Carew won the American League's Rookie of the Year award in 1967 as a Twin and was elected to the first of 18 consecutive All-Star game appearances. In 1972, Carew led the American League in batting, hitting .318, and remarkably, without hitting a single home run for the only time in his career. As of 2012, Carew is the only player in the American League or in the modern era to win the batting title with no home runs. In 1975, Carew joined Ty Cobb as the second player to lead both the American and National Leagues in batting average for three consecutive seasons. 

Seeing time predominantly at second base early in his career, Carew moved to first base in September 1975 and stayed there for the rest of his career. On February 3, 1979, Carew was traded to the Angels. 

On August 4, 1985, Carew joined an elite group of ballplayers when he got his 3,000th base hit. The 1985 season would be his last. Carew finished his career with 3,053 hits and a lifetime batting average of .328.

Carew was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility, the 22nd player so elected. In 1999, he ranked #61 on The Sporting News'' list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. Carew has also been inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.