Rod Carew

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Carew is the son of Olga Teoma and Eric Carew Sr., a painter. Carew is a Zonian and was born to a Panamanian mother on a train in the town of Gatún, which at that time was in the Panama Canal Zone. The train was racially segregated; white passengers were given the better forward cars, while non-whites, like Carew's mother, were forced to ride in the rearward cars. Traveling on the train was Dr. Rodney Cline, who delivered the baby. In appreciation for this, Mrs. Carew named the boy Rodney Cline Carew. Carew later acknowledged in 2020 that he and his father Eric had a very tumultuous relationship, even stating 'Baseball was the one thing that kept me from killing my father.' In his memoir One Tough Out, Carew stated that his father was a violent alcoholic who would often physically abuse him and his mother, and that Carew eventually came close to killing him with a machete. At age 14, Carew and his siblings immigrated to the United States to join his mother in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City. Although Carew attended George Washington High School, he never played baseball for the high school team. According to Carew, his interest in baseball redeveloped at the age of 18; it had initially developed when he was younger and still in Panama, where his mother convinced him he could get away from his father if he played baseball. Carew later played semi-professional baseball for the Bronx Cavaliers, which is where he was discovered by Minnesota Twins scout Monroe Katz (whose son, Steve, played with Carew on the Cavaliers). Katz then recommended Carew to another Twins scout, Herb Stein, who arranged a tryout in April 1964, where Carew performed so well that manager Sam Mele finished the tryout early so that the Yankees would not see him. Herb Stein along with Katz signed Carew to an amateur free agent contract (at the Stella D'Oro Restaurant in the Bronx) on June 24, 1964 for a monthly salary of $400. Starting his minor league career, Carew was assigned to play second base with the Melbourne Twins in the Cocoa Rookie League and hit .325 over the final 37 games of the season. Over the next two years he would end up hitting .302 in Class A playing second base for the Wilson Tobs and the Orlando Twins.

In Their Own Story

On April 11, 1967, at Memorial Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles, Carew recorded his first major league hit—a single—in his very first plate appearance. He finished that debut game going 2-for-4. His rookie season culminated in him winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award with 19 of 20 first-place votes. By May 18, 1969, he was already showcasing historic speed and baseball IQ against the Detroit Tigers, where his multi-base steal sequence became a defining moment of his early career. The following year, on May 20, 1970, Carew hit for the cycle against the Kansas City Royals, going 4-for-5 with a stolen base, becoming the first Twin to achieve this feat. His resilience shone through in June 1970 when he missed 92 games following surgery on his left leg, yet returned to lead the league in batting average multiple times, including his record-setting .388 season in 1977.

Reader's Guide

In the top of the second inning on April 11, 1967, at Memorial Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles, Carew hit a single for his first major league hit in his first plate appearance; he would finish the game going 2–4. A few weeks later, against the Washington Senators, Carew went 5–5 with a double and a stolen base for the first 5–hit game of his career. He was elected to the first of his 18 consecutive All-Star game appearances and won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, receiving 19 of 20 first-place votes. In a game against the Detroit Tigers at Metropolitan Stadium on May 18, 1969, Cesar Tovar led off the bottom of the third with a single. With Carew at bat, pitcher Mickey Lolich balked and Tovar moved to second base, then stole third. Carew walked, then executed a double steal with Tovar as Tovar stole home and Carew stole second. Carew then stole third base, followed by a steal of home. This marked the 41st time in Major League history and the 20th time in AL history that a runner had stolen every base in an inning. Carew stole home seven times in 1969, leading the major leagues in this category and just missing Ty Cobb's record of eight. Carew's seven steals of home in 1969 was the most in the majors since Pete Reiser stole seven for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946. Manager Billy Martin had worked with Carew throughout the 1969 season to learn how to steal home, and teammate Sandy Valdespino had taught Carew how to bunt more effectively. At the end of the season, he led the AL with a .332 batting average, while the second-place finisher, Reggie Smith, had a .309 average. Carew hit for the cycle on May 20, 1970, against the Kansas City Royals, going 4–5 with a stolen base; this was the first cycle hit by a member of the Twins. On June 22, he was injured at second base attempting to convert a double play. He had surgery to repair ligaments in his left leg and missed 92 games. In 1972, Carew led the AL in batting, hitting .318; he had no home runs for the only time in his career. This was the first time since 1918, when Zack Wheat won the National League batting championship, that a player won the batting title with no home runs. The start of the 1973 season was slow. Carew was hitting only .246 by the end of April. Carew performed well during the summer months, including a 5-hit performance on August 14. By the end of September, he was back

Did You Know?

• Carew stole home seven times in 1969, leading the major leagues and just missing Ty Cobb's record of eight.
• Carew's 239 hits in 1977 were the most by any player since 1930 at the time.
• Carew was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 in his first year of eligibility, appearing on upwards of 90 percent of the ballots.
• Carew was born on a train in the Panama Canal Zone and was delivered by Dr. Rodney Cline, after whom he was named.

Career Dominance and Batting Mastery

Rod Carew's offensive resume is anchored by seven American League batting titles, the second-most in history behind Ty Cobb. His dominance was recognized when the AL renamed its annual batting award the Rod Carew American League batting title on July 12, 2016. He set a Twins record with a .388 average in 1977, the highest since Ted Williams hit .388 in 1957. That season, he also recorded 239 hits, which ranked as the 12th-most in a single season at the time and remains tied for 16th all-time with Willie Keeler's 1897 total. Carew led the AL in hits three times and maintained a career batting average of .328 (34th all-time) with 3,053 total hits (27th all-time). He was elected to 18 consecutive All-Star Games and finished in the top 15 in MVP voting every year from 1972 to 1978.

Early Life and Overcoming Adversity

Born on October 1, 1945, Carew was delivered by Dr. Rodney Cline on a segregated train in Gatún, Panama, where white passengers rode forward cars and non-whites were forced to the rear. His mother named him in honor of the doctor. His childhood was marked by severe abuse from his father, Eric Carew Sr., whom Carew described as a violent alcoholic. In his memoir One Tough Out, he revealed that he once came close to killing his father with a machete and stated, "Baseball was the one thing that kept me from killing my father." At age 14, he moved to Washington Heights in Manhattan. He did not play high school baseball but rekindled his passion at 18 while playing for the Bronx Cavaliers. Twins scout Monroe Katz signed him after a tryout where manager Sam Mele hurriedly concluded the session to prevent the Yankees from seeing his talent.

Defining Moments and Historic Feats

Carew's career was filled with singular achievements. On August 4, 1985, he became the 16th member of the 3,000-hit club with a single off Frank Viola. In 1972, he won a batting title with a .318 average without hitting a single home run, the first player to do so since Zack Wheat in 1918. His base-running brilliance peaked in 1969 when he led the majors with seven steals of home. On May 20, 1970, he hit for the cycle against the Kansas City Royals. In 1975, he became the first player since George Sisler to steal 40 bases while playing mostly at first base. His 1977 MVP season saw him lead the league with 128 runs scored and 100 RBIs, earning a cover story in Time magazine titled "Baseball's Best Hitter." He also won the Roberto Clemente Award that same year for his community involvement.

Legacy, Honors, and Life After Baseball

Carew retired as a player after the 1985 season but remained active in baseball as a coach for the Angels and Milwaukee Brewers. His post-playing honors include election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility, where he appeared on upwards of 90 percent of ballots. He is also enshrined in the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame, Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame, and Angels Hall of Fame. In 2020, Carew addressed long-standing rumors about racist comments by former Twins owner Calvin Griffith triggering his trade, stating that Griffith wanted him paid what he was worth and noting that a racist would not have facilitated his move to the highest-paid player in baseball with the Angels. His final season stats included a .319 average despite playing through a broken hand in 1982.