Born Into the harsh reality of an abusive household Rod kuu journey to setting records in baseball was nothing but extraordinary his unique playing style captivated Millions drawing them to the sport yet life had no intention of making his path easy and he was constantly met by hurdles let's get into it Rod Karu was born on October 1st 1945 in gatun Panama Canal Zone he has shared that his father was a violent alcoholic who often physically abused both him and his mother Karu once revealed that the abuse was so severe he almost attacked his father with a machete when Karu was 14 he and his siblings moved to the United States to join their mother in Washington Heights Manhattan New York City starting his minor league career Karu played second base with the Melbourne twins in the KOCO rookie league hitting point three 25 in the last 37 games of the season during the 1960s k fulfilled a six-year commitment in the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a combat engineer he later reflected on how his military service influenced his baseball career sharing joining the Marine Corps was a turning point for me because it taught me discipline when I first started in the big leagues in 1967 I was sometimes hot-headed but After experiencing two weeks of military exercises each summer I realized that baseball wasn't a life ore situation that level of discipline really shaped me into the player I became Karu credited his Marine Corps training for helping him mature and approached baseball with a focused and disciplined mindset on April 11th 1967 in the top of the second inning at Memorial Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles Karu got his first major league hit with a single in his first plate appearance he ended the game going two4 a few weeks later he had his first five hit game going 55 with a double in a stolen base against the Washington Senators that year Karu was selected for the first of his 18 consecutive All-Star Game appearances and won the American League Rookie of the Year award receiving 19 out of 20 first place votes an unexpected injury struck shattering everything in its path on May 20th 1970 Karu hit for the cycle against the Kansas City Royals going 45 with a stolen base he was the first Twins player to achieve this feat later that year on June 22nd he got injured at second base while trying to make a double play he had surgery to repair ligaments in his left leg and missed 92 games the start of the 1973 season was slow for Karu as he was only hitting Point 246 by the end of April however he picked up his performance during the summer including a five hit game on August 14th by the end of September he was leading the majors with a 353 average when when the season ended he won his third batting title with a major league leading Point 350 average in 1975 Karu won his fourth straight Al batting title he joined Tai Cobb as one of the only players to lead the majors in batting average for three consecutive Seasons while he mostly played second base early in his career he switched to first base in September 1975 and stayed there for the rest of his career in the 1977 season Karu batted 388 the highest average since Ted williamss hit 388 in 1957 he won the 1977 Al Most Valuable Player award for his amazing performance driven by racism he was forced to leave in 1979 feeling frustrated by the twins struggles to retain young Talent some racist remarks made by Calvin Griffith in the team's cautious approach to contracts Karu announced he wanted to leave the twins on February 3rd he was traded to the angels in exchange for outfielder Ken landro catcher first baseman Dave angle right-handed pitcher Paul Hartzell and left-handed pitcher Brad Havens although Karu didn't win another batting title after 1978 he consistently hit between 305 and 339 from 1979 to 1983 in 1982 he broke his hand early in the season newspapers reported that he often swung one hand due to the pain yet he managed to put together a 25 game hitting streak during that time despite the injury he played 138 games that year and ended with a 319 batting average in 1982 the Angels made it to the playoffs marking kar's fourth and final postseason appearance they lost a close series to the Milwaukee Brewers three games to two Karu played in all five games but struggled at the plate hitting 176 with three hits in 17 at bats in the decisive fifth game he grounded out to end the game hitting a routine ground ball to shortstop Robin YT off a pitch from Pete lad who was filling in for the injured Brewers closer R fingers he then decided it was time for him to leave on August 4th 1985 Karu achieved a major Milestone by getting his 3,000th base hit against Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola at Anaheim Stadium That season turned out to be his last after it ended the Angels didn't offer him a new contract so he became a free agent the Boston Red Sox invited him to be their minor league hitting instructor but his only playing offer for 1986 came from the San Francisco Giants which he declined choosing instead to retire Karu believed that team owners were colluding to prevent him and other players from signing contracts nearly a decade later on January 10th 1995 an arbit trador ruled in his favor finding that owners had violated baseball's rules against collusion Karu was awarded damages amounting to what he likely would have earned in 1986 $782,000 3571 he finished his remarkable career with 3,53 hits and a lifetime batting average of 328 then came confusion which led to death threats in a 2007 Salon article Karu was recognized among the top 18 Jewish ball players ever even though he himself is not Jewish the article highlighted his decision to raise his children in the Jewish faith and praised his marriage to liby despite facing threats against his life because of it it celebrated Karu for embracing and supporting Jewish Traditions within his family showcasing his commitment Beyond his own personal background his life was then endangered in September 2015 Rod Karu suffered a severe heart attack while playing golf in California he spent over 6 weeks in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries including the implantation of a left ventricular assist device despite the challenges Karu recovered sufficiently to participate in the Minnesota Twins 2016 spring training as a coach and instructor he also launched the heart of 29 campaign aiming to raise awareness about heart disease additionally Karu became involved in The Branding and launch of Karu medical Weare a company specializing in products for lvad patients by February 2016 karo's doctors informed him that he would eventually require a heart transplant the transplant surgery took place on December 15th 2016 with Karu receiving a heart donated By Conrad Rand a former Baltimore Ravens tight end remarkably Ryon had a personal connection to kuro's family having attended middle school with his children inspired by Karu from a young age royon pursued a career in professional sports excelling in baseball basketball and football during his high school years Karu honored Ron's memory by participating in the 2018 Rose Parade aboard the Donate Life float on New Year's Day this sequence of events underscores kar's resilience in overcoming health challenges and his profound impact on others both through his athletic achievements and his advocacy efforts in the realm of heart health awareness no matter matter how famous you are life isn't always smooth sailing challenges are a part of everyone's Journey no matter their status or success and karo's life is just the perfect example of that well that brings us to the end of the video and by now you guys know that to do subscribe if you already haven't and comment telling us who to cover next we will see you soon