hello to the young man, chatted with him, hugged him and took a few photos with him. Little did I know, but Jake knew that this young man’s favorite player was Tim Tebow, and he had arranged everything with Tebow prior to the game. This is the sort of unselfish act that Jake did on a daily basis. With little to no fanfare. He created countless memories for kids in our community throughout the season.” Jake Reed has a very strong support system around him with his family, but also with his wife Janie Reed. Janie has been a member of Team USA softball and helped the team to a couple of gold medals this summer, including at the Pan Am Games. Mason said, “When we hosted our first ever Women in Sports night, he even convinced his wife Janie, who was in town, to help run a pregame softball clinic for girls. Janie is a member of Team USA softball.” As you have seen, the Twins and their minor league affiliates all take a ton of pride in their work in the communities in which they play. “Every kid has boyhood idols. Tons and tons of young Minnesotans look up to and idolize Joe Mauer and other Twins players. Well, here in Rochester, New York, there is a huge segment of kids who idolize Jake Reed because they feel like he’s their friend, and he is. Jake is as genuine a person as you’ll ever meet and he doesn’t just do community activities and appearances because we asked him to, he does it because he wanted to.” I was unable to reach Jake this week, but this is what he said last year when he received this award. “But getting this reward definitely reminded me of why God actually has me playing this game. It’s not about baseball. It really isn’t. It’s about loving and serving the people that you come into contact with, and the great thing about baseball is it gives us players plenty of opportunity to do so. I think men like Harmon Killebrew have set the example for us as far as what it looks like to be more than a baseball player.” Minor league players don’t get many days off from games throughout the long season. They don’t get a ton of free time. That’s why we choose to recognize these Harmon KIllebrew Award winners who were chosen by their team for going above and beyond to serve their communities during the season. Previous Red Wings Killebrew Award winners: 2011 - Kyle Gibson 2012 - JR Towles 2013 - Brian Dinkelman 2014 - Logan Darnell 2015 - Logan Darnell 2016 - Logan Darnell 2017 - DJ Baxendale 2018 - Jake Reed Other 2019 Killebrew Award Recipients Rochester Red Wings - Jake Reed Pensacola Blue Wahoos - Hector Lujan Fort Myers Miracle - Coming Soon Cedar Rapids Kernels - Brian Rapp Congratulations to Jake Reed on earning the 2019 Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service for the Rochester Red Wings. Click here to view the article

Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew is generally considered the greatest Twins player in their 58-year history in Minnesota. He was an imposing figure on the field, capable of altering a game with one swing of his mighty bat. Off the field, Killebrew was said to be one of the most genuinely compassionate men, respectful and helpful. Following the Hall of Famer’s death in 2011, the Twins announced the initiation of the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. One player from each of the four Twins full-season affiliates would be presented with the award in recognition of their work in their community. Over the coming days, we’ll share with you the four 2018 recipients of the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service.The 2018 Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service recipient for the Rochester Red Wings is right-handed relief pitcher Jake Reed. On the field, it was a real solid season for the hard-throwing right-hander. His overall numbers were terrific. He posted a 1.89 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP. In 47 2/3 innings, he walked 21, but he struck out 50 batters. He missed some time early in the season, but since June 1, he was tremendous. Over the season’s final three months, his ERA was just 1.43 and opponents hit just .167 off of him. It is difficult to understand why he did not receive a September call up based on his statistical line, especially late in the season. As impressive as he was on the mound for the Red Wings, he made a strong impression in the Rochester community as well. Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason nominated Reed saying, “Jake has been a phenomenal representative for the Red Wings and the Twins in our community this season volunteering at a variety of both corporate partner events as well as community events.” The list of activities that Reed helped with in the community was quite lengthy. Mason continued, “Some of the community events he participated in include: delivering meals with Meals on Wheels. Speaking engagement for Rochester Regional Hospital, Foodlink Summer kickoff, USSSA clinic, School of the Holy Childhood ( for mentally challenged kids) clinic, Challenger Baseball World Series here at Frontier Field, Red Wings Baseball camp, and another Challenger baseball camp. ” Reed truly appreciated the opportunities he had to work in and for the community thanks to the Red Wings. He said, “The Red Wings have been one of the best organizations I have ever seen as far as the opportunities they give us players to get out into the community and serve. We have done everything from visiting hospitals and running baseball camps, to delivering meals to less fortunate families and working alongside the Challenger baseball league in Rochester, which has been my favorite.” But, according to Mason, Reed went above and beyond the team-sponsored activities. “On his own time, without anyone in our office asking him, Jake visited a Challenger baseball field on his own on a Saturday morning in June. He also can often be seen before games chatting with fans and signing autographs, doing his best to provide lifelong memories for our fans. He truly understands his responsibilities as a professional baseball player on and off the field.” Reed deserved a September call up because of his work on the field for the Red Wings in 2018. However, he fully understands his role in society and the opportunities and the platform he’s been given and chooses to use it for good. He noted recently that he really appreciates receiving the honor and having his name associated with someone like Harmon Killebrew. He said, “This award actually means a lot. I will be honest. Not getting the call at the end of the season was disappointing. But getting this reward definitely reminded me of why God actually has me playing this game. It’s not about baseball. It really isn’t. It’s about loving and serving the people that you come into contact with, and the great thing about baseball is it gives us players plenty of opportunity to do so. I think men like Harmon Killebrew have set the example for us as far as what it looks like to be more than a baseball player.” Reed joined Episode 7 of Seth’s Twins On Deck Podcastlast offseason to talk about the work he’s done on the field, but also to discuss his faith as it is a very important an instrumental part of his life. Previous Red Wings Killebrew Award winners: 2011 - Kyle Gibson 2012 - JR Towles 2013 - Brian Dinkelman 2014 - Logan Darnell 2015 - Logan Darnell 2016 - Logan Darnell 2017 - DJ Baxendale 2018 - Jake Reed Congratulations to Jake Reed on earning the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service for the Rochester Red Wings. Over the coming days, we will share the stories of the Killebrew Award winners for the Chattanooga Lookouts, Ft. Myers Miracle and Cedar Rapids Kernels (in which there is an interesting tie to Killebrew himself). Click here to view the article