Rod Carew Marquee Hall of Fame 1991

b. October 1, 1945 · Minnesota Twins 1967–1978, California Angels 1979–1985

Minnesota brought him up in 1967 and he was named Rookie of the Year. He played second base for the Twins through 1975 and moved across to first base the following season. He was born in Gatun, in the Panama Canal Zone, batted left-handed, and hit .328 over nineteen seasons.

The best of those years was 1977: 239 hits in 616 at-bats, a .388 average, 128 runs, and the only time he drove in 100. The league named him its Most Valuable Player. He led the American League in hits three times and in triples twice, and stole 353 bases while never hitting more than 14 home runs in a season.

California traded for him after 1978. On August 4, 1985, in his final year, he reached 3,000 hits with a single against Minnesota, the club he had given twelve seasons to. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1991 on the first ballot, with 401 of 443 votes.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	18	1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
The Sporting News All-Star	9	1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978
Player of the Week	5	1975, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1985
Player of the Month	4	1974, 1977, 1980, 1983
Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - HOF Player	1	2016
Most Valuable Player	1	1977
Roberto Clemente Award	1	1977
Rookie of the Year	1	1967
The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year	1	1977
The Sporting News Player of the Year	1	1977
The Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year	1	1967

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1967	MIN	137	514	66	150	22	7	8	51	37	91	5	.292
1968	MIN	127	461	46	126	27	2	1	42	26	71	12	.273
1969	MIN	123	458	79	152	30	4	8	56	37	72	19	.332
1970	MIN	51	191	27	70	12	3	4	28	11	28	4	.366
1971	MIN	147	577	88	177	16	10	2	48	45	81	6	.307
1972	MIN	142	535	61	170	21	6	0	51	43	60	12	.318
1973	MIN	149	580	98	203	30	11	6	62	62	55	41	.350
1974	MIN	153	599	86	218	30	5	3	55	74	49	38	.364
1975	MIN	143	535	89	192	24	4	14	80	64	40	35	.359
1976	MIN	156	605	97	200	29	12	9	90	67	52	49	.331
1977	MIN	155	616	128	239	38	16	14	100	69	55	23	.388
1978	MIN	152	564	85	188	26	10	5	70	78	62	27	.333
1979	CAL	110	409	78	130	15	3	3	44	73	46	18	.318
1980	CAL	144	540	74	179	34	7	3	59	59	38	23	.331
1981	CAL	93	364	57	111	17	1	2	21	45	45	16	.305
1982	CAL	138	523	88	167	25	5	3	44	67	49	10	.319
1983	CAL	129	472	66	160	24	2	2	44	57	48	6	.339
1984	CAL	93	329	42	97	8	1	3	31	40	39	4	.295
1985	CAL	127	443	69	124	17	3	2	39	64	47	5	.280
Career	—	2469	9315	1424	3053	445	112	92	1015	1018	1028	353	.328

On this day & linked events

1945

Born October 1, 1945

Gatun, CZ, USA

1967

Major-league debut: Rod Carew

Rod Carew made a major-league debut on April 11, 1967.

1970

Rod Carew Hits for the Cycle, 1970

Rod Carew hit for the cycle for the Minnesota Twins against the Kansas City Royals on May 20, 1970.

1985

Rod Carew's 3,000th Hit

Rod Carew singles against the Minnesota Twins, his club for twelve seasons, to reach 3,000 hits as a California Angel.

1985

Final major-league game: Rod Carew

Rod Carew played a final major-league game on October 5, 1985.

Image: Tito Herrera, CC BY 2.0