Monday, April 8, 2019

1981 Topps Rod Carew

The front: The photo was very likely taken in the Yankee Stadium dugout.

The back: Carew was well into his Hall-of-Fame career at this time.

The player: One of the greatest hitters of his generation, Carew won six AL batting titles. An 18-time All Star, he was the AL Rookie of the year in 1967. His best season was 1977, winning the AL MVP that year hitting a league-leading .388 with 14 HR and 100 RBI, also leading the league with 128 runs, 239 hits, 16 triples and a .449 on-base percentage. For his career he hit .328 with 445 doubles, 112 triples, 92 HR, 1,015 RBI and 353 stolen bases while walking almost as much as he struck out (1,018 walks to 1,028 strikeouts).

The man: Carew spent more than a decade in the front offices of each of the teams he played for (Twins and Angels) and has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors, mostly cancer-related (he lost a daughter to cancer, and had chewing-tobacco-related cancer himself). After a 2016 heart attack he received a heart and kidney transplant. The donor was former NFL player Konrad Reuland.

My collection: I have 42 of his cards, from 1967 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1968 Topps #80, 1969 Topps #510, 1971 Topps #210, 1972 Topps #695, 1973 Topps #330 and 1974 Topps #50.

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