Gary Carter who was known as “The Kid” passed away on Thursday afternoon. He was just 57 years old. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011 and fought a courageous battle. He was affectionately nicknamed the kid because he was a kid at heart. Carter will be missed in the baseball world, he was a great baseball player and a good man. The world first learned of his death through the family website where his daughter posted the news. I can’t imagine what they are going through right now and I wish them all the very best and all the prayers they can get.
I am sure that in the coming days Carter will dominate the headlines. He will do so especially in New York and Montreal, the two teams he was most linked too. He started his career in Montreal and enjoyed his best years in New York, including winning the 1986 World Series. He helped shape that Mets team which was so good and should of won more then one championship. He was the opposite of a team full of off the field animals. He was a very humble, spiritual and family man. He was one of the leaders on that team and they all respected him. He was different from them in that he didn’t go out and party at night but all he wanted to do on the field was win, just like they did.
He had a 19 year career, five of them with the New York Mets. He was an 11 time All-Star and he was a durable slugger. He hit 324 career home runs. In his career he was fourth all-time and first in NL history in both games caught and putouts as a catcher. He was elected to the baseball Hall Of Fame in 2003, his sixth year of eligibility. He had a 262 career batting average and a 991 fielding percentage.
Carter started his coaching career in 2005, he was with the Gulf Coast Mets then with the A St. Lucie Mets. In 2008 he was with the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League and then the Long Island Ducks in 2009. In 2010 to now he was the head baseball coach for NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University.
It is a very sad day for baseball, it was coming as in January it was announced that he had taken a turn for the worse and treatments were being stopped. Carter was too young to pass away and many in the baseball world were shocked when it was learned he had the disease. It is a very sad day but Carter will always be remembered. It is amazing to hear all the tributes and hear how well everyone speaks of him. The team in the 1980′s that he was on was a wild bunch, he didn’t agree with them but they all respected him. The comments tonight prove that. He is gone but he will not be forgotten and the family can take some joy out of hearing the outpouring of love for Gary “The Kid” Carter.
