It has been an extremely emotional time for the fearless 18-time All-Star winner and seven batting titles champion, Rod Carew (#10 BCAR). It was 11 days before his 70th birthday months ago, and as he was stepping off the tee box during a round of golf, he suddenly felt his chest burn. He quickly went to the clubhouse and lay on the floor, asking a woman there to call a paramedic. The next thing I saw was a man with paddles in his hands, Carew says. He was yelling, We’re losing him! We can’t lose him! Then I blacked out.
Carew survived the ordeal, but his recovery has been slow, and he continues to wrestle with his weakened condition and the terrible experiences he endured while in the hospital. My wife will tell you I get up in the morning and cry and wonder, Why me? Carew says. But you can’t say that. I go back to when my youngest daughter was dying. I never asked my friend upstairs, Why me? And He’s the only one who has the answers.
Carew fears going to sleep due to reoccurring nightmares, and often clutches a heart-shaped pillow signed by his nurses because shortness of breath gets him coughing. In his dreams, doctors are always holding defibrillator paddles, shocking him, yelling We’re losing him! in a panic. He then wakes up in sweat, panting, screaming and crying. Carew admitted, I’ve been a child, like a baby. To note, BCARs tend to remember their dreams quite vividly, and they often relate to something from their past of an emotional nature. Additionally, amid despondency, they must be ever vigilant to surface from their dominant deep limbic region to avoid child-like thoughts and behavior.
BTInsiders familiar with the #10 design will not be surprised to hear of Carew’s deep, reflective emotional state. Depression, or the state of simply being morose due to the imperfect world we live in, can have a great affect on them like few other Types. I tell him to think only about today and getting through it, said Frank Pace, Carew’s close friend. This is the hardest thing he has ever had to go through. Indeed, for the future-thinking Conceptual BCAR, the future is where all hope is to be found. If the future looks bleak, “what reason is there to live for today?” says the #10. Encouraging them to count their present, current blessings is a helpful thing to do. As Niednagel wrote more than 20 years ago, “BCARs are often noted for their melancholic ways As long as the vibes are good, BCARs are upbeat. When they’re not, BCARs are greatly affected.”
As a player, it is said that “no man was ever more at peace in a batter’s box than Carew, who gripped the bat ever so gently, as if squeezing icing onto a cake.” Yes, as Niednagel again wrote many years ago, watching them is like watching “poetry in motion.” Even when facing the man of his opposite design, Nolan Ryan (#7 FEIL), Carew says he still felt “relaxed. After all, baseball was an escape for him. With baseball, I could get away.
Harsh reality has hit Rod Carew like a home run. Putting aside the glory days of his past, and instead focusing on the blessings of the present, seems the best thing for him right now, and for us all during this Christmas season. May we each count our blessings as we face the uncertainties of a brand new year.
Written by: Staff
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