Baseball legend Rod Carew accomplished many things in his legendary, baseball Hall of Fame career.
He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1967 with the Minnesota Twins, was an All-Star in 18 out of his 19 years in the league, won the batting title seven times and won the AL MVP in 1977 when he batted an insane .388 with 239 hits.
Just as impressive was the fact that he only struck out 1,028 times in his entire career. To put that in perspective, he ranks 354th on the all-time batters’ strikeout list. That list includes retired players like Reggie Jackson (21 years; 2,597 strikeouts), Sammy Sosa (18; 2,306), Fred McGriff (19; 1,882), Ken Griffey Jr (22; 1,779) and Barry Bonds (14; 1,757). Even active players like Bryce Harper (13; 1,506), Christian Yelich (12; 1,381), Manny Machado (13; 1,278) and Aaron Judge (9; 1,176) have all struck out more than him.
Carew is one of the greatest hitters and players baseball has ever seen, yet his name is often forgotten when it comes to naming baseball’s greats, so true recognition is one quality that Carew never fully achieved.
But this past week, he achieved a different goal that was also long in the making.
Carew, 78, became a U.S. citizen for the first time since he moved to New York City from Panama more than 60 years ago.
“Hi you guys, I’m an American citizen!” exclaimed the former Twins and Angels legend to a large group of friends and family in Santa Ana, CA. “I don’t know what took me so long!”
Now, Carew will be able to get a US Passport, serve on a jury, and, most importantly, vote.
“I will support the U.S. any way I can, because this is my home, and it’s one of the greatest countries in the world,” said Carew in an LA Times story. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. I want to be a part of the great things this country has given us, so any way I can help, I’m gonna help.”
At 14, Carew and his mother moved to Washington Heights in NYC. The day after graduating in 1964, he signed with the Twins and his career took off. He also served with the Marine Corps Reserves for six years in the 1960s, but baseball has essentially been his life from a teenager until now.
Carew had his number 29 retired by the Angels in 1986 and by the Twins in 1987. Four years later in 1991, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a Twins hat on.
Now, over three decades later, Carew has added another title to his resume- citizen of the United States.
“I love this country, I’ve always felt at home here, and I finally decided to commit myself to it and break the barrier,” Carew said. “I’ve always said the U.S. is home, and this is one way to repay this country for what it has done for me.”
