Carew Gives Angels Just a Bit of Fame

When Rod Carew is formally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, he says he will go in as a Minnesota Twin, not a California Angel.

As well he should.

Each prospective Hall of Famer is asked to make such a choice, because every bronze bust needs a baseball cap and because there are no two-headed busts in the Hall of Fame. Two-faced Hall of Famers, sure, but two-headed busts, not yet.

So Carew is going in as a Twin, which is only fair and only right. Think Minnesota Twins, and the two names that immediately come to mind are Carew and Harmon Killebrew. Carew’s 12 years in the Twin Cities are the reason he’ll be spending the rest of them in Cooperstown. He won all seven of his American League batting championships as a Twin. He batted .388 in 1977 as a Twin. More remarkably, he drove in 100 runs in 1977 as a Twin.

In Minnesota, Carew is remembered as the best second baseman in franchise history.

In Anaheim, Carew is remembered as the first baseman who preceded Wally Joyner.

Carew had seven very good seasons with the Angels, but not quite a magnificent seven. Stationed at a position traditionally associated with power and run production, Carew averaged fewer than three home runs per season and never drove in more than 59 runs. Although he had five .300-plus seasons in Anaheim, he had no 200-hit seasons, and twice, injuries curtailed his play to 110 games or less.

Or, to put it in cold, comparative numbers:

In five years with the Angels, Joyner has 93 home runs and 422 RBIs.

In seven years, Carew had 18 and 282.

Carew, of course, was only one of many who wound down extraordinary careers in Anaheim, the convalescence home of future Hall of Famers. Since the Angels can’t produce great players or great moments on their own, Gene Autry has to pay good money to rent them.

Carew delivered more than 2,000 of his 3,053 major league hits with the Twins. But he delivered historic No. 3,000 as an Angel.

Reggie Jackson had already hit 425 home runs as an Athletic, Oriole and Yankee before arriving in Orange County. But No. 500 came as an Angel.

Don Sutton recorded only 28 of his 324 victories with the Angels. But that included No. 300 in the summer of 1986.

So far, no bust in the Hall of Fame bears an Angel logo--be it the LA , the CA , the small a or the big A . Only a few carry any sort of Angel connection at all--Hoyt Wilhelm went 5-7 in 1969, Frank Robinson spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons as an Angel designated hitter.

So who will be the first?

Is there anyone out there willing to be immortalized with a halo stamped on his head?

Not Reggie. He looked his best in Oakland green and gold and Yankee Stadium pinstripes. He hit 49 home runs one season for the A’s and three in one World Series game for the Yankees. Reggie the Angel is best known for hitting 39 homers in 1982 and a fan in a Milwaukee bar in 1986.

It won’t be Sutton, either. He began and ended his career as a Dodger. You can bet he will also be inducted as a Dodger--and that his presenter will not be John Candelaria.

Dave Winfield is on the fringe of Cooperstown consideration--the Angels picked him up at age 38; old habits die hard--but if he goes, he will go as a Yankee, George Steinbrenner and all.

Gene Mauch? There’s a possibility. Mauch’s finest moments--the AL West titles of ’82 and ‘86--were with the Angels; only Connie Mack, John McGraw and Bucky Harris managed more games, and only Mack, McGraw, Harris, Joe McCarthy, Walter Alston, Leo Durocher and Casey Stengel won more games. But most remember Mauch for what he didn’t do--win a pennant; unless they add a wing for Best Managing With Lousy Talent, that alone could be enough to keep him out.

On the distant horizon, there are two hopes: Nolan Ryan and Bob Boone. Boone resurrected his career in Anaheim, winning four Gold Gloves and setting the all-time games-caught record here. But he remains a career .254 hitter, which means he remains a Hall of Fame longshot. Al Lopez, the career leader in games caught before Boone, made it to Cooperstown as a manager, which might be why Boone is planning to move into that line of work next.

Ryan could be the Angels’ only chance. He is the Ultimate Angel--383 strikeouts in 1973, four no-hitters, 40 shutouts--but he broke in with the Mets, pitched longer with the Astros and has been utterly amazing with the Rangers. And now he’s talking about pitching in Texas beyond the next Olympics.

Thirty years of baseball and no Hall of Famers. That must be some kind of record.

Maybe that will get the Angels in the Hall of Fame.

A few years ago, the Angels thought they had one in the making in this kid first baseman named Wally. All-Star Game starter as a rookie. Fifty-six home runs and 217 RBIs in his first two seasons.

Sadly, Joyner has leveled off. He has averaged 12 home runs the past three seasons, busted a kneecap, and now the Angels are looking to unload him.

So, come on, Nolan. When your time comes, keep in mind all your old friends here--Jimmie Reese, Gene Autry, the fans who stormed Anaheim Stadium every time you were scheduled to start.

And try to forget Buzzie Bavasi.