Rod Carew (1991)


Date of Birth: 10/1/1945
Birthplace: Gatun, Panama Canal Zone

Rod Carew, played semi-pro baseball while still in high school. He signed with the Minnesota Twins on June 24, 1964. He played in the minor leagues for three years before joining the Twins in 1967.

Minnesota Twins

Carew won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1967, his first season with the Twins. He also won the Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year award. He batted .292 with 150 hits, 22 doubles, and 51 RBIs in 137 games. The following season, he batted .273 in 127 games. He finished the 1968 season with 126 hits, 27 doubles, and 42 RBIs.

In 1969, Carew had his first of fifteen consecutive seasons with a batting average over .300. He led the AL in batting average that season with .332. He had 152 hits, 30 doubles, 19 stolen bases, and 56 RBIs in 123 games. He played in just 51 games in 1970, and he batted .366 with 70 hits. He played in 147 games in 1971. He had 177 hits, 48 RBIs, 81 strikeouts to 45 walks, and a .307 batting average.

Carew led the AL in batting average from 1972 through 1975. He batted .318 with 170 hits, 21 doubles, and 51 RBIs in 142 games in 1972. He led the league in hits, triples, and batting average in 1973. He finished that season with 203 hits, 30 doubles, 11 triples, 41 stolen bases, 62 RBIs, and a .350 batting average in 153 games.

In addition to leading the AL in batting average in 1974, Carew also led the league in hits and on-base percentage. He had 218 hits, 30 doubles, 38 stolen bases, 55 RBIs, 49 strikeouts to 74 walks, and a .364 batting average in 153 games. His on-base percentage was .433. In 1975, he again led the league in batting average and on-base percentage. He finished the season with 192 hits, 24 doubles, a career high 14 home runs, 35 stolen bases, 40 strikeouts to 64 walks, 80 RBIs, and a .359 batting average. His on-base percentage was .421.

Carew played in a career high 156 games in 1976. He batted .331 with 200 hits, 29 doubles, a career high 49 stolen bases, and 90 RBIs. He also played well defensively, leading all AL first basemen in double plays turned with 149.

Carew had his best season in 1977, when he won the AL MVP award and the Sporting News Player of the Year award. He led the league in hits, triples, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He played in 155 games and he had career highs in hits (239), doubles (38), triples (16), home runs (14), RBIs (100), batting average (.388), on-base percentage (.449), and OPS (1.019). Defensively, he excelled also, leading all first basemen in assists with 121 and in double plays turned with 161. He won the Roberto Clemente award in 1977.

Carew had another strong season in 1978, leading the AL in batting average with .333 and in on-base percentage with .411. He had 188 hits, 26 doubles, 27 stolen bases, 62 strikeouts to 78 walks, and 70 RBIs in 152 games.

California Angels

Carew was traded to the California Angels on February 3, 1979. In his first season with the Angels, he batted .318 with 130 hits and 44 RBIs in 110 games. The following season, he batted .331 in 144 games. He finished the 1980 season with 179 hits, 34 doubles, 23 stolen bases, and 59 RBIs.

In the strike shortened 1981 season, Carew batted .305 in 93 games. The following season, he batted .319 in 138 games. He finished the 1982 season with 167 hits, 25 doubles, and 44 RBIs.

Carew's playing time was diminished in his last three seasons as a major league player. He played in 129 games in 1983, and he batted .339 with 160 hits and 44 RBIs. The following season, he played in just 93 games and he batted .295 with 97 hits. He finished his career in 1985 with a .280 batting average and 124 hits in 127 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL Rookie of the Year
  • Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year
  • AL MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Led AL in batting average (7 times)
  • Led AL in hits (3 times)
  • Led AL in triples (2 times)
  • Led AL in on-base percentage (4 times)

Career Statistics

Career batting statistics for Carew include:

  • 2,469 games played
  • 3,053 hits
  • 445 doubles
  • 112 triples
  • 353 stolen bases
  • 1,015 RBIs
  • 1,028 strikeouts to 1,018 walks
  • .328 batting average
  • .393 on-base percentage
  • .822 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Carew as a first baseman include:

  • 1,184 games played
  • 774 assists
  • 1,130 double plays
  • 10,930 putouts
  • 106 errors
  • .991 fielding percentage

Career fielding statistics for Carew as a second baseman include:

  • 1,130 games played
  • 2,928 assists
  • 664 double plays
  • 2,573 putouts
  • 154 errors
  • .973 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Carew include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 14 games played
  • 50 at-bats
  • 11 hits
  • 4 doubles
  • 2 stolen bases
  • 1 RBI
  • 9 strikeouts to 5 walks
  • .220 batting average

Post Playing Career

After the 1985 season, Carew was forced into retirement when no team in major league baseball offered him a contract. He sued MLB owners for collusion and, in 1995, he won the case and was awarded $782,036 in damages.

After retirement, Carew spent time as a hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and the California Angels.

Carew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991 on the first ballot with 90.5% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Rod Carew
ESPN - Rod Carew
Baseball Reference - Rod Carew

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