Rod Carew on Albert Pujols’ quest for 600 homers: ‘He’s not getting the kind of press that he should’

Rod Carew wanted to hop atop the bench in the visiting dugout. He tried on his own, tried again with someone helping to lift him, and he finally decided to sit down on the bench.

He’ll get to the top of the bench in his own time. He is vibrant and full of life, six months after a heart transplant. He just started his cardiac rehabilitation.

“Getting my strength back, and my balance,” he said.

He visited with the Angels and Minnesota Twins — the two teams for which the Hall of Fame infielder played — before the clubs met Thursday at Angel Stadium. Albert Pujols, the Angels’ Hall of Famer in waiting, entered play one home run shy of 600.

Carew called Pujols “Mr. Consistent” and said he appreciated how Pujols pushed to play every day, even on legs and feet that have often betrayed him during his six years in Anaheim.

“That’s what I love about him,” Carew said. “Good players will do that. They will sacrifice their bodies, at times, to be able to go out between those white lines.

“He makes you want to watch him hit. That’s just the kind of player he is. I love him like a brother. He is really a good dude. You like to see good things happen to good people.”

Pujols would become the ninth player in major league history to hit 600 home runs, at 37 the youngest save Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez. The milestone has attracted little national attention, perhaps because home runs have become devalued, perhaps because Pujols is playing in relative invisibility in Anaheim instead of in front of the large and loving crowds in St. Louis.

Carew said he had no idea why Pujols’ quest for 600 is not a headline story.

“I don’t know. I don’t know at all,” Carew said. “It’s not like he hasn’t been doing it on a consistent basis. He’s been doing it consistently. He’s not getting the kind of press that he should get. He’s not a bad guy. You can talk to him. I’m really surprised.”

As he has since he survived a massive heart attack two years ago, Carew implored fans to be mindful of cardiac health. In advance of his heart attack, he said, he had gotten physical examinations but not maintained a schedule of cardiac checkups, and he also said he had decided he felt well enough to stop taking medication he had been prescribed.

In a fascinating twist, the 71-year-old Carew knew his donor. He received the heart of a 29-year-old former NFL player who had been a middle school classmate of Carew’s son.

“I’ve got a good, strong heart,” Carew said. “I told the doctors, get me a young heart. I want to see if I can go out and get some base hits.”

Is he swinging a bat?

“Not yet,” he said, laughing. “I’ve got to swing the golf club first.”

In addition to urging fans to take care of their hearts, Carew also offered a piece of consumer advice: If you are hospitalized, order the kosher food.

“Better than the regular hospital food every day,” he said. “If any of you guys go into the hospital, tell ‘em you want kosher food. You do not want the regular.”

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

Follow Bill Shaikin on Twitter @BillShaikin