Rod Carew
Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian-American former professional
baseball player and
coach. He played in
Major League Baseball (MLB) as a
second baseman,
first 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. Carew appeared in 18 consecutive
All-Star Games and led the AL in hits three times, with his 239 hits in ranking as the 12th most in a season at the time and the 16th most as of 2024, tied with
Willie Keeler’s 239 hits from . 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.
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. 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; 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.
Provided by Wikipedia