Gary Carter Loses Battle with Brain Cancer

Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter died yesterday at the age of 57.  It wasn’t unexpected as the Kid passed away after his nine month battle with brain cancer.  Still, the sports world took the news hard as Carter was a well liked and highly respected member of the baseball community.

Last May it was determined that Carter had a malignant brain tumor.  His health had its ups and downs over the past year, but recently Carter took a turn for the worse.  Carter had been receiving hospice care in the West Palm Beach, Florida area, and this is where Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said he died.

Carter is widely regarded as one of the game’s best catchers.  Already elected into the Hall of Fame, Carter spent 19 seasons in the majors.  Over that span, the Kid was selected to 11 All-Star games, won three Gold Glove Awards and five Silver Slugger Awards.

After spending 11 seasons with the Montreal Expos, Carter was traded to the New York Mets prior to the 1985 season.  Carter and the Mets went on to win the 1986 World Series.  After his five-year tour with New York, Carter played a season a piece for the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers before finishing his career with the Expos in 1992.

Carter posted a career OPS of .773, compiling 2092 hits, 324 home runs and 1225 RBI’s over his 19 seasons.

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