His smile, bubbly personality and eagerness to excel on a ball field made him a delight to the eye at the plate and behind it.
Even his Hall of Fame in Cooperstown bronze plaque shows him with a grin - the Kid forever.
The star catcher, whose single for the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series became one of the most improbable rallies in baseball, died Thursday. He was 57.
Carter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May, two weeks after his second season as coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Carter died in a hospice in West Palm Beach, Florida, area.
"I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my dear father went to be with Jesus today at 16:10," Carter's daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the website of the family. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to write in my whole life, but I wanted you all know."
Carter was a 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. His bottom-of-the-10e single in Game 6 of the 1986-series helped the Mets mount a charge against the Boston Red Sox and eventually defeat.
With curly blond locks from under his helmet, and a stiff, upright batting stance flaring, Carter was instantly recognizable. And who saw Carter recognized his momentum.
"Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. Nobody enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve, he played every inning," Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said .
After the diagnosis Carter, the Mets began with a highlight reel of his performance on the video card while playing at Citi Field and posted this message: "Our thoughts are with you Gary From your millions of fans and the New York Mets.".
"His nickname 'The Kid' caught Gary how life approached," the Mets said Thursday in a statement. "He did everything with enthusiasm and verve on and off the field. His smile was contagious .... He was a Hall of Famer in everything he did."
Carter almost two decades played with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco and Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the Expos to their only playoff berth and was the first player enshrined in Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap.
"Gary was one of the happiest men in the world every day," Mets teammate Mookie Wilson once said.
Carter was so much known for his vibrant personality and his talents. He earned his nickname as an eager teenager in his first Major League camp and the label stuck for the rest of his career, and beyond.
"A general exuberance on the field with a signature smile that was known for the clutch hitting and rock-solid defense over 19 seasons," reads his Hall plaque.
He was especially pumped during the biggest moment of his career. The powerful Mets were down to their last chance in the '86 Series when Carter stepped up with two outs. Nobody was at the base, New York and Boston was behind 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 6.
Carter said he was only one thought in mind. "I was not going to get the latest from the World Series to make"
True to his word, he delivered a clean single to left field off Red Sox reliever Calvin Schiraldi. Kevin Mitchell followed with a single blow, and when Ray Knight also singled, Carter raced home from second base.
If Carter crossed the plate, he clapped his hands, pointed to Wilson on the deck and hit again. Moments later, Bill Buckner's error Knight scored a great 6-5 victory. Carter flew out of the dugout to celebrate at home plate, catcher of the equipment already on it.
Overshadowed by the rally was the fact that Carter had tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Then in Game 7, Carter drove in the tying run in the sixth inning and the Mets went on their most recent championship.
"What he added to the team character. His approach to the game was contagious. It spread to the rest of us. He helped each of us to understand what was needed to win," former teammate Darryl Strawberry said.
Carter homered twice over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Game 4 and nine RBIs in that series. Since then there have been only two more players in a World Series (Mike Napoli for Texas in 2011 and Sandy Alomar Jr. for Cleveland in 1997 each had 10).
Overall, Carter hit .262 with 324 home runs and 1225 RBIs with the Expos, Mets, San Francisco and Los Angeles Dodgers. He set the Major League record for putouts by a catcher, a testament to its durability, despite nine knee operations.
"Driven by a remarkable enthusiasm for the game, Gary Carter was one of the elite catchers of all time," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "Like all baseball fans, I will always remember his leadership for '86 Mets and his central role in one of the greatest World Series ever played. "
Carter was twice the MVP of the All-Star game. He won the award in 1981 by home ring twice in the first baseball game after a players strike that lasted two months. He remains the only player to a two-homer performance in an All-Star Game and World Series game.
Carter also the NL record for games caught.
"I appeal to Gary for everything when I was on the mound, including location, what pitch to throw and when. Even if I did not have my best stuff, he found a way to get me through the game. He was just a warrior on the field, "former Mets ace Dwight Gooden said.
Carter, however, spent his first full season in the majors in the first place as a right fielder in Montreal. His first All-Star appearance came in that year, in 1975, as a defensive replacement in left field for Pete Rose.
Carter was recognized for his contributions in the field when he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award.
"Gary Carter was everything you wanted in a sports hero, a great talent, a great competitor, a great family man and a good friend," former Mets pitcher Ron Darling said.
Carter hit his first Major League homer in September 1974 from the future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton as a 20-year-old rookie - Carter homered 11 times against the ace lefty, his top victim.
Carter spent his first 11 years with the Expos and was part of a solid core them in the playoffs 1981. They beat the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in a new first round occurring after the strike split the season into two halves, but lost to the Dodgers in the NL championship series.
"Learning of the death of Gary's feels like I lost a family member," former Expos pitcher Steve Rogers said. "Gary and I grew up together in the game, and during our time with the Expo, we were as close as brothers, not as poet Gary was a champion, he was a" gamer "in all senses of the word - on the field .. and in life. He made everyone around him better, and he made me a better pitcher. "
A perennial fan favorite, Carter returned to Montreal in 1992 for one last season. His last swing was an unforgettable experience - he hit an RBI double in the seventh inning at Olympic Stadium, left for a pinch-runner to a huge ovation from the home crowd and walked away after that 1-0 win over the Cubs.
Carter was elected to the Hall in 2003, on his sixth attempt. He joked that he wanted his cap to Cooperstown are a half-and-halfer, divided between the Expo and the Mets. The Hall is the ultimate call on the logo.
Carter Canadian fans welcome by supplying a portion of its induction-speech in French. Born and raised in California, he took a Berlitz course to help him learn the language after the Expos drafted him.
"It's nice to know that even though my body feels like an old man now, I will always be a child at heart," said Carter with his election.
The Expos traded him to the Mets after the 1984 season for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans. Carter was one of the last missing pieces in a New York team that has the likes of Strawberry, Gooden, Keith Hernandez.
He made an immediate impression - it just took a little extra time to get right in his Mets debut in 1985. In the season opener at Shea Stadium, Carter took strike three, had a passed ball that gave St. Louis a run and looked Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar steal a base against him.
But in the bottom of the 10th inning, Carter hit a home run that won the game and drew a standing ovation plus chants of "Gary! Gary! Gary!"
"What a way to start," Carter said with a grin afterwards. "Touched by a pitch, strikeout looking, a stolen base, a passed ball and then the home run."
"There is not enough words to describe how it feels," he said. "I will remember this the rest of my life."
It was not the only time he returned from a robust start. Slumping badly in the 1986 NL Championship Series, Carter hit a winning single in the bottom of the 12th reports to Houston in Game 5, making the Mets within one win of the World Series.
"No one loved life in a bigger way than Gary," said former Mets manager Davey Johnson, who is now in the same job with the Washington Nationals. "Gary's brave battle has ended, but his off-the-gut laughter will be heard and its vitality and spirit will forever be felt. I loved him very much, and I know that he is finally at peace."
A two-sport athlete as a boy, Carter won the 7-year-old national division in the first NFL Punt, Pass & Kick skills competition in 1961. He was a pitcher and shortstop in Little League and moved to the capture of high school after a scout suggested that the fastest way to the big leagues, running a chance to play football at UCLA.
Carter stayed in baseball after his playing days ended. He was a broadcaster for the Florida Marlins, coached and managed in the minors for the Mets managed two independent minor league teams and coached in college.
Carter made it to day for Palm Beach Atlantic University on 02 February open, shaking hands with each player on the team. He looked over three innings and got a standing ovation from the audience. The Mets had invited him to spring training, which opens Wednesday.
The only hint of negative publicity Carter Drew came a few years ago, when he appeared to his campaign for the Mets' managing authority command all it was already filled.
Carter, however, always had a winning touch. On the baseball field or road, he greeted fans with a hearty handshake - many are surprised at how big right hand had swallowed them.
In the Hall ceremonies in July, new inductee Bert Blyleven said Carter. "Gary, keep fighting the way you always have," he told the crowd.
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said Carter continued to inspire him in later years. In a 2006 column for The Associated Press, the former Phillies star recalled the pure delight that shrouded Carter when he was voted into Cooperstown.
"No player ever appreciated that call, if he did. The joy brought him, his family and friends, especially me, was so real and real nice, I ate it and still do not," Schmidt wrote.
"He did not take for granted. He will wear his emotions, in this election, on his sleeve the rest of his life," he wrote.
Even his Hall of Fame in Cooperstown bronze plaque shows him with a grin - the Kid forever.
The star catcher, whose single for the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series became one of the most improbable rallies in baseball, died Thursday. He was 57.
Carter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May, two weeks after his second season as coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Carter died in a hospice in West Palm Beach, Florida, area.
"I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my dear father went to be with Jesus today at 16:10," Carter's daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the website of the family. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to write in my whole life, but I wanted you all know."
Carter was a 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. His bottom-of-the-10e single in Game 6 of the 1986-series helped the Mets mount a charge against the Boston Red Sox and eventually defeat.
With curly blond locks from under his helmet, and a stiff, upright batting stance flaring, Carter was instantly recognizable. And who saw Carter recognized his momentum.
"Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. Nobody enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve, he played every inning," Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said .
After the diagnosis Carter, the Mets began with a highlight reel of his performance on the video card while playing at Citi Field and posted this message: "Our thoughts are with you Gary From your millions of fans and the New York Mets.".
"His nickname 'The Kid' caught Gary how life approached," the Mets said Thursday in a statement. "He did everything with enthusiasm and verve on and off the field. His smile was contagious .... He was a Hall of Famer in everything he did."
Carter almost two decades played with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco and Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the Expos to their only playoff berth and was the first player enshrined in Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap.
"Gary was one of the happiest men in the world every day," Mets teammate Mookie Wilson once said.
Carter was so much known for his vibrant personality and his talents. He earned his nickname as an eager teenager in his first Major League camp and the label stuck for the rest of his career, and beyond.
"A general exuberance on the field with a signature smile that was known for the clutch hitting and rock-solid defense over 19 seasons," reads his Hall plaque.
He was especially pumped during the biggest moment of his career. The powerful Mets were down to their last chance in the '86 Series when Carter stepped up with two outs. Nobody was at the base, New York and Boston was behind 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 6.
Carter said he was only one thought in mind. "I was not going to get the latest from the World Series to make"
True to his word, he delivered a clean single to left field off Red Sox reliever Calvin Schiraldi. Kevin Mitchell followed with a single blow, and when Ray Knight also singled, Carter raced home from second base.
If Carter crossed the plate, he clapped his hands, pointed to Wilson on the deck and hit again. Moments later, Bill Buckner's error Knight scored a great 6-5 victory. Carter flew out of the dugout to celebrate at home plate, catcher of the equipment already on it.
Overshadowed by the rally was the fact that Carter had tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Then in Game 7, Carter drove in the tying run in the sixth inning and the Mets went on their most recent championship.
"What he added to the team character. His approach to the game was contagious. It spread to the rest of us. He helped each of us to understand what was needed to win," former teammate Darryl Strawberry said.
Carter homered twice over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Game 4 and nine RBIs in that series. Since then there have been only two more players in a World Series (Mike Napoli for Texas in 2011 and Sandy Alomar Jr. for Cleveland in 1997 each had 10).
Overall, Carter hit .262 with 324 home runs and 1225 RBIs with the Expos, Mets, San Francisco and Los Angeles Dodgers. He set the Major League record for putouts by a catcher, a testament to its durability, despite nine knee operations.
"Driven by a remarkable enthusiasm for the game, Gary Carter was one of the elite catchers of all time," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "Like all baseball fans, I will always remember his leadership for '86 Mets and his central role in one of the greatest World Series ever played. "
Carter was twice the MVP of the All-Star game. He won the award in 1981 by home ring twice in the first baseball game after a players strike that lasted two months. He remains the only player to a two-homer performance in an All-Star Game and World Series game.
Carter also the NL record for games caught.
"I appeal to Gary for everything when I was on the mound, including location, what pitch to throw and when. Even if I did not have my best stuff, he found a way to get me through the game. He was just a warrior on the field, "former Mets ace Dwight Gooden said.
Carter, however, spent his first full season in the majors in the first place as a right fielder in Montreal. His first All-Star appearance came in that year, in 1975, as a defensive replacement in left field for Pete Rose.
Carter was recognized for his contributions in the field when he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award.
"Gary Carter was everything you wanted in a sports hero, a great talent, a great competitor, a great family man and a good friend," former Mets pitcher Ron Darling said.
Carter hit his first Major League homer in September 1974 from the future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton as a 20-year-old rookie - Carter homered 11 times against the ace lefty, his top victim.
Carter spent his first 11 years with the Expos and was part of a solid core them in the playoffs 1981. They beat the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in a new first round occurring after the strike split the season into two halves, but lost to the Dodgers in the NL championship series.
"Learning of the death of Gary's feels like I lost a family member," former Expos pitcher Steve Rogers said. "Gary and I grew up together in the game, and during our time with the Expo, we were as close as brothers, not as poet Gary was a champion, he was a" gamer "in all senses of the word - on the field .. and in life. He made everyone around him better, and he made me a better pitcher. "
A perennial fan favorite, Carter returned to Montreal in 1992 for one last season. His last swing was an unforgettable experience - he hit an RBI double in the seventh inning at Olympic Stadium, left for a pinch-runner to a huge ovation from the home crowd and walked away after that 1-0 win over the Cubs.
Carter was elected to the Hall in 2003, on his sixth attempt. He joked that he wanted his cap to Cooperstown are a half-and-halfer, divided between the Expo and the Mets. The Hall is the ultimate call on the logo.
Carter Canadian fans welcome by supplying a portion of its induction-speech in French. Born and raised in California, he took a Berlitz course to help him learn the language after the Expos drafted him.
"It's nice to know that even though my body feels like an old man now, I will always be a child at heart," said Carter with his election.
The Expos traded him to the Mets after the 1984 season for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans. Carter was one of the last missing pieces in a New York team that has the likes of Strawberry, Gooden, Keith Hernandez.
He made an immediate impression - it just took a little extra time to get right in his Mets debut in 1985. In the season opener at Shea Stadium, Carter took strike three, had a passed ball that gave St. Louis a run and looked Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar steal a base against him.
But in the bottom of the 10th inning, Carter hit a home run that won the game and drew a standing ovation plus chants of "Gary! Gary! Gary!"
"What a way to start," Carter said with a grin afterwards. "Touched by a pitch, strikeout looking, a stolen base, a passed ball and then the home run."
"There is not enough words to describe how it feels," he said. "I will remember this the rest of my life."
It was not the only time he returned from a robust start. Slumping badly in the 1986 NL Championship Series, Carter hit a winning single in the bottom of the 12th reports to Houston in Game 5, making the Mets within one win of the World Series.
"No one loved life in a bigger way than Gary," said former Mets manager Davey Johnson, who is now in the same job with the Washington Nationals. "Gary's brave battle has ended, but his off-the-gut laughter will be heard and its vitality and spirit will forever be felt. I loved him very much, and I know that he is finally at peace."
A two-sport athlete as a boy, Carter won the 7-year-old national division in the first NFL Punt, Pass & Kick skills competition in 1961. He was a pitcher and shortstop in Little League and moved to the capture of high school after a scout suggested that the fastest way to the big leagues, running a chance to play football at UCLA.
Carter stayed in baseball after his playing days ended. He was a broadcaster for the Florida Marlins, coached and managed in the minors for the Mets managed two independent minor league teams and coached in college.
Carter made it to day for Palm Beach Atlantic University on 02 February open, shaking hands with each player on the team. He looked over three innings and got a standing ovation from the audience. The Mets had invited him to spring training, which opens Wednesday.
The only hint of negative publicity Carter Drew came a few years ago, when he appeared to his campaign for the Mets' managing authority command all it was already filled.
Carter, however, always had a winning touch. On the baseball field or road, he greeted fans with a hearty handshake - many are surprised at how big right hand had swallowed them.
In the Hall ceremonies in July, new inductee Bert Blyleven said Carter. "Gary, keep fighting the way you always have," he told the crowd.
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said Carter continued to inspire him in later years. In a 2006 column for The Associated Press, the former Phillies star recalled the pure delight that shrouded Carter when he was voted into Cooperstown.
"No player ever appreciated that call, if he did. The joy brought him, his family and friends, especially me, was so real and real nice, I ate it and still do not," Schmidt wrote.
"He did not take for granted. He will wear his emotions, in this election, on his sleeve the rest of his life," he wrote.
