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In King Solomon's Mines, the black baseball player from Panama was introduced to Marilynn Levy. Recalls Marilynn: "Sports? I didn't know from the Twins, and like a cocky little broad, I wasn't impressed, didn't want to be bothered. So I said, 'If Tony Curtis walks in, bring him over instead.' " Carew called her a flake. Hardly an auspicious beginning, but he walked her to her car and asked for her telephone number. For the first time in her life, Marilynn Levy gave a guy she had met in a bar her number. "He called me, and we started seeing each other. No big thing. I was 23 years old; this was my fling. It was hard because I didn't want to take him home and upset my parents, so we would always meet someplace."
They dated for a while—Marilynn ducking to the floorboards every time she saw a red car that resembled her father's. "It was humiliating for Rod and finally I said, 'Listen, this has got to stop. It's been nice but let's call it a day.' " They stayed apart for several months, but when spring training began, Carew placed long long-distance calls, reaffirming his affection. "It was nice before," says Marilynn, "but by now it was love, already." When the season started, they confronted her family at Passover Seder. Her nieces and nephews hung out a sign: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER. When her mother saw Marilynn's engagement ring, she hugged Carew, cried and said: "Just take care of my baby."
Death Threats. They were married in October 1970, but not until Carew had received a number of death threats. Rod and Marilynn did not let the racism of the fans inhibit their lives, and, characteristically, they did not complain about the insults to Twins officials and teammates. (Carew had long before learned to live with prejudice. Even today, he sometimes hears a fan shouting racial slurs from the safety of the stands.) The Panamanian was swept into Marilynn's family—her mother has lived with them for four years. Marriage and children—Charryse, 3½, and Stephanie, 2—have stabilized Carew's life. Although he remains an Episcopalian, he studies his wife's religion and observes Jewish traditions and holidays. His only jewelry, besides his wedding band and an ID bracelet, is a gold chain and chai, the Hebrew symbol for health. It was given to him in 1975 by his father-in-law shortly before his death.
Private Deeds. The Carews live modestly in the upper-middle-class suburb of Golden Valley; their indulgences are owning a Porsche and a Mercedes. A baby is due in November, but rather than move to a larger house (which they could easily afford), they have chosen to add on to their comfortable, unpretentious home. Says Marilynn: "I don't think that there is ever going to be a time when I'm not going to look for Hi-C fruit drink at 39¢ a can."