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Sports
Tom Crann, Lukas Levin, Matthew Alvarez and Hannah Yang

Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew is set to become a U.S. citizen at the age of 78

Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew
Hall of famer Rod Carew waves to the crowd during opening ceremonies before he threw out the first pitch at the Twins first home game of the 2016 season.
Judy Griesedieck for MPR News

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Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew is now a U.S. citizen at 78 years old after completing the citizenship test.

Carew debuted with the Twins in 1967 and won Rookie of the Year. He played for 12 seasons and retired from the California Angels in 1985. He maintained his citizenship to Panama as an immigrant all his life despite moving to the United States as a teen.

Now, at the age of 78, he announced finally completing a test to become a U.S. citizen — making America his official home base.

To hear Rod Carew’s journey to American citizenship, click play on the audio player above.

This whole time you never had American citizenship, and your friend and fellow Hall of Famer, Tony Oliva is quoted as saying, ‘Finally, what did you wait for?’ So what's your answer? What did you wait for?

Well, you know, when I left and [Omar Torrijos] was in charge of the government, he had said that he was trying to get the kids to go to school, play sports and that he wanted me to be uplifting for them to let them know that they could do anything. So I started playing baseball in Panama.

If I can do it, if I can come out of a poor situation, it might be a big influence on a lot of the kids in Panama. And finally, I decided I wanted to be a citizen of this country because it has given me everything that I have.

You have a unique position, and that you kept this citizenship from your home country and this influence in your home country, and now you're an American citizen. Tell me what that means to you.

It means the world to me, Tom. You know, I have done well in this country. People have treated me great, and it’s an honor to have achieved what I achieved, and not only for myself, but for the entire island of Panama.

Your wife is quoted as saying that you took that preparation for the test as seriously as anything you’ve done in your life, is she right?

Yes, she was right because she knew how much I wanted it. And she knew that if I put my mind to the questions and give the right answers that I would pass easily — which I did.

As you get that American citizenship, know that your many fans here in Minnesota will be there with you as well.

It’s a tremendous honor for me. Minnesota has always been my home, from the day I moved to the Twin Cities. And so when I go back, it’s like the first day that I was part of a Twins organization. People still come out and cheer for me and I’ve developed a good relationship with people back there.

And I think that they’re all happy for me. And I’m an American now — even though I consider myself one after I joined the Marine Corps and spent seven years as a reservist while I was playing baseball.