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Rod Carew began his Hall of Fame big league career in 1967 with the Minnesota Twins. He made an immediate impact, making the All Star Game and earning the Rookie of the Year Award.

By his third season Carew won his first of his seven batting championships. That year under manager Billy Martin the Twins won the AL Western Division. In all Carew appeared in the postseason four times. His teams never advanced past the League Championship Series.

Only Ty Cobb with twelve, and Honus Wagner and Tony Gwynn with 8 each have won more batting titles than Carew. The Twins and Angels great hit .328 over the course of his 19-year career. He made the All Star team in 18 seasons.

In the collection is this government postcard signed in Carew’s first year in the majors.

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Rod Carew’s signature is by no means rare. The vintage nature of the one in the previous image makes it highly desirable.

Shown here is the reverse of the postcard. Notice the United State Postal Service postmark. It is dated September 7, 1967 and mailed from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

That year was Carew’s first as a big leaguer. In the Twins 4-2 win over the Orioles that day at Minnesota’s Memorial Stadium, Carew recorded the 131st and 132nd hits of his career.

Autograph seekers often sent postcards like this to their targets. The player autographed the card then simply dropped it in the mail to return it to the sender.

These government postcards provide context to the signature, showing the place and date it was posted.

 

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A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Rod Carew amassed 3,053 career hits to go with his .328 lifetime batting average.

In the collection is an endorsement questionnaire asking the two-time MVP if he currently has any licensing contracts or product endorsements. At the time the contract was signed on June 19, 1973, even the game’s superstars were thin on money-making away from the diamond.

It’s interesting to note that the same day, Carew went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of runs batted in as the Twins beat the Red Sox 6-2. Carew ended up hitting .350 in 1973 to win the third of his seven batting championships.

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By the time Rod Carew retired from the game, he amassed 3,053 hits and a .328 lifetime average. Add in his 7 batting crowns and it’s easy to see why he was a first-ballot selection for Cooperstown.

Shown here is an invitation to Carew’s 1991 induction into the Hall of Fame. The former Twins and Angels star was elected by the writers along with 314-game winner and Gaylord Perry and 7-time 20-game winner Fergie Jenkins.

The Veterans Committee chose the great Yankee infielder Tony Lazzeri and the sport’s ultimate showman, Bill Veeck. The five men were inducted together on July 21st, 1991.

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Before the advent of MLB’s draft, players were free to sign with any team that offered a contract. In 1964 Rod Carew signed with the Minnesota Twins.

The scout who signed Carew was  Herb Stein. A baseball lifer, Stein started his scouting career with the Washington Senators in 1952 and worked past his 75th birthday in 1995. In addition to Carew he signed Gene Larkin whose walk-off single in the 1991 World Series made the Twins the champions of baseball. Stein also inked 136-game winner and 1986 world champ Ron Darling.

Shown here is the reverse of the invitation to Carew’s induction. The 7-time batting champ has signed it to Stein.

Carew writes, “Herb – We did it and you’re a big part of it. Thank you. Your friend, Rod Carew HOF 7/21/1991”

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The Minnesota Twins created their team Hall of Fame in 2000. Their first induction class included All Star Kent Hrbek, owner Calvin Griffith, and Cooperstown men, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, and Kirby Puckett.

The 1967 Rookie of the Year, Carew was the league’s MVP in ’77. He earned 7 batting crowns with the Twins and represented them in the All Star Game in each of his dozen seasons in Minnesota. The team retired Carew’s #29 in 1987.

Another player in the team’s Hall with his number retired is Harmon Killebrew, a teammate with Carew of eight seasons. Shown here is a letter from Killebrew to Jack Lang, the secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) from 1966-1988. The role entrusted Lang with counting Hall of Fame votes and notifying those who made it.

The correspondence is dated January 16, 1984, just one week after Killebrew received the good news.

He writes in part, “What a thrill to hear these words from you last week…It is the greatest thrill of my life and we look forward to being with you and the rest of my friends along with Don Drysdale and Luis Aparicio on August 12.”

The slugger signs his name at the bottom of the letter.