Next up on my thread on league leader cards that featured only
future Hall of Famers is the 1974 Topps Batting Leaders card (#201),
which featured two of the top hitting stars of the game during the
1970's: Rod Carew and Pete Rose.
What more can you say about these two that hasn't already been said?
Rose was coming off his last batting title, where he lead the N.L.
with a .338 average on 230 hits in 680 at-bats. For Carew, it would be
the third title of his illustrious career, based on his 203 hits out of
580 at-bats.
Rose would eventually be named "Player of the Decade" for the
1970's by the Sporting News, and Rod Carew arguably could have been the
American League representative had there been one.
By the time they would retire, Rose would win three batting titles
during his amazing career (1968, 1969 and 1973), while Carew would rack
up titles like few others have done before or since, SEVEN batting
titles, and all but one (1969) during the decade.
Both guys topped 3000+ career hits, with Rose eventually setting
the all-time career mark with 4256, and both won an M.V.P. Award each,
with Rose winning it in 1973 and Carew in 1977 when he set the baseball
world on fire, hitting .388.
Great card showing two of the all-time best hitting stars of the game.
