RIP Gary "Kid" Carter

[CrazyCanuck]

"He was especially enthused 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. No one was on base and New York was trailing Boston 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 6.

Carter said he had just one thought in mind: "I wasn't going to make the last out of the World Series."

True to his word, he delivered a clean single to left field off Red Sox reliever Calvin Schiraldi. Kevin Mitchell followed with a single and when Ray Knight also singled, Carter scampered home from second base.

As Carter crossed the plate, he clapped his hands, pointed at Wilson on deck and clapped again. Moments later, Bill Buckner's error scored Knight for an amazing 6-5 win. Carter rushed from the dugout to join the celebration at home plate, catcher's gear already on.

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 to win their most recent championship.

Carter homered twice over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Game 4 and totaled nine RBIs in that Series. Since then, only one player has gotten more in a World Series (Sandy Alomar Jr. had 10 for Cleveland in 1997)."

[CrazyCanuck]

"Carter, an 11-time All Star, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 after retiring in 1992. He finished his 19-year career with a .262 average, 324 home runs and 1,225 RBIs."

"He led the Expos to their only playoff berth and was the first player enshrined in Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap."

[CrazyCanuck]

[CrazyCanuck]