Rod Carew is another rags-to-riches story that is so common in professional sports. He was born and raised in Panama and his family was very poor when he was growing up. There was no money for baseball equipment, so he made his own bats and balls from whatever was available. As he got older, it was clear that he is an instance of what baseball people call "a natural hitter." He claims to be able to see the rotation on the pitch and even when the bat makes contact with the ball. Ted Williams also made similar claims, so Carew is some very select company. Even with his natural ability, Carew also works very hard, turning himself into a quality fielder. That is one of the main points in the book, namely the value of working very hard to achieve and then working just as hard to maintain those achievements. The second main point is that Carew never entered the arrogant star track, keeping his ego on an even keel. Rod Carew was one of my favorite players when he was in his prime, when he stood in the batter's box; he was the very definition of concentration. I enjoyed reading this inspirational story of an athlete who knew where he was and never grew full of himself.
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