MVP Profile: Rod Carew, 1977

First Baseman, Minnesota Twins

Age:  31

11^th season with Twins

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 170 

Prior to 1977:

A native of Panama, Carew started out playing Little League baseball in his hometown 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. The Twins started slowly, but following a managerial change, they became part of a wild four-team pennant race that ultimately was won by the Red Sox. Carew started at second base for the American League in the All-Star Game and went on to bat .292 and was named AL Rookie of the Year. He followed up in 1968 by hitting .273 and again started 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 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.

1977 Season Summary

Appeared in 155 games

1B – 151, PH – 7, 2B – 4, DH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 694 [6]

At Bats – 616 [7]

Runs – 128 [1]

Hits – 239 [1]

Doubles – 38 [3, tied with Chet Lemon]

Triples – 16 [1]

Home Runs – 14

RBI – 100 [13, tied with Thurman Munson]

Bases on Balls – 69 [19]

Int. BB – 15 [1]

Strikeouts – 55

Stolen Bases – 23 [16, tied with Amos Otis & Frank White]

Caught Stealing – 13 [12, tied with Freddie Patek & Bill North]

Average - .388 [1]

OBP - .449 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .570 [2]

Total Bases – 351 [2]

GDP – 6

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 5

League-leading runs scored were +22 ahead of runner-up Carlton Fisk

League-leading hits were +27 ahead of runner-up Ron LeFlore

League-leading triples were +1 ahead of runner-up Jim Rice

League-leading int. bases on balls were +2 ahead of runner-up Ken Singleton

League-leading batting average was +.052 ahead of runner-up Lyman Bostock

League-leading OBP was +.011 ahead of runner-up Ken Singleton

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 20, 3B – 14, HR - 6, RBI – 58, AVG. - .394, OBP – .463, SLG - .586

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 6 AB) at Boston 5/25

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. NY Yankees 9/3

HR at home – 8

HR on road – 6

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Chi. White Sox 6/26

Pinch-hitting – 3 for 6 (.500) with 2 R, 3 RBI & 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 1590

Put Outs – 1459

Assists – 121

Errors – 10

DP – 161

Pct. - .994

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Roberto Clemente Award: MLB

All-Star (Started for AL at 1B)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Rod Carew, Min.: 273 points - 12 of 28 first place votes, 70% share

Al Cowens, KCR: 217 points – 4 first place votes, 55% share

Ken Singleton, Balt.: 200 points – 3 first place votes, 51% share

Jim Rice, Bos.: 163 points – 1 first place vote, 42% share

Graig Nettles, NYY: 112 points – 2 first place votes, 29% share

(1 first place vote apiece for Sparky Lyle, NYY., who ranked sixth, Thurman Munson, NYY, who ranked seventh, Carlton Fisk, Bos. who ranked eighth, Reggie Jackson, NYY, who also ranked eighth, Larry Hisle, Min., who ranked 12^th & Carl Yastrzemski, Bos., who ranked 17^th)

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Twins went 84-77 to finish fourth in the AL Western Division, 17.5 games behind the division-winning Kansas City Royals, while leading the league in runs scored (867), hits (1588), batting (.282), and OBP (.348). The surprising Twins were 29-17 by the end of May and led the AL West for 51 days. Fueled by the hitting of Carew and outfielders Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle, Minnesota stayed in contention until a September collapse dropped the club into fourth.

Aftermath of ‘77:

Carew won another batting championship in 1978 with a .333 average and further led the AL with a .411 OBP and 19 intentional walks. 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. Appearing in 14 postseason games, he hit .220 with a .291 on-base percentage. 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.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.