FILE - In this April 2, 2010, file photo, Minnesota Twins great and Hall of Fame player Rod Carew is introduced prior to the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals spring training baseball game in Minneapolis. Rod Carew is hoping to qualify for a heart transplant after suffering a massive heart attack two months ago. Carew tells Sports Illustrated that he suffered the heart attack while golfing alone at a course in Corona, California, on Sept. 20. The 70-year-old tells the magazine he was dead âand they brought me back to life.â(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Hall of Famer Rod Carew is hoping to qualify for a heart transplant after a massive heart attack two months ago.
The 70-year-old Carew tells Sports Illustrated (http://on.si.com/1NaaB4W ) he was stricken while golfing alone in Corona, California, on Sept. 20.
He tells the magazine "they brought me back to life." He underwent six hours of open heart surgery in which a device that pumps blood was implanted. The device typically acts as a bridge until a heart transplant.
Carew was one of baseball's great hitters, winning seven American League batting titles. He played for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels during a 19-year career. He was the 1967 AL Rookie of the Year and the 1977 AL MVP. There is a statue of him outside Target Field in Minneapolis.
FILE - In this July 15, 2014, file photo, former Minnesota Twins player and Hall of Famer Rod Carew prepares to throw the first pitch before the MLB All-Star baseball game in Minneapolis. Rod Carew is hoping to qualify for a heart transplant after suffering a massive heart attack two months ago. Carew tells Sports Illustrated that he suffered the heart attack while golfing alone at a course in Corona, California, on Sept. 20. The 70-year-old tells the magazine he was dead âand they brought me back to life.â (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
The Associated Press