He doesn’t have to prove anything. All he has to do is retire and wait for the Hall of Fame to call.
Carew had season for the ages in 1977
“He doesn’t have to prove anything,” said then-Twins manager Gene Mauch during the summer of 1977. “All he has to do is retire and wait for the Hall of Fame to call.”
The call from the Hall of Fame would come a few years later, in 1990. But Carew’s 1977 MVP Award validated all of the consistent hard work he had put in that season, even if his Twins didn’t make it to the postseason.
“I’m thrilled. The things I did [during the 1977 season] were taken into consideration and I’m very happy it came out that way,” he told the New York Times.
More greatness was to come, as the 32-year-old first baseman would finish his career with a .328 career average and 3,053 hits, along with 18 All-Star Game selections.
“The only thing I can do is go out and do the best I can,” Carew told the Times. “I’m just happy I won it. I finally did it.”
Alex Coffey was the communications specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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