Rod Carew American League MVP

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

The humid air of late September hung heavy over the ballpark as Rod Carew adjusted his batting gloves, the familiar scent of cut grass mixing with the tension of a pennant race. He stepped up to the plate, the crowd hushed in anticipation, knowing that one more hit could seal another chapter of greatness. With a fluid, almost effortless swing, he connected perfectly, sending the ball slicing into right field. It wasn't about power; it was about timing, precision, and the quiet confidence of a man who knew he was the best in the league.

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 never played a regular-season game at the Metrodome for the Twins.
• Carew stole home seven times in 1969, leading the major leagues in that category.
• Carew's 239 hits in 1977 were the most by any player since 1930 at the time.