Rookie of the Year: Rod Carew, 1967

Second Baseman, Minnesota Twins

Age:  22 (Oct. 1)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 170

Prior to 1967:

A native of Panama, Carew started out playing Little League baseball in his home town of Gamboa. He moved with his mother to New York and played sandlot baseball, where he drew attention for his hitting ability. Following graduation from high school in 1964 Carew signed with the Twins for $400 per month plus a $5000 bonus. He was initially assigned to the Cocoa Rookie League in Florida where he batted .325 in 37 games. In 1965 he moved on to Orlando of the Class A Florida State League where he hit .303 with 20 doubles, 8 triples, 1 home run, 52 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases. Carew was with Wilson of the Class A Carolina League in 1966 where he batted .292 and stole 28 bases. In the spring of 1967 the Twins made the determination that he was ready to make the leap from Class A to the parent club and installed him as the starting second baseman.

1967 Season Summary

Appeared in 137 games

2B – 134, PH – 3, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 561

At Bats – 514

Runs – 66

Hits – 150 [10]

Doubles – 22

Triples – 7 [3, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 8

RBI – 51

Bases on Balls – 37

Int. BB – 4

Strikeouts – 91

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 9 [7]

Average - .292 [6]

OBP - .341 [16]

Slugging Pct. - .409 [18]

Total Bases – 210 [20, tied with Norm Cash]

GDP – 12

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 7 [15, tied with twelve others]

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: HR - 6, RBI – 31, AVG. - .313, OBP – .362

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Washington 5/8

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

Most HR, game – 1 on eight occasions

HR at home – 1

HR on road – 7

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at California 5/19, at Baltimore 6/19

Pinch-hitting – 1 of 2 (.500) with 1 R & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 618

Put Outs – 289

Assists – 314

Errors – 15

DP – 60

Pct. - .976

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

All-Star (started for AL at 2B)

AL ROY Voting:

Rod Carew, Min.: 19 of 20 votes, 95% share

Reggie Smith, Bos.: 1 vote, 5% share

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Twins went 91-71 to finish tied for second in the AL with the Detroit Tigers, one game behind the pennant-winning Boston Red Sox. Having replaced manager Sam Mele with Cal Ermer in June, Minnesota became involved in a dramatic four-team pennant race with the Red Sox, Tigers & White Sox. All four clubs were in first on Sept. 6 and the Twins stayed at or near the top the rest of the way. By the season’s final weekend the Twins were in first by one game and heading into Boston. The Red Sox, who were one behind, swept both games to take the flag.

Aftermath of ‘67:

Carew followed up in 1968 by hitting .273 and again starting for the AL at second base in the All-Star Game. With manager Billy Martin advocating aggressive base-running in 1969, Carew stole home a total of 7 times (among his stolen base total of 19), coming within one of Ty Cobb’s league record, and also won his first AL batting title with a .332 average as well as hitting 30 doubles and 8 home runs. Once more an All-Star, Carew also placed tenth in league MVP voting with the division-winning Twins. An intelligent player and bat control specialist who hit to all fields, Carew suffered a broken leg midway through the 1970 season that required surgery and limited him to 51 games, during which he batted .366. He continued to be a consistent .300 hitter and All-Star and won four straight AL batting titles from 1972 to ’75. Not a bad fielder at second base, but not outstanding either, he was given a brief trial at first base in 1975 that became a permanent position change in ’76. In 1977 Carew was the MVP in the AL while leading the league in batting (.388), hits (239), and triples (16), and tied his career high with 14 home runs while reaching 100 RBIs. He spent one more season with Minnesota in 1978 and won another batting championship (.333). With a year left on his contract and the likelihood that he would be lost to free agency, the Twins traded Carew to the California Angels in 1979. In seven seasons with the Angels, he continued to be a productive hitter while playing first base. He batted .314 over that span, with a high of .339 in 1983, and was a six-time All-Star. California won two AL West titles, in 1979 and ’82. Carew retired following the 1985 season. Overall, he batted .328 with 3053 hits that included 445 doubles, 112 triples, and 92 home runs. He also accumulated 1015 RBIs and 353 stolen bases (17 of which were steals of home). With the Twins he hit .334 with 2085 hits, including 305 doubles, 90 triples, and 74 home runs, to go with 733 RBIs and 271 stolen bases. He was an All-Star selection 18 times (12 with the Twins). Carew was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 and both the Twins and Angels retired his #29, and he was named to their team Halls of Fame as well.      

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.