Gary Carter
Gary Carter | ||
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Runs batted in 1,225 | | |
Stats at Baseball Reference | ||
Teams | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
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Member of the National | ||
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Induction | 2003 | |
Vote | 78.0% (sixth ballot) |
Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youthful exuberance, Carter was named an All-Star 11 times and was a member of the 1986 World Series champion Mets.
Carter was known throughout his career for his hitting, excellent defense, ability to handle pitchers and on-field leadership. He made clutch contributions to the Mets' World Series championship in 1986, including a 12th-inning single against the Houston Astros to win Game 5 of the NLCS and a 10th-inning single against the Boston Red Sox to start the comeback rally in Game 6 of the World Series. He is one of only four players to be named captain of the Mets, and the Expos retired his number 8.[1]
After leaving the major leagues, Carter coached baseball at the college and minor-league levels. In 2003, Carter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first Hall of Famer whose plaque depicts him as a member of the Montreal Expos.
Early life
Carter was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City in 1954 to Jim Carter, an aircraft worker, and his wife, Inge. One month after Carter turned 12 in 1966, his 37-year-old mother died of leukemia.[2]
Athletic at a young age, Carter, along with four other boys, won the seven-year-old category of the first national Punt, Pass, and Kick skills competition in 1961.[3] Carter attended Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, where he played football as a quarterback and baseball as an infielder, graduating in 1972. He also played American Legion Baseball and was named the 1971 American Legion Graduate of the Year.[4]
After receiving more than 100 athletic scholarship offers,[5] Carter signed a letter of intent to play football for the UCLA Bruins as a quarterback, but then signed with the Montreal Expos after they selected him in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.[5][2]
Playing career
Montreal Expos
Carter earned his nickname of "the Kid"[6] during his first spring training camp with the Expos in 1974.
Rookie season
The Expos converted Carter to a catcher in the minor leagues.[7] In 1974, he hit 23 home runs and drove in 83 runs for the Expos' Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Blues. Following a September callup, Carter made his major league debut at Jarry Park in Montreal in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets on September 16.[8] Despite batting 0–4 in his debut game, he finished the season batting .407 (11–27). His first major-league hits came in both games of an Expos sweep of another doubleheader with the Mets on September 18, as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of the opener and as the catcher in the second game.[9] His first MLB home run occurred on September 28 against Steve Carlton in a 3–1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.[10][11]
Carter split time between right field and catching during his rookie season (
Expos catcher
Carter again split time in the outfield and behind the plate in

Carter caught
MLB split the fractured 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors moved on to two best-of-five League Championship Series. The Expos won the NL East's second half with a 30–23 record. In his first postseason, Carter batted .421, hit two home runs and drove in six in the Expos' victory over the Phillies in the division series. Carter's average improved to .438 in the NLCS, with no home runs or RBIs, and his Expos lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Canadian prime minister
1984 season
Carter hit the decisive home run in the 1984 All-Star Game, earning him his second All-Star Game MVP award. Carter's 106 RBIs (an NL lead), 159 games played, .294 batting average, 175 hits and 290 total bases were personal highs.
The 1984 Expos finished fifth in the NL East.[19] At the end of the season, the rebuilding Expos chafed at Carter's salary demands and traded him in December to the Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans.[18][20][21][22]
New York Mets

In his first game with New York on April 9, 1985, Carter hit a tenth-inning walk-off home run to give the Mets a 6–5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets and Cardinals rivaled for the National League East championship, with Carter and former Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez leading the Mets. The Mets won 98 games but lost a tight race for the division crown by three games to the Cardinals. Carter hit a career-high 32 home runs and drove in 100 runs. The Mets had three players finish in the top ten in NL MVP balloting that season (Dwight Gooden fourth, Carter sixth and Hernandez eighth).
1986 World Series champions
In 1986, the Mets won 108 games and took the National League East by 21+1⁄2 games over the Phillies. Carter suffered a postseason slump in the NLCS, batting .148. However, he hit a walk-off RBI single to win Game 5. Carter also had two hits in Game 6, which the Mets won in 16 innings.[23]
The Mets won the World Series in seven games over the Boston Red Sox. Carter batted .276 with nine RBIs in his first World Series and hit two home runs over Fenway Park's Green Monster in Game Four. He is the only player to hit two home runs in both an All-Star Game (1981) and a World Series game.[citation needed] Carter started a two-out rally in the tenth inning of Game 6, scoring the first of three Mets runs in the inning on a single by Ray Knight. He also hit an eighth-inning sacrifice fly that tied the game.[24] Carter finished third on the NL MVP ballot in 1986.[23]
1987–1988
Carter batted .235 in 1987 and ended the season with 291 career home runs. He had 299 home runs by May 16, 1988 after a fast start, then slumped until August 11 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field when he hit his 300th. During his home-run drought, Carter was named co-captain of the team with Hernandez, who had been named captain the previous season.
Carter ended 1988 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs, his lowest totals since 1976. He ended the season with 10,360 career putouts as a catcher, breaking the career mark of Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan (9,941).
The Mets won 100 games that season, taking the NL East by 15 games. Heavily favored, they were upset by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. Carter batted .183 in 50 games for the Mets in 1989. In November, the Mets released Carter after five seasons, during which he had hit 89 home runs and drove in 349 runs.
After the Mets
Released by the Mets after the 1989 season, Carter subsequently joined the San Francisco Giants.[25] At age 36, he platooned with catcher Terry Kennedy in 1990, batting .254 with nine home runs. With the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991, Carter again found himself in a pennant race, with the Dodgers finishing one game behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League West.
At the end of the season, Carter returned to Montreal for his final season, claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. Carter was still nicknamed "the Kid" by teammates despite his age. In his last career at-bat on September 27, 1992, he hit a game-winning RBI double over the head of Chicago Cubs right-fielder and former Expos teammate Andre Dawson. Carter was given a standing ovation.[26][27] The Expos finished 87–75 and in second place behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League East.
Career statistics
Over a 19-year major league career, Carter was an 11-time All-Star, won three
Carter's 2,056 games played as a catcher rank him fourth on the all-time list.
Carter's .991 career fielding percentage was five points above the league average during his playing career.[28] When he broke the 100-assist barrier in 1977, he joined Johnny Bench and Jim Sundberg as the only major-league catchers to have more than 100 assists in a season since the end of World War II.[36]
Carter amassed the second-highest career
Post-playing career
After his retirement as a player, Carter served as an
Hall of Fame

Carter was elected to the
Carter was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2001.[42] While the Mets have not retired number 8, it has remained unissued by the team since his election to the Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2001, he was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame along with Dave McKay, and his number 8 was retired by the Expos. After the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Nationals following the 2004 season, a banner displaying Carter's number along with those of other Expos stars Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Rusty Staub was hung from the rafters at the Bell Centre, home of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. In Washington, Carter is recognized in the Ring of Honor at Nationals Park.[43]
Coaching
Carter was named Gulf Coast League Manager of the Year after his first season managing the
In 2008, Carter managed the
In October 2009, Carter was named head baseball coach for the NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish.[46]
Personal life
Carter met his future wife Sandy when they were students at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California. They married in 1975[47] and had three children.[2] His daughter Kimmy played catcher for the Florida State softball team from 1999 to 2002.[48] She later served as the head softball coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University.[49]
Carter was an active philanthropist and championed causes that fought leukemia and illiteracy.[50] The Gary Carter Foundation (of which Carter was the president) supports eight Title I schools in Palm Beach County with students live in poverty. The foundation seeks to "better the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of children." To accomplish this, it advocates "school literacy by encouraging use of the Reading Counts Program, a program that exists in the Palm Beach County School District". Since its inception, the Gary Carter Foundation has placed more than $622,000 toward charitable purposes, including $366,000 to elementary schools for reading programs.[51]
The 11th edition of the
Illness and death
In May 2011, Carter was diagnosed with four
Carter died on February 16, 2012 at the age of 57.[40] Nine days later, the Mets announced that they were adding a memorial patch to their uniforms in Carter's honor for the entire 2012 season. The patch features a black home plate with the number 8 and "KID" inscribed on it.[57] On the Mets' 2012 opening day, the Carter family unveiled a banner with a similar design on the centerfield wall of Citi Field.
The NHL's Montreal Canadiens, who had purchased the Expos' mascot Youppi! and hung retired numbers in its arena after the Expos' relocation to Washington, paid tribute to Carter by presenting a video montage and observing a moment of silence before a game against the New Jersey Devils on February 20, 2012. All Canadiens players took to the ice during pregame warmups wearing number 8 Carter jerseys, and Youppi! appeared wearing an Expos uniform. In addition, Youppi! wore a patch on his Canadiens jersey featuring a white circle with a blue number 8 inside it for the remainder of the season. [58]
Tom Verducci, longtime Sports Illustrated baseball writer, reminisced about Carter following his death, "I cannot conjure a single image of Gary Carter with anything but a smile on his face. I have no recollection of a gloomy Carter, not even as his knees began to announce a slow surrender ... Carter played every day with the joy as if it were the opening day of Little League."[2] "Gary actually took a lot of grief from his teammates for being a straight arrow. It wasn't the cool thing to do but on the same token, I think he actually served as a role model for a lot of these guys as they aged. He was the ballast of that team. They did have a lot of fun, there's no question about that, but they were also one of the fiercest, most competitive teams I've ever seen and obviously their comebacks from the '86 postseason defines that team. Carter was a huge part of that."[59]
At Carter's memorial service, on February 24, 2012, Expo teammate Tommy Hutton made note of Carter's deep faith. The three loves in Carter's life, Hutton said, were his family, baseball and God.[60]
Faillon Street West in Montreal, located near IGA Stadium, the tennis stadium built on the site of the former Parc Jarry, was renamed Gary Carter Street in his honor.[61]
On March 28, 2014, during an exhibition game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, a banner was unveiled in honor of Carter in a special ceremony before the first pitch. Carter's widow Sandy and daughter Kimmy were present on the field for an emotional video tribute and the unveiling of the banner on the outfield wall, which reads "Merci! Thank You!" and contains an image of a baseball overlaid with Carter's retired number 8.[62]
See also
- DHL Hometown Heroes
- List of Gold Glove Award winners at catcher
- List of Silver Slugger Award winners at catcher
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career double plays as a catcher leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career games played as a catcher leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a catcher leaders
References
- ^ "Retired Uniform Numbers in the National League". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Verducci, Tom (February 16, 2012). "Gary Carter, the light of the Mets". Sports Illustrated. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ Ash, Jeff (July 1, 2012). "1961 Punt, Pass & Kick champs hold fond memories of Titletown". Green Bay Press Gazette. Retrieved July 2, 2012.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Graduate of the Year". American Legion. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ a b DiGiovanna, Mike (February 17, 2012). "Gary Carter dies at 57; baseball Hall of Famer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ Anderson, Dave (September 20, 1992). "Sports of The Times; Another September For Kid". The New York Times. sec. 8 p. 7.
- ^ Lollis, Dean. "Gary Carter". Historicbaseball.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (September 17, 1974). "Fans on Davis as Expos split". Montreal Gazette. p. 29.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (September 19, 1974). "Mauch 'locks up' Expos during sweep". Montreal Gazette. p. 28.
- ^ "Expos, 3-1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 29, 1974. p. 7B.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies vs Montreal Expos Box Score: September 28, 1974". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ "1975 All-Star Game Box Score, July 15". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (June 17, 1977). "Starting role for Twitchell". Montreal Gazette. p. 19.
- ^ "Giants blanked 4-0". Montreal Gazette. May 11, 1981. p. 1.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (May 11, 1981). "Lea throws Big O's first no-hitter". Montreal Gazette. p. 21.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Montreal Expos 4, San Francisco Giants 0 (2)". Retrosheet.org.
- ^ Fimrite, Ron (April 4, 1983). "His Enthusiasm Is Catching". Sports Illustrated. New York City: Time. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (February 16, 2012). "Gary Carter, Exuberant Power-Hitting Catcher, Dies at 57". The New York Times.
- ^ Durso, Joseph (December 11, 1984). "Mets Get Expo's Carter for Brooks and 3 Others". The New York Times. p. B15. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (December 11, 1984). "Carter asked Expos for trade". Montreal Gazette. p. F1.
- ^ "Salary reason Expos trade away Carter?". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 11, 1984. p. 1C.
- ^ Madden, Bill; Long, Jack (December 11, 1984). "Carter adds more muscle to Mets' potent lineup". The Day. New London, Connecticut). (New York Daily News). p. 21.
- ^ a b "1986 NLCS New York Mets over Houston Astros (4-2)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ "1986 World Series Game 6, Red Sox at Mets, October 25". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Gary Carter Stats". Sports Reference LLC. 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ Gary Carter's last career hit.... RIP Gary "Kid" Carter (April 8, 1954 -- February 16, 2012). a2zme. February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs at Montreal Expos Box Score, September 27, 1992". Baseball Reference.
- ^ a b c "Gary Carter". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Most Career Home Runs by a Catcher". StatMuse. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Career Batting Leaders for Catchers". Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Defensive Games as Catchers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "Trivia December 2010 – Career Shutouts Caught". Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Caught Stealing as a Catcher". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Putouts as Catcher". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Double Plays Turned as Catcher". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for Assists as Catchers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "Catcher JAWS Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "The Last Home Run". IMDb. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ a b "Kid catches Cooperstown spotlight: Carter 'happy' to go into Hall as an Expo". Major League Baseball. Retrieved January 16, 2003.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ a b c "Gary Carter Dies at 57". ESPNNewYork.com. February 17, 2012.
- ^ "Gary Carter heads to Hall of Fame as Expo; Star catcher 'honoured, proud'", Hamilton Spectator, p. E1, January 17, 2003
- ^ "Mets Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on May 1, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ Steinberg, Dan (August 9, 2010). "Nats unveil Ring of Honor". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ "Long Island Ducks". Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ "Ducks Fight to the End". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ "University Mourns Passing of Baseball Coach Gary Carter". Palm Beach Atlantic University. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ "Gary Carter's Wife Sandy Carter". PlayerWives.com. February 17, 2012.
- ^ "Official Athletic Site of Florida State University". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ "Hall-of-Fame Catcher Gary Carter to Lead Sailfish Baseball". Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ Izenberg, Jerry (February 17, 2012). "Izenberg: Gary Carter will be remembered for his character". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ Pfahler, Laurel (January 16, 2013). "Golf event honors Gary Carter". TCPalm.com. TCPalm. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Haglund, David (August 14, 2012). "Did Gary Carter Invent the "F-Bomb"?". Slate.
- ^ Short, D.J. (May 21, 2011). "Gary Carter diagnosed with small tumors on his brain". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Doctors tell New York Mets great Gary Carter that brain tumors are likely malignant". Daily News. New York. May 27, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2021. (subscription required)
- ^ Begley, Ian (May 31, 2011). "Gary Carter has glioblastoma". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ "Gary Carter makes team's opener". ESPN. Associated Press. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Rubin, Adam (February 25, 2012). "Mets will wear Gary Carter patch". ESPNNewYork.com.
- ^ Mitchell, Houston (February 20, 2012). "Gary Carter receives touching tribute from Montreal Canadiens". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Verducci comments on Gary Carter, A. J. Burnett's future". The Dan Patrick Show. February 17, 2012. 1:52 minutes in.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Video: Street named for former Expos catcher Gary Carter". Montreal Gazette. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ Griffin, Richard (March 28, 2014). "Tears flow at Big O as former Expo Gary Carter fondly remembered". Toronto Star (published March 29, 2014). p. S4. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via Printed paper title: "Jays have front row seat for Carter love-in".
Further reading
- Carter, Gary; Hough, John (1987). A Dream Season. Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-126571-8.
- Pearlman, Jeff (2004). The Bad Guys Won! A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform – and Maybe the Best. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-050732-9.
External links
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Gary Carter at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Gary Carter at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Gary Carter at Find a Grave