Runboard.com
Слава Україні!



runboard.com       Sign up (learn about it) | Sign in (lost password?)

Page:  1  2  3 

 
maxwell smart Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Administrator

Registered: 05-2010
Posts: 38
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


quote:

RenoHitman wrote:

Tributes from teammates were stirring, Straw being the most heartfelt, sad day.



Doc got pretty emotional as well...either Doc or Straw said something along the lines of: with all things that Straw/Doc did wrong and didn't take care of themselves; how could Gary, who did everything right in his life be the first of those guys to pass...

---
Missed it by that much...
2/17/2012, 9:25 am Link to this post Email maxwell smart   PM maxwell smart
 
Catcherlady Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Registered user

Registered: 06-2006
Location: The Garrison
Posts: 1789
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


I have to admit I did have the thought that I was shocked that Doc or Straw weren't the first to go from that team. But you just never know.

There were a few great pieces in the Times this morning, including some great tributes from fellow team-mates.

Sigh...he was one of the best catchers the game ever saw. Damn, this sucks! emoticon

---

2/17/2012, 3:56 pm Link to this post Email Catcherlady   PM Catcherlady
 
vtmet Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Head Administrator

Registered: 06-2006
Posts: 3142
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


he was one of those rare catchers that didn't have a flaw...(I'm talking the Expos version of Gary, before he had 9 knee surgeries)...

I was reading a tribute article at canada.com yesterday, that said that the reason why Gary moved to catcher was because Gary had a total disregard for avoiding crashing into walls in the OF...they figured that catcher was a safer position for him...

Last edited by vtmet, 2/18/2012, 2:47 pm


---
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its' responsibility
2/18/2012, 2:46 pm Link to this post Email vtmet   PM vtmet Blog
 
vtmet Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Head Administrator

Registered: 06-2006
Posts: 3142
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


Found the article:

Gary Carter's star rivalled all but Lafleur
 
http://www.canada.com/sports/Gary+Carter+star+rivalled+Lafleur/6172211/story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+canwest%2FF7191+%28canada.com+Sports+-+Baseball%29
 
BY JACK TODD

MONTREAL — He was the player his teammates dubbed "Lights," the guy who never saw a camera he didn't like.

He was the player fans called “The Kid,” a young man whose infectious enthusiasm for baseball forced the Montreal Expos to stop playing him in the outfield because he crashed into the wall with such frequency that they feared for his career.

He was Gary Carter, the Hall of Fame catcher who could do it all: manage pitchers, throw out baserunners, hit and hit for power. He was the missing piece of the puzzle for the Mets in New York, helping them win a World Series in 1986 on the infamous Mookie Wilson grounder that dribbled through Bill Buckner’s legs.

He was Gary the player who delighted fans with his willingness to sign autographs and pose for pictures — and who made fellow Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. livid with anger by signing an autograph at the wrong time.

He was Gary Carter, the player who helped to put the Expos on the map — and he was Gary Carter, the guy who infuriated so many in Montreal when he expressed his desire to go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap.

He was Gary Carter, one of the two or three most beloved Expos in the history of that sometimes lovable, sometimes maddening organization — and he is gone too soon, dead at 57, claimed by the horrible, wasting, destructive disease of cancer.

To long-suffering fans of the team we called Nos Amours, Carter’s death will seem like yet another funeral. Baseball is about to start its eighth spring training without the Expos and now the team’s single most visible symbol is gone before his time.

It’s hard to imagine now, but at the peak of his fame here (which coincided with the peak of the Expos popularity, a time when the club was drawing two million fans a year to the horrid confines of the Big O) Carter’s star rivalled that of any of the Canadiens, with the sole exception of Guy Lafleur.

With Rusty Staub, Carter was one of the two most popular players in the history of the Expos, and Carter had the good fortune to play on far better teams.

The Expos of the late 1970s and early ’80s had star wattage aplenty and more characters than the entire National Hockey League today: Woody Fryman, Rodney Scott, Ron LeFlore, Warren Cromartie and Bill “Spaceman” Lee. They had cranky manager Dick Williams, great outfielders Andre Dawson and Tim Raines, the superb starting pitcher Steve Rogers. And Carter outshone them all, at least in the eye of the public.

It’s hard to imagine two star players more different than the soft-spoken, humble Dawson and the extroverted, exuberant Carter, who was never averse to tooting his own horn. Not surprisingly, some of his teammates resented Carter’s monopoly on the news media. Hence the nickname “Lights” for camera lights.

Certainly Carter never had an aversion to the limelight; the longest conversation I ever had with him was when he was campaigning for a spot in the Hall of Fame. But when the lights burned brightest, Carter was often at his best.

During the Expos’ playoff run leading up to Blue Monday in 1981, Carter hit .429 with two home runs. During the 1986 World Series, he hit .276 for the Mets with two home runs and nine RBIs while catching every game and managing pitchers like Doc Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco.

Expos owner Charles Bronfman soured on Carter after handing him a seven-year, $12.5-million contract — but that deal is chump change compared with the $200- million-plus deals handed to contemporary stars like Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. And Carter earned his money while playing one of the toughest positions in sports.

Carter played 19 seasons in the big leagues, hit 324 home runs and made the all-star game 11 times. In hindsight, Bronfman was underpaying the guy — because not only was Carter one of the two biggest stars on the club, he was also its best salesman.

Years after Carter left, the Expos would have their greatest player in Vladimir Guerrero, but other than smiling after home runs, Guerrero did nothing to sell the game. Carter did everything during his career and later.

In hindsight also, the December 1984 deal that saw Carter traded to the Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans was a terrible exchange; the Expos got quantity, the Mets got quality — the kind of quality Montreal needed to sell the sport to a sometimes reluctant fan base.

But Carter got his World Series ring from the deal and, most probably, a spot in the Hall of Fame that might have eluded him otherwise.

With Carter, you can recall an entire highlight film reel of great plays, but the Carter incident I remember most occurred at spring training, long after his career was over.

He was with the Expos as a guest coach, but he was more visible than anyone on the team. Shaking hands, signing autographs, giving interviews.

One hot afternoon when the Expos were about to play the Orioles, Ripken Jr. was in the cage, taking batting practice. Fifty feet away, an obnoxious, leather-lunged fan leaned over the fence, demanding Ripken’s autograph. When Ripken shook his head, indicating that he was concentrating on his hitting, the fan began calling him every name in the book.

Enter Gary Carter, stage left, hustling like he was going after a pop foul. Carter arrived on the scene, calmed the fan, and signed several autographs for the man and his son while Ripken glared from the batting cage.

Ripken, who was known for signing autographs as long as there were still fans around wanting one, had one rule: he didn’t sign during practice. By obliging the fan, Ripken felt that Carter was trying to show him up and he was absolutely livid.

At the time, I felt that Ripken was right. In hindsight, I don’t believe Carter was trying to embarrass Ripken. Carter might have been a lot of things, but he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. It was just Gary being Gary — he had an opportunity to make a fan happy and he probably thought he was doing Ripken a favour by getting the man off his back.

All controversy aside, Gary Carter was, first and foremost, a ballplayer — and a good one. A player whose enthusiasm for the game was infectious.

When pitchers and catchers report to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona on Sunday, you know that Kid 8 will be there in spirit — toting a catcher’s mitt and wearing a thousand-watt smile, ready to play ball.

Montreal Gazette

[email protected]

Last edited by vtmet, 2/18/2012, 3:15 pm


---
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its' responsibility
2/18/2012, 3:14 pm Link to this post Email vtmet   PM vtmet Blog
 
Catcherlady Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Registered user

Registered: 06-2006
Location: The Garrison
Posts: 1789
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


Yeah, I read that about catcher being a safer position for him. Kind of an odd viewpoint as catcher is usually considered the most physically punishing of all positions. Few people are actually moved to catcher to SAVE their career!

---

2/19/2012, 1:54 pm Link to this post Email Catcherlady   PM Catcherlady
 
RenoHitman Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Registered user

Registered: 06-2006
Location: Uhh Reno- dumbass
Posts: 2934
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


The hockey tribute was awesome, guess we didnt realize how huge he was up North. Friday will be something, Mets have a large contingent enroute
2/21/2012, 7:07 pm Link to this post Email RenoHitman   PM RenoHitman Blog
 
vtmet Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Head Administrator

Registered: 06-2006
Posts: 3142
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


quote:

RenoHitman wrote:

The hockey tribute was awesome, guess we didnt realize how huge he was up North. Friday will be something, Mets have a large contingent enroute



I think support for the Expos was relatively strong until the Expos got rid of Carter and then Dawson started to decline...

Expos ranking of NL attendance:
1977 (Carter's breakthru season): 6th of 12;
'78: 7th of 12;
'79: 4th of 12;
'80: 4th of 12;
'81: 3rd of 12;
'82: 3rd of 12;
'83: 2nd of 12;
'84: 8th of 12;
'85: 8th of 12;
'86: 11th of 12;
'87: 9th of 12;
'88: 11th of 12;

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MON/1983.shtml

When the Expos put a young quality team on the field (led by Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tim Raines) and when the retractable dome was still working/safe; people supported the Expos...it wasn't until the fans felt sold out that the attendance dropped off...

How do you think that the Mets attendance compared to the Expos attendance prior to Carter's arrival at Shea?

Mets:
'84: 6th of 12;
'83: 12th of 12;
'82: 9th of 12;
'81: 7th of 12;
'80: 9th of 12;
'79: 12th of 12;
'78: 10th of 12;
'77: 10th of 12;
'76: 5th of 12; (Seaver got traded the next season);
'75: 4th of 12;
'74: 5th of 12;
'73: 3rd of 12; (but under 2 Mil);

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1984.shtml

From '77 to '83 (prime Carter years), the Expos outdrew the Mets in every season...

Last edited by vtmet, 2/22/2012, 10:09 pm


---
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its' responsibility
2/22/2012, 9:59 pm Link to this post Email vtmet   PM vtmet Blog
 
LaidBackRider Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Registered user

Registered: 07-2006
Location: El Paso
Posts: 2512
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


You left out Warren Cromartie, Ellis Valentine (pre-Mets/pre-cocaine talent), Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, etc.
2/23/2012, 12:22 am Link to this post Email LaidBackRider   PM LaidBackRider Blog
 
vtmet Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Head Administrator

Registered: 06-2006
Posts: 3142
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


exactly...the Expos had a lot of talent throughout the years...and when they had talent, they drew crowds/support...

---
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its' responsibility
2/23/2012, 1:00 am Link to this post Email vtmet   PM vtmet Blog
 
RenoHitman Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Registered user

Registered: 06-2006
Location: Uhh Reno- dumbass
Posts: 2934
Reply | Quote
Re: Former Met Catcher Gary Carter Dead At 57


I averaged about 15-20 games yearly once I got my license in 1981..
2/24/2012, 9:45 pm Link to this post Email RenoHitman   PM RenoHitman Blog
 


Reply

Page:  1  2  3 





You are not logged in (login)