Rod Carew

Rod Carew
Carew with the Minnesota Twins in 1978
Second baseman / First baseman
Born: (1945-10-01) October 1, 1945 (age 79) Gatún, Panama Canal Zone
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 11, 1967, for the Minnesota Twins
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1985, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average	.328
Hits	3,053
Home runs	92
Runs batted in	1,015
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player Minnesota Twins (1967–1978) California Angels (1979–1985) As coach California / Anaheim Angels (1992–1999) Milwaukee Brewers (2000–2001)
Career highlights and awards
18× All-Star (1967–1984) AL MVP (1977) AL Rookie of the Year (1967) Roberto Clemente Award (1977) 7× AL batting champion (1969, 1972–1975, 1977, 1978) Minnesota Twins No. 29 retired Los Angeles Angels No. 29 retired Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame Angels Hall of Fame
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1991
Vote	90.5% (first ballot)

Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945)^[1] is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman, first baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. The most accomplished contact hitter in Twins history, he won the 1977 AL Most Valuable Player Award, setting a Twins record with a .388 batting average.^[2] Carew appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games and led the AL in hits three times, with his 239 hits in 1977 being the twelfth most in a season at the time.^[3] He won seven AL batting titles, the second most AL batting titles in history behind Ty Cobb, and on July 12, 2016, the AL batting title was renamed to the Rod Carew American League batting title.^[4]

In 1977, Carew was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. On August 4, 1985, he became the 16th member of the 3,000 hit club with a single to left field off Frank Viola.^[5] His 3,053 hits are 27th all time, and his career batting average of .328 is 34th all time. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 in his first year of eligibility;^[6] he appeared on upwards of 90 percent of the ballots. He was also elected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame, Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame, and Angels Hall of Fame. After retiring as a player, Carew served as a coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.