Hall of Fame catcher and former Mets great Gary Carter has passed away at 57, according to his daughter.
Carter had been battling brain cancer over the past two years. He had recently had a recurrence of tumors and his daughter said he had taken a turn for the worse.
“I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 pm.,” his daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the family’s website. “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know. He is in heaven and has reunited with his mom and dad. I believe with all my heart that dad had a STANDING OVATION as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus.”
Carter was first diagnosed last May when multiple tumors were found on his brain.
Carter, nicknamed “The Kid,” played 19 years in the majors. He was drafted by the Expos in the third round of the 1972 draft and made his debut in 1974 at just 20 years old.
He spent the first 11 years of his career with Montreal before being traded to the New York Mets in 1984 for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans.
He finished sixth in NL MVP voting in his first season with the Mets in 1985. He had 32 home runs and 100 runs batted in. He finished third in MVP voting the next season — his second-highest finish ever — as he led the Mets to the World Series title.
Carter spent five years with the Mets, totaling 89 home runs and 349 runs batted in. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2001.
He finished his career with one year each on the Giants, Dodgers and back on Montreal. He had a total of 324 homers and 1,225 runs batted in in his career.
He won the Gold Glove at catcher three times, won five Silver Slugger award and went to the All-Star game 11 times. He was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. He went in as an Expo.
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