Rod Carew
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | October 30, 1945, Gatun, Panama Canal Zone |
| Professional Career | |
| Debut | April 11, 1967, Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles, Metropolitan Stadium |
| Team(s) | As Player
Minnesota Twins (1967-1978) |
| HOF induction: | 1991 |
| Career Highlights | |
|
|
Rodney Cline "Rod" Carew (born October 1, 1945), is a former Major League Baseball player for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels from 1967 to 1985.
He was born to a Panamanian mother on a train in the town of Gatun, which at that time was in the Panama Canal Zone . As the train was segregated, Carew's dark-skinned mother of West Indian origin was forced to ride in a rear car. When his mother went into labor, a white doctor named Rodney Cline, who was Jewish, delivered her baby. In appreciation, the baby was named after the doctor. At age 17, the Carews emigrated to New York City. One day after graduating high school, Carew signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins.
Contents |
[edit] Major League Career
 |
| Rod Carew is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame |
Rod Carew earned the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1967 and was an All-Star in every year but his final one, 1985. In his career, Rod Carew won seven batting titles:
| 1969 | .332 |
| 1972 | .318 |
| 1973 | .350 |
| 1974 | .364 |
| 1975 | .359 |
| 1977 | .388 |
| 1978 | .333 |
In 1972, Carew led the American League in batting, without hitting a single home run. During the 1977 season in which he hit .388, it was, at the time, the highest in baseball history since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. In 1980, the Kansas City Royals' George Brett hit .390. Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres hit .394 in 1994. To date, that is the closest anyone has come to hitting .400 since in a full season. For his efforts, Carew won the American League's Most Valuable Player award. 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 traded to the-then California Angels for outfielder Ken Landreaux, catcher/first baseman Dave Engle, right-handed pitcher Paul Hartzell, and left-handed pitcher Brad Havens.
On August 4, 1985, Rod Carew joined the 3,000 hit club. The 3,000th hit was struck against Minnesota Twins left-hander Frank Viola at Anaheim Stadium. The Angels won 6-5. Right-hander Stew Cliburn got the win.
A free agent in 1986, Carew did not receive any competitive contract offers. On Jan 10, 1995, arbitrator Thomas Roberts awarded collusion damages of $782,036 to Carew for 1986 as part of the second collusion award. [1]
For his career, Carew finished with 3,053 hits and a lifetime batting average of .328.
Carew was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility. He was the 22nd player so elected. In 1999, he ranked #61 on The Sporting News'' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for Major League Baseball's All-Century Team.
[edit] Confusion over conversion to Judaism
Rod Carew received death threats when he announced his intention to marry a Jewish woman, which correlates to black singer/comedian/actor/dancer Sammy Davis, Jr., who converted to Judaism in 1954 while recovering from a serious automobile accident that cost him his left eye, marrying a white Swedish-born actress named May Britt.
However, while Carew married a Jewish woman and his children were raised in the Jewish tradition, Rod Carew has never formally converted; he has not undergone any form of ritual, nor has he publicly identified himself as a Jew. It is possible that he adheres to at least some Jewish traditions, but, arguably, it is also just as possible that he adheres to few or none.[citation needed]
Bolstering the conversion myth is The Chanukah Song, a 1994 comedy song about famous Jews written by Jewish entertainer Adam Sandler, in which he sings: "O.J. Simpson... NOT A JEW! But guess who is: Hall of Famer Rod Carew — he converted". Despite the fact that that statement is false, Sandler has repeated it in subsequent versions of the song.
Just the same, in an article in 1976 in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Carew was the second baseman on Stein's Jewish team.
[edit] Tragedy
Rod Carew's daughter, Michelle, was diagnosed with leukemia in September, 1995. Her Panamanian-Jewish ancestry drastically lowered the likelihood of finding a suitable donor for a bone marrow transplant. In spite of Carew's national pleas, no donor could be found and she died in April, 1996 at age 18.
[edit] Post-retirement
Following his retirement, Carew has worked as a hitting coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.
On January 19, 2004, Panama City, Panama's National Stadium was renamed Rod Carew Stadium. [2] In 2005, Carew was named the second baseman on the Major League Baseball Latino Legends Team.
His #29 has been retired by both the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Carew is referenced in the Beastie Boys' 1994 song, Sure Shot, with the line "... And I got mad hits like I was Rod Carew."
[edit] Chewing tobacco use
Rod Carew began using chewing tobacco in 1964 and was a regular user up to 1992, when a cancerous growth in his mouth was discovered and removed. The years of use had wreaked havoc on his teeth and gums, and Carew has spent a reported $100,000 in restorative dental work. [3]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Rod Carew at HallOfFameMagazine.com
- RodCarew29.com - Official website and merchandise
| Preceded by Tommie Agee |
American League Rookie of the Year 1967 |
Succeeded by Stan Bahnsen |
| Preceded by Carl Yastrzemski |
American League Batting Champion 1969 |
Succeeded by Alex Johnson |
| Preceded by Tony Oliva |
American League Batting Champion 1972-1975 |
Succeeded by George Brett |
| Preceded by Thurman Munson |
American League Most Valuable Player 1977 |
Succeeded by Jim Rice |
| Preceded by George Brett |
American League Batting Champion 1977-1978 |
Succeeded by Fred Lynn |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league second basemen | Major league first basemen | American League All-Stars | Baseball Rookies of the Year | California Angels players | Minnesota Twins players | Panamanian baseball players | 1945 births | Living people | Baseball players who have hit for the cycle | American League batting champions | People from New York City | Panamanian-Americans | Zonians
