Word: hitters
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...galaxy. He works his wonders in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul, cities owned-in the national mind, if not in reality-by Fran Tarkenton, Mary Tyler Moore and blizzards. Carew's feats have gone virtually unnoticed by the national press. Without argument the outstanding hitter of his generation, he has appeared on the cover of the Sporting News-baseball's Bible-only three times in more than a decade. In an era of jocks selling everything from perfume to pantyhose, Carew has made no commercials despite handsome looks and a charming, magnetic personality...
Carew does not strike out very often (52 whiffs last year). Nor are his many hits limited to a third of the playing field as is the case with most pulling power hitters. A lefthanded hitter (who throws rightie), he sprays the field like a grounds keeper's sprinkler; inside pitches are pulled, outside pitches go rocketing into left field, and, on the odd occasion when a careless hurler puts one down the pipe, the ball goes up the middle. Opponents cannot concoct a latter-day version of the Williams Shift-loading the defense to blanket a portion...
Even when it comes, recognition has sometimes been careless and absentminded, casually askew. In Carew's playroom is a 2-ft.-high trophy-the Joe Cronin Award-all polished wood and gleaming brass. The American League presented it to the great lefthanded hitter in recognition of his fourth consecutive batting championship. On top of the trophy stands the likeness of a batter -a righthanded batter...
...practice pitchers-a job usually left to utility players and aging coaches. Once when he failed to run out a long foul ball that the wind suddenly blew fair, he fined himself for not hustling. Says Twins Manager Gene Mauch: "As impressed as I am with Rod Carew the hitter, Rod Carew the baseball player, I am more impressed with Rod Carew...
...request for a salary of $140,000 a year-modest by big league standards for a man of his skills-and the case went to arbitration. During the negotiations, Owner Griffith told the arbitrator that Carew was not worth a high salary because he was just a singles hitter. Never mind that he had hit .364; there were not enough home runs (3). The arbitrator naively accepted the club's reasoning and fixed Carew's salary at $120,000. The incident hurt Carew's pride more than his pocketbook, and the following season, he punched...