Happy Birthday Gary Carter!

  Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Fame Catcher, Gary Carter. 

Gary Carter Stats & Accolades:

.262 BA, 2,092 HITS, 324 HR, 1,225 RBI, .335 OBP, 1,025 RUNS

• 11x All-Star

• 5x Silver Slugger

• 3x Gold-Glove

• 1986 World Series

• .991 career Fielding Percentage

Gary Carter had the whole package for a Catcher. He was great behind the plate in terms of defense and handling pitchers. At the plate, he was a great hitter. Finishing top-10 in the NL MVP voting multiple times and drove in 100 RBIs several times. His teammates with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets viewed him as a clubhouse leader, the co-team Captain with Keith Hernandez for the Mets in 1986. Carter was a grinder; he got behind the plate on average 140 times a year during his prime to physically maintain that he stayed with the team trainers hours before and after games. 

Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez were the two big pieces the Mets needed in production and leadership. The Mets wouldn't win in 1986 if not for Carter and Hernandez. His lifetime offensive numbers are among the best regarding Catchers. His lifetime .991 Fielding Percentage was well above the league average during his career. The Montreal Expos retired his number before they relocated to Washington, DC. The Mets haven't officially retired his number, but he was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2001, years before his death in 2012.

Written & Published by Robert Dobek

Follow on Twitter @RobTheYankee

References:

1. Gary Carter Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cartega01.shtml 

2. Petersel, Zachary. Gary Carter: The Kid We Will Always Remember via Bleacher Report: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1069372-the-kid-we-will-always-remember-gary-carter