I would just like to express how sorry I am to all the friends and family of Hall of Fame baseball player Gary Carter who passed away yesterday after his battle with cancer. Growing up as a kid I was a huge baseball fan and Gary Carter was right up there in my "favorite baseball cards book". I remember back in 1986 when the Red Sox played the New York Mets in the World Series. Even though I was a Boston Red Sox fan and wanted them to win, and this sounds kind of crazy, I was still hoping some of my favorite players at the time (Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson and Kevin Mitchell) on the other team would play well. You know.....have a solid individual performance but just come up short and lose to the Sox. I remember Carter hitting 2 home runs in Game 4 of the World Series at Fenway Park, what an amazing performance! We all know the Mets went on to win the World Series but performance like this were what Gary Carter was all about. He finished his career with 324 Home Runs, 1,225 RBI's, an 11-time All-Star, a 3-time Gold Glove Award winner, a 5-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a 2-time MLB All-Star game MVP and winner of the Roberto Clemente award in 1989. He played nearly 2 decades for 4 different teams (Montreal Expos, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodges). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. Gary Carter was a classy baseball player and human being. He played the game the way it was meant to be played, with 100% intensity! Again, my prayers and deepest sympathy goes out to Gary Carter's entire family and to all of his many friends and fans. Below are a couple of links on Gary Carter, the first being his website and the second is a nice read by the New York Times:
Click Here To Visit Gary Carter's Website
Click Here To Read About The Exuberant Power Hitting Catcher Gary Carter by The New York Times
Below are a few photos that I thought really summed up the career of Gary Carter, truly one of baseball's finest!
Gary Carter with Keith Hernandez during the 1986 World Series.
I remember this card from 1987, it was in my best players book.
Carter showing compassion here, what an amazing person he was. Winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 1989 which is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contributions to his team were traits that Carter continued after his playing days were over.
Thanks for all the baseball memories Gary Carter, you will never be forgotten!
God Bless
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