#17 - ROD CAREW - 1B (1979 - 1985)
Franchise WIN SHARE Ranking: 16 (102 Regular Season Win Shares)
Post-2005 Top 100 Angels Ranking: 12 - OUR ESSAY ABOUT HIM from then still applies.
Over the past few days, there has been a lively discussion HERE (as well as HERE) at the site over Rod Carew's impact on the franchise in comparison to some other players, most notably his colleague and teammate Don Baylor.
Rodney's On-Base % as an Angel is the franchise record: .393 (Vlad is 2nd at .387)
His single season batting average of .339 in 1983 was the Angel record until Darin Erstad's .355 in 2000.
If anything is to lessen Rod's glory as an Angel, it is the Twins cap he wears on his Cooperstown plaque, as well as the fact that of his 968 hits as an Angel, 788 were singles. But you have to wonder somtimes if, had he been retained as a role-playing sub and pinch hitter in 1986, if we might not have been able to use his bat in the extra innings of Game 5 of the ALCS...