MLB: Ichiro becomes all-time hits leader among foreign-born players
Rod Carew: 3,053 career hits
Rod Carew was the second foreign-born player to get 3,000 hits. He was an artist with the bat who came up with the Minnesota Twins in 1967 and was an All-Star and the AL Rookie of the Year in his first season. He would follow with All-Star nods every year for the next 18 years. The only year he wasn’t named to the All-Star team was in his final year, when he was 39 years old.
At the plate, Carew looked very relaxed in the batter’s box. He had an open stance and his hands held the bat softly, with the barrel of the bat horizontal to the ground behind him. Then the pitch would come in and he would smack line drives with regularity. He was masterful at lining an outside pitch into left field, which is exactly what he did on his 3,000th career hit against Frank Viola.
It would be hard to find a more fitting 3,000th hit for any player in the 3,000 hits club than Rod Carew slapping a single to left field. This ability to hit the ball all over the field enabled Carew to win seven batting titles and finish his career with a .328 batting average. He was at his very best in 1977 when he hit .388/.449/.570. He led the league in batting average and on-base percentage, along with runs, hits and triples. He also won the AL MVP Award for his stellar play.
That 1977 season was recognized by the Minnesota Twins in early July. Carew was invited by the Twins to throw out the first pitch at the 40th anniversary celebration of his MVP year. It was also a recognition of the health problems Carew had overcome. In 2015, he suffered a massive heart attack. Last December, he received heart and kidney transplants. He received the heart and one of the kidneys from former NFL tight end Konrad Reuland, who had died following a brain aneurysm a couple weeks before. It was a great moment for Twins fans to see Carew throwing out the first pitch.