Rod Carew continues to make the trek to Cooperstown to show respect to baseball’s legends, and its fans

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The eligible voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America still were a grumpy lot when doling out Hall of Fame votes late in 1991, particularly when it came to candidates making a first appearance on the ballot.

Rod Carew was a first-timer and he cleared the 75% hurdle with ease, as one of the names (10 maximum) checked off on 401 of the 443 ballots — a hefty 90.5%.

George Brett came along seven years later and reached 98.2% with 488 of 497 votes.

And now two of the greatest hitters in American League history, Brett and Carew, were in conversation Friday in the lobby of the Otesaga, the historic hotel that serves as home to Hall of Famers making the return to Cooperstown for induction weekend.

There were some laughs, as there always seemed to be when Brett was around, and George mentioned his first of three batting titles as a 23-year-old in 1976. His average rounded off to .333, teammate Hal McRae’s .332 and Carew finished at .331 — and all playing against each other on the final weekend in Kansas City.

That was the only time in Carew’s last seven seasons in Minnesota when he didn’t win the batting title (1972 to ’75, then 1977 and ’78). Brett mentioned that and then, in a brief pause, it was interjected that it was also the day McRae went after Twins manager Gene Mauch.

Brett had gone ahead in the batting race in the ninth inning when left fielder Steve Brye butchered George’s fly ball. The ball bounded over Brye’s head and Brett sprinted to an inside-the-park home run.

McRae still would win the title with a hit, but he grounded out, and then started barking at Mauch in the Twins dugout. The accusation was that Mauch intentionally had outfielders playing too deep to increase Brett’s chances for a hit — not wanting McRae to win the title, perhaps for racial reasons.

Mauch denied that, of course, and Carew called it nonsense in vulgar terms.

That was a wild last day of the season for us Twin Cities beat writers, and quite a contrast to the informalities at the Otesaga.

There’s security at the hotel making it peaceful for the Hall of Famers, although late Friday there was a BBWAA reception on the veranda, allowing ball writers to hang out for a couple of hours.

Sir Rodney, as he was often referred to in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, came downstairs for this quick interview.

Q: What you have been through … what’s it mean for you to get back here annually, whenever possible?

A: I come back to show respect for the guys that are going in. It’s a long haul from California, and I’m a homebody now. But being here for those new guys, and for fans that love seeing us … that’s why I’m here.

Q: Heart transplant, kidney transplant — and now you have a cane. What’s this?

A: I just had a new knee put in. I need the cane for stability. I’m closing in on 79. The worst thing us old guys can do is to take a fall.

Q: A near-fatal heart attack in 2015. Months carrying around a bag to serve your mechanical heart. Transplant in April 2017. There had to be low moments?

A: Rhonda [Mrs. Carew] didn’t let me stay that way too long. You keep going forward.

Q: Your daughter Michelle died at 18 from leukemia in 1996. I was out there for a couple of days when her mom, Marilynn, was living at the hospital and you were there all the time. How have you handled that loss?

A: You always remember. For a long time after Michelle passed, I would take long drives and talk to her. We would have conversations. What helped was I had a kids cancer golf tournament for 27 years and we raised a lot of money. I saw many kids survive and become great, happy adults.

Q: Your best buddy in baseball, Tony Oliva, is turning 86 this weekend. What’s it meant to you having him here as a Hall of Famer for three years now?

A: It’s the greatest. Tony was 83 when he got in and is the happiest Hall of Famer of all time.

Q: When did you first see Joe Mauer as a player?

A: I saw him as a young kid. I was impressed right away with his catching. Then I saw him hit. He tracked the ball, he didn’t guess. That’s what I did. In a lot of ways, Joe was a taller me.

Mauer won three AL batting titles, just like Brett, which is one less combined than Sir Rodney Carew.