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Time Magazine cover (1977-07-18) – “Baseball’s Best Hitter” (Rod Carew)

[contributed by: Rhubarb_Runner]

Time Magazine cover - (1977-07-18) “Baseball's Best Hitter”

Time Magazine cover - July 18, 1977

"Baseball's Best Hitter" Rod Carew

photographed by John Zimmerman

article by Paul Witteman and B.J. Phillips

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This 1977 Time Magazine's cover story is titled "Baseball's Best Hitter Tries for Glory" and is found on pages 52-62. Here's from Ralph P. Davidson's A letter from the Publisher:

Baseball has been blessed with many good players but few greats. Now another hitter is about to enter baseball's pantheon of heroes: Rodney Cline Carew, the first baseman of the Minnesota Twins and the first player to have a shot at finishing the season at .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Our cover story this week examines the still little-known Panamanian-born player -- his consistent ability, his playing style, his personality -- as well as the sport's oldtime hitters and the many refinements in the fine art of hitting a baseball.
"Carew is an open, engaging and articulate man who just happens to be the best hitter in the game." says Reporter-Researcher Paul Witteman, who suggested this cover story. Witteman spent last week with Carew -- visiting the player and his family in Golden Valley, Minn., traveling with the Twins, and watching seven games in Minneapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee. But it was not all work. When Ted Williams was expected to stop by for a visit, Witteman called Carew on the phone, disguised his voice, and said, "This is Ted Williams. If you bat .400 this year, I'll break every bone in your body." (Carew was not fooled by that pitch, and had a good laugh.)

Additional articles of note include:

  1. Carter/Breznev: pending Cold War?

  2. striking back at invasion of privacy

  3. the current condition of California

  4. Credit Suisse banking scandal

  5. Guide to Airports

  6. Vladimir Nabokov: 1899-1977

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Personal notes:

  • I knew Rod's former wife Marilynn was white, but I did not realize he was getting death threats when their marriage was announced. Figures.

  • The writing was on the wall regarding future contracts and the possibility of leaving the Twins. Which teams did Carew prefer, besides re-signing with the Twins? Seattle or Toronto, since both were new clubs building at the time.

Please drop an email to SBGLibrary (at) hotmail (dot) com if you have a suggestion or a submission for the SBG Library.

This entry was posted by Rhubarb_Runner on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 5:30 am and is filed under SBG Library. It is one of 117 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.

4 comments to Time Magazine cover (1977-07-18) – “Baseball’s Best Hitter” (Rod Carew)

  • brianS
    September 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am

    the summer before my freshman year in high school. A long time ago.... Nice, Rhu_Ru.

    • E-6
      September 17th, 2008 at 12:16 am

      And the summer after mine.

      So Nabokov's obit is in that issue, too? I finally got around to reading Lolita this summer. Tender. Raw. Heartbreaking. Funny as hell. A great book.

      (Weren't Library entries once Features, too? I'm getting sick of looking at Geoff's SAP story--No offense, Geoff. That, and I've got Ball Four coming soon. Hate to have it get lost in the Headlines.)

      • Rhubarb_Runner
        September 17th, 2008 at 11:37 am

        yeah, that's a sweet cover, kinda sad to not see it on the WGOM frontpage.

        'bout my freshman year or so, too. I was a big Carew fan (still am), so this is a great cover to me. I'm liking this library gig; picked up this plus a couple other mags (coming soon) off eBay, and they've been great reminiscences.

      • brianS
        September 17th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

        Hate to have it get lost in the Headlines.

        I resemble that remark!