Rod Carew
|
|
Time-magazine-cover-rod-carew.jpg
Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945 in Gatun, Panama) was a Major League Baseball player for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to being the only major leaguer to ever be born in a train, he was one of the most prolific hitters of his generation.
An immigrant to New York City at the age of 17, Carew was an All-Star in all but his final 1985 season and the American League Rookie of the Year in 1967. In 1972, amazingly enough, Carew led the American League in batting, without hitting a single home run. He won seven batting titles, including his best overall season, 1977 in which his .388 batting average was the highest in baseball since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Though it by far was the closest anyone other than Williams had come to hitting .400 or more since the actual 1941 feat, it did not get the media attention that George Brett's attempt did 3 years later because unlike Brett's run he was "only" hitting about .350 or so most of the season until he hit a "hot streak" in September and his average started inching towards .400 during the last two weeks of the season. He also won the AL's Most Valuable Player award that year. In addition, he is one of only two players (the other being Ty Cobb) to lead Major League Baseball in batting average in three consecutive years, doing so from 1973 through 1975.
Originally a second baseman, Carew moved to first base in 1975 to lengthen his career. Frustrated by the Twins' inability to keep its young stars, Carew announced his intention to leave the team in 1979. He was then traded to the Angels for four players.
Sometimes a target of racism, Carew received death threats when he announced his intention to marry a white Jewish woman. Many sources have long claimed that he converted to Judaism when he married his wife and in this sense he is sometimes compared to Sammy Davis Jr. as a famous "Jewish convert of color"; however, this is incorrect. He has never undergone a formal conversion ceremony nor publicly identified himself as an adherent of Judaism, however, his children were raised Jewish and it is assumed that as such he partakes in some Jewish activities such as lighting Chanukah candles or organizing Passover seders with his family. Nonetheless, the story about him converting to Judaism is an urban myth. He is named in one of Adam Sandler's Hannukah Songs as "Hall of Famer Rod Carew!"
Carew was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility. He was the 22nd player so elected.
When Carew's 18-year-old daughter, Michelle, fell victim to leukemia, Carew made national headlines again. Her Panamanian-Jewish ethnic mix lowered the likelihood of finding a suitable donor for a bone marrow transplant; in spite of Carew's national pleas, she died in April 1996 before a donor could be located.
Following his retirement, Carew has worked as a hitting coach, including for the Angels and for the Milwaukee Brewers.
On January 19th, 2004, Panama City, Panama's National Stadium was renamed Rod Carew Stadium.[1] (http://www.asamblea.gob.pa/GACETAS/2000/2004/24969_2004.PDF)
See also
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com: Rod Carew's career statistics (http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/carewro01.shtml)es:Rod Carew
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league second basemen | Major league first basemen | 1967 American League All-Stars | 1968 American League All-Stars | 1969 American League All-Stars | 1970 American League All-Stars | 1971 American League All-Stars | 1972 American League All-Stars | 1973 American League All-Stars | 1974 American League All-Stars | 1975 American League All-Stars | 1976 American League All-Stars | 1977 American League All-Stars | 1978 American League All-Stars | 1979 American League All-Stars | 1980 American League All-Stars | 1981 American League All-Stars | 1982 American League All-Stars | 1983 American League All-Stars | 1984 American League All-Stars | California Angels players | Minnesota Twins players | Panamanian sportspeople | 1945 births