Good Afternoon! Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here. It’s time for Sports Throwback Thursday! It’s been 50 years since a legend in the game of baseball did something uncommon. His name is Rod Carey. He’s the only AL player to win a batting title without hitting a home run.
Panamanian Hall of Famer Rod Carew played most of his career with the Minnesota Twins. In his sixth MLB season, the 26-year-old won the second of seven American League batting titles at .318 in 1972.
Carew appeared in 142 games during the 1972 regular season. Here are his 1972 stats:
• .318 BA, 0 home runs, 51 RBIs, 170 hits
Carew has only struck out 60 times. Today, baseball should be embarrassed by seeing those numbers. Too many players are striking out in the modern era.
Although Carew is the only player in the American League to do this, in the National League, since 1900, that has been done twice – by Ginger Beaumont (Pittsburgh) in 1902 and Zack Wheat, Brooklyn in 1908.
