Rod Carew

Rod Carew
Carew with the Minnesota Twins in 1978
First baseman / Second baseman
Born: (1945-10-01) October 1, 1945 (age 78)
Gatún, Panama Canal Zone
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 11, 1967, for the Minnesota Twins
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1985, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average.328
Hits3,053
Home runs92
Runs batted in1,015
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1991
Vote90.5% (first ballot)

Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945)[1] is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. The most accomplished contact hitter in Twins history, he won the 1977 AL Most Valuable Player Award, setting a Twins record with a .388 batting average.[2] Carew appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games and led the AL in hits three times, with his 239 hits in 1977 being the twelfth most in a season at the time.[3] He won seven AL batting titles, the second most AL batting titles in history behind Ty Cobb, and on July 12, 2016, the AL batting title was renamed to the Rod Carew American League batting title.[4]

In 1977, Carew was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. On August 4, 1985, he became the 16th member of the 3,000 hit club with a single to left field off Frank Viola.[5] His 3,053 hits are 27th all time, and his career batting average of .328 is 34th all time. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 in his first year of eligibility;[6] he appeared on upwards of 90 percent of the ballots. He was also elected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame, Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame, and Angels Hall of Fame. After retiring as a player, Carew served as a coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.

  1. ^ "Rod Carew Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  2. ^ "Minnesota Twins Top 10 Single-Season Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Matt Snyder (July 13, 2016). "MLB All-Star Game: Batting title awards named to honor Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "3,000 Hit Club Exhibit". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  6. ^ Rod Carew at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Joseph Wancho, Retrieved February 3, 2020.