Gary Carter

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. He was known throughout his career for his hitting, excellent defense, ability to handle pitchers and on-field leadership.

In Their Own Story

Sheffield made his major league debut on September 3, 1988, still a teenager. He got off to a fast start, with his first career hit being a home run off Mark Langston. In his first All-Star season with the San Diego Padres in 1992, he contended for the Triple Crown for much of the year. While he missed out on the home run (33, two fewer than the leader, teammate Fred McGriff) and RBIs (100, nine fewer than leader Darren Daulton) titles, he won the National League batting title with a .330 average. On July 13, 1997, Sheffield became the first player in franchise history to hit two home runs in one inning for the Florida Marlins. He hit his 500th home run on April 17, 2009. As of his last game, Sheffield ranked second among all active players in walks (1,475), third in runs (1,636), fourth in RBIs (1,676), fifth in hits (2,689) and home runs (509), and sixth in hit by pitches (135). He is the only player in history to record 100 RBIs in a season for five different teams.

Reader's Guide

Gary Carter was a catcher for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets, and also played for the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. 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. After leaving the major leagues, Carter coached baseball at the college and minor-league levels.

Did You Know?

• Carter's first MLB home run occurred on September 28, 1974, against Steve Carlton.
• Carter caught Charlie Lea's no-hitter on May 10, 1981.
• Carter hit two home runs in the 1981 All-Star Game, winning the game's MVP award.
• Carter is the only player to hit two home runs in both an All-Star Game and a World Series game.
• Carter broke the career mark of 9,941 putouts as a catcher, ending 1988 with 10,360.