Background and career
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. After leaving the major leagues, Carter coached baseball at the college and minor-league levels. In 2003, Carter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first Hall of Famer whose plaque depicts him as a member of the Montreal Expos.
Carter was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City in 1954 to Jim Carter, an aircraft worker, and his wife, Inge. One month after Carter turned 12 in 1966, his 37-year-old mother died of leukemia. Athletic at a young age, Carter, along with four other boys, won the seven-year-old category of the first national Punt, Pass, and Kick skills competition in 1961. Carter attended Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, where he played football as a quarterback and baseball as an infielder, graduating in 1972. He also played American Legion Baseball and was named the 1971 American Legion Graduate of the Year. After receiving more than 100 athletic scholarship offers, Carter signed a letter of intent to play football for the UCLA Bruins as a quarterback, but then signed with the Montreal Expos after they selected him in the third round (53rd overall) of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.
Carter earned his nickname of "the Kid" during his first spring training camp with the Expos in 1974.
The Expos converted Carter to a catcher in the minor leagues. In 1974, he hit 23 home runs and drove in 83 runs for the Expos' Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Blues. Following a September callup, Carter made his major league debut at Jarry Park in Montreal in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets on September 16. Despite batting 0–4 in his debut game, he finished the season batting .407 (11–27). His first major-league hits came in both games of an Expos sweep of another doubleheader with the Mets on September 18, as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of the opener and as the catcher in the second game. His first MLB home run occurred on September 28 against Steve Carlton in a 3–1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Carter split time between right field and catching during his rookie season (1975), and was selected for the National League All-Star team as a right fielder. He did not have a plate appearance in the game but played as a defensive replacement for Pete Rose in the ninth inning, when he caught Rod Carew's fly ball for the final out of the NL's 6–3 victory. In his rookie season, Carter hit .270 with 17 home runs and 68 runs batted in, receiving the Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award and finishing second to San Francisco Giants pitcher John Montefusco for the National League Rookie of the Year award. He was also voted the Expos Player of the Year, an award that he also won in 1977, 1980 and 1984.
Carter again split time in the outfield and behind the plate in 1976. Limited to 91 games by a broken finger, he batted just .219 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. In 1977, young stars Warren Cromartie, Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson became full-time outfielders. In mid-June, former starting catcher Barry Foote was traded to the Phillies, allowing for more starts for Carter behind the plate. With little time at other positions, he responded with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs. In 1980, Carter hit 29 home runs, drove in 101 runs and earned the first of three consecutive Gold Glove Awards. In the NL MVP balloting, he finished second to third baseman Mike Schmidt of the Phillies, who won the National League East by one game over the Expos.
Carter caught Charlie Lea's no-hitter on May 10, 1981, the nightcap of a doubleheader split, during the first half of the strike-shortened season. The season resumed on August 9, with Carter playing in the 1981 All-Star Game, hitting two home runs and winning the game's MVP award. He became the fifth and most recent player to hit two home runs in the All-Star Game. MLB split the fractured 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors moved on to two best-of-five League Championship Series. The Expos won the NL East's second half with a 30–23 record. In his first postseason, Carter batted .421, hit two home runs and drove in six in the Expos' victory over the Phillies in the division series. Carter's average improved to .438 in the NLCS, with no home runs or RBIs, and his Expos lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau once remarked: "I am certainly happy that I don't have to run for election against Gary Carter." However, some Expos were unhappy with Carter's unabashed enthusiasm, feeling that he was too absorbed in his image and that he basked in his press coverage too eagerly, derisively naming him "Camera Carter." Andre Dawson felt that Carter was "more a glory hound than a team player."
