Gary Carter | |
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Catcher | |
Born: Culver City, California, U.S. | April 8, 1954|
Died: February 16, 2012 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. | (aged 57)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 16, 1974, for the Montreal Expos | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 27, 1992, for the Montreal Expos | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .262 |
Hits | 2,092 |
Home runs | 324 |
Runs batted in | 1,225 |
Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
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 "the 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, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Carter was the first Hall of Famer whose plaque depicts him as a member of the Montreal Expos.