Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew is a newly minted American citizen at the age of 78.
Carew, an 18-time MLB All-Star as a member of the Minnesota Twins and California Angels, was born in Gatún, Panama in 1945, moved to the U.S. as a teenager, and became an American sports legend.
But it wasn’t until this week that he was officially recognized by his adopted country as one of its citizens.
On Friday, Carew stood before family, friends and former teammates at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Field Office in Santa Ana, and took the Oath of Allegiance, vowing to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
With his new citizenship, Carew will, for the first time in his life, be able to experience some of the honors and responsibilities many Americans take for granted, including voting, serving on a jury, traveling with a U.S. passport and becoming an elected official.
To become a U.S. citizen, candidates must prove they are of good moral character and pass a thorough and intensive civic test.
It’s the latest accomplishment for the 78-year-old, whose accolades are not in short supply.
Carew is a one-time American League MVP, the 1967 American League Rookie of the Year, and his No. 29 jersey is retired by both the Twins and Angels franchises. He is widely regarded as one of the most complete, fearsome hitters in baseball history with a career .328 batting average, more than 3,000 hits and seven batting titles.
In 1991, he was inducted into the halls of Cooperstown and remains a hero in his native Panama, as well as his adopted home in the U.S.
To read more about the life and career of Rod Carew, click here.