"The Red Sox were leading, 5-3, in the 10th inning of Game 6 at Shea and were one out from winning a World Series for the first time since 1918. The Mets had nobody on base. Carter kept the Mets alive with a single off reliever Calvin Schiraldi, and a pair of singles brought him home. A wild pitch allowed the tying run to score. Then Mookie Wilson hit a grounder that went between the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, bringing Ray Knight home with the winning run. The Mets won the World Series two nights later."
—Gary Edmund Carter, the kid who "touched off the most memorable single-inning rally in the Mets’ history," died Thursday of brain cancer. Carter was 57.
Friday, February 17, 2012
5
Calvin Schiraldi's Chiropodist was a terrific J. Geils Band cover band.
He should have been on the White Sox.
Let's not forget about his time with the Expos, the world's only surviving female Expos fan mutters, sadly. Also, seriously, 'The Bad Guys Won' really is a fantastic book about the Mets.
He was just the best. Loved this from the Times obit:
Warthen said he loved throwing to Carter because he knew hitters and how to get them out. He also said Carter helped pitchers by constantly chattering to hitters.
“He would drive them crazy,” Warthen said. “They would tell him to shut up, but he would be asking them about their families or complimenting the umpire or talking about the pitcher. They would go nuts.”
Amen, Nicole. That book is great. And, as a born and bred Mets fan who didn't pay much attention in '86 till the end of the season, that book taught me a lot about that team. You liked it, so you should pick up a copy of "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning," which is a lot about the Yankees, but is really a social history of NYC in 1977. It is FANTASTIC.