AKA "Hot Rod"…Wow! Arguably the best hitter of the 70’s…HOF,ROY,MVP…A
Minnesota icon on par with Killebrew, Oliva, Kaat, Puckett, Hrbek….7 time AL batting champ….named to the all star team 18 consecutive seasons…Born in
Panama, grew up in NYC…signed by the Twins as amateur free agent in 1964…in 2 ½
years jumped from Florida Instructional league to Carolina League…Made the jump
to bigs in 1967 adjusting seamlessly to big league pitching…hit a career low of
.272 in 1968 when no one hit well…Entered into superstar status in 1969 winning
the batting crown…Acquired a new skill that year, stealing home, accomplishing
the feat 7 times falling one short of Ty Cobb’s record for a season…1970 Carew
has fantastic start, hitting .366 on his way to possibly his best season…lost
for remainder of season to a knee injury on June 22 while making a pivot on a
double play…Could have ended his career….Did pinch hit in the playoffs that
year in a move that was stupid and reckless given the two games and series were
already decided…Rod was still in a slow recovery in beginning of 1971…seemingly played in low gear but gradually
picked up steam and finished with a .307 BA….Rod returns to his former self in
1972 regaining the batting crown with a .318 figure….BA improves to an average
of .350 over the years of 1973-75 collecting three more batting crowns…Becomes
first player since Ty Cobb to get that many consecutive titles…A defensive
liability in the 2nd becomes more apparent…At the tail end of 1975 starts
playing 1st base…In 1976 has slower than normal start but battles
for the batting title with George Brett and Hal McRae up to the last day…Roars
back with a vengeance in 1977…Overwhelms competition with .388 mark and is
leader in 6 other offensive categories…Time Magazine Cover with Ted Williams…MVP with 70% of
votes …Comes back in ’78 to win his last BA crown with a seemingly pedestrian
.333 mark…title almost as an afterthought…Overshadowing the season was
disillusionment with Twin management and talent drain free agent
departures…Demanded trade and sent to the Angels for plethora of young players …Continues
All-Star performance but does not surpass production seen with the Twins…Plays
7 years with halo’s obtaining a .318 BA…Returns to ALCS two more times but
never made it to the World Series…1st ballot HOF....Became a hitting
coach for Angels and Milwaukee (I regret not meeting him)…Note to Adam Sandler: Rod has never converted to
Judism.
In Action shot: Once
again the assumption the photo was taken during July 21st game…over Rod’s right should there
appears to be a Yankee in the bullpen…No other distinguishing features but it is a cool
shot of Carew’s intensity nevertheless.
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