TOM SEAVER: “No one loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. No one enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve every inning he played. He gave you 110 percent and played the most grueling position on the field and that was something special.”
MOOKIE WILSON: “The one thing I remember about Gary was his smile. He loved life and loved to play the game of baseball.”
GENERAL MANGER FRANK CASHEN: “The genesis of the trade was that we wanted to add a big bat to the lineup. He did that right away, but perhaps more importantly was the way he handled our young pitchers. He was the perfect guy for so many reasons.”
MANAGER DAVEY JOHNSON: “Gary was a one-man scouting system. What people didn’t know was that he kept an individual book on every batter in the National League. He was the ideal catcher for our young pitching staff.”
DARRYL STRAWBERRY: “What he added to the team was character. His approach to the game was contagious. It spread to the rest of us. He helped each of us understand what it took to win.”
DWIGHT GOODEN: “I relied on Gary for everything when I was on the mound including location, what pitch to throw and when. Even when I didn’t have my best stuff, he found a way to get me through the game. He was just a warrior on the field.”
WALLY BACKMAN: “He was like a big brother to me. I always went to him for advice. No matter what time of day it was, he always had time for you.”
TIM TEUFEL: “The baseball community has lost a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame person. He was a good man and will be missed terribly.”
For me, the first thing that came to mind was Gary’s first game at Shea as a Met and the extra inning home run. I was there that day and clearly the 85 Mets would build upon 1984’s foundation.
From @larry17
Other sites will do a better job at reporting. Here I’d like to hear from you and any memory you’d like to share. In the tradition of the site if you have any jerseys/shirts/merch you’d like to share please email me at [email protected] or tweet @metspolice. I will update the site later this evening.
I assume the Mets will add a patch to the jerseys. We can discuss that a different time.
Truly a sad day for which there are no words to convey the sadness we all feel.
STATEMENT FROM METS CHAIRMAN & CEO FRED WILPON, PRESIDENT SAUL KATZ,
AND COO JEFF WILPON REGARDING GARY CARTER
“On behalf of everyone at the Mets, we extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Gary’s family — his wife Sandy, daughters Christy and Kimmy and son D.J. His nickname ‘The Kid’ captured how Gary approached life. He did everything with enthusiasm and with gusto on and off the field. His smile was infectious. He guided our young pitching staff to the World Series title in 1986 and he devoted an equal amount of time and energy raising awareness for a multitude of charities and community causes. He was a Hall of Famer in everything he did.”
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Met Gary at a 1986 Mets autograph show. Noticed he was standing the whole time. Waiting my turn I saw he took time to talk with everyone, pose for pictures, etc. When it was my turn I asked him why he was standing the whole time and he said he just had another knee surgery a fews days ago and he couldn’t sit for a long time.
I told him the story of how my mother and I were at the Hall of Fame during that long stretch between HRs #299 and #300. When we saw him at 299 at the HOF actived HR leaders I said he would do it the day. Low and behold after leaving the HOF we were listening to game and he hit #300.
He got a kick out of that story.
RIP Kid