When you think of "overcoming the odds," baseball great Rod Carew is who comes to mind.

Carew was born in 1945, on a train in Gatun, Panama. At the time, the train was segregated with separated races in separate cabins. Rodney Cline, a doctor in the "whites only" cabin, delivered the baby right on the train. Because of his actions, the mother named the baby Rodney Cline Carew, after the doctor.

Eventually the young Carew began to play a lot of baseball, and he thrived at it. After Playing for multiple high school teams and minor league teams, Carew's talents couldn't be hidden any longer. The Minnesota Twins saw what kind of talent he had when he played for their minor league team in Florida, the Melbourne Twins.

Carew's presence was felt right out of the gate. The 21-year-old Panamanian won the 1962 American League Rookie of the Year. Despite standing just 6-feet tall and 170 pounds, Carew proved the doubters wrong.

In his very first season in the big leagues, Carew batted an impressive .292 and had 150 hits for the Twins. From that very year (1967) all the way through 1984, Carew appeared in the annual Major League Baseball All Star Game. Every single season from 1969-1983, Carew batted over .300 at the plate.

Carew currently ranks No. 22 all-time in career hits with 3,053. His 3,053 hits is the most of any Latin American-born player in MLB history. In fact, Carew has the most hits in MLB history by anyone born outside of the United States.

Carew wouldn't beat opposing pitchers with deep long ball home runs, but his precision hitting was all-time great.

Only twice in his Hall of Fame career did Carew hit double digit home runs in a season, 1975 and 1977 when he hit 14 home runs in both seasons. Alan Bannister was quoted as saying, "He's the only guy I know who can go four for three."

In 1979, the Twins traded Carew to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Carew continued his brilliant performance at the plate. Eventually, the veteran first baseman retired having won a Most Valuable Player Award, a .328 batting average and seven time batting champion. Both the Twins and Angels retired his number.

In 1991, he received the highest recognition any athlete can obtain. Carew was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with flying colors on his first year of eligibly. Baseball-Almanac.com currently ranks him as the 61st greatest MLB player of all time.

It would have been interesting to see Carew play for a an elite team, to watch him play for a possible World Series title. Even without that championship title, Carew will always be remembered as one of the best pure hitters in baseball.

Off the field, Carew also made a difference.

Carew was involved in Military affairs, such as the Marine Corps. In 1977, he received the Roberto Clemente Award for "best exemplifying the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community and involvement and individuals contributions to his team."

"Hitting is an art, but not an exact science."

-Rod Carew

For up-to-date sports news, scores, and more, follow Latin Post Sports on Twitter

FOR MORE MLB NEWS, TRADE AND FREE AGENCY UPDATES, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VISIT LATIN POST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE