The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #81 Rod Carew

At #81 on our countdown is 18-time all-star and Twins legend Rod Carew. Carew led the league in batting average seven times which is the 4th most in history behind only Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Tony Gwynn. Carew joins Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial as the only three players ever to lead the league in runs, hits, triples, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and OPS+ in the same season. He is the only player in history to have at least 235 hits, 125 runs, 35 doubles, 15 triples, 20 stolen bases, 65 walks, an OPS+ of 175, and a batting average of .388 in a single season. He was the 1977 American League MVP and finished in the top-10 six times. Carew has the 3rd highest career batting average since 1960, trailing only Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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