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Smith: Former Angel Rod Carew grateful to be alive after September heart attack

The Baseball Hall of Famer’s voice was soft and slow, trailing off near the end of sentences so he could take another labored breath.

Rod Carew, the former Angel and beloved 18-time All-Star, was tired and weak on Monday, still recovering after suffering a massive heart attack on Sept. 20, just 11 days shy of his 70th birthday.

He now has a machine in his heart, a Left Ventricular Assist Device that took doctors six hours to install at Scripps La Jolla and that pumps his blood from his left ventricle to his aorta because his own heart was failing.