Last week, Whitney Houston tragically passed away on the eve of the Grammy Awards.  Houston’s death caused nearly instantaneous reaction and reflection on her greatness.  Her fans were grieving, full of sadness, and in all honesty, I didn’t quite get it.

Now, it isn’t as if I disliked Ms Houston.  In fact, I’d even recently had a conversation about her version of the Star Spangled Banner prior to Super Bowl XXV, and how it was still the benchmark for that song all these years later.  The woman had a voice for the ages, and I absolutely respect that.  As a friend of mine would say, she could sang.  Yes, sang.

Though I appreciated her talent, I wouldn’t categorize myself as a Whitney fan.  Her voice was beautiful, but she just didn’t impact me on a larger scale.  So when people whom had never met her were so visibly saddened by her loss, it just didn’t resonate with me.

It makes a little more sense now.

The dream-like state that New York sports fans have enjoyed over the past two weeks in the wake of the Giants’ Super Bowl victory and the sudden advent of “Linsanity” came back to reality on Thursday.  Hall of Fame catcher and former New York Met Gary Carter lost his battle with brain cancer and passed away at the age of 57.  Carter’s death strikes that personal chord that I previously didn’t understand.

Career Highlights

Nicknamed “Kid” for his youthful exuberance, Gary Carter played 21 seasons in the big leagues. The majority of which were spent with the Montreal Expos and the Mets.  He hit 325 homeruns, drove in 1225 runs and batted .262 in his career.  Carter was named an All-Star eleven times, won five Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and received the Roberto Clemente Award in 1989.  His 2,056 games caught ranks 4^th in MLB history.  He was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and is one of only sixteen catchers to reside there.

1986

Carter managed one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, helping the Mets to 108 wins that season.  In the postseason, Gary played a timely offensive role.  He knocked in the game winning run in Game 5 of the NLCS with a walk-off single.

We will never forget "The Kid." photo credit:AxsDeny

In the World Series, Carter hit two home runs in Game 4 to lift the Mets to a 6-2 victory, tying the series at 2-2 in the process.  In Game 6, Gary Carter began THE rally with the most important hit of his career.  His two out, tenth inning single started the Mets’ historic comeback that night as New York went on to score three runs to avoid certain defeat.  New York certainly had more than one hero that season, but without Carter, it’s fair to say that the Mets wouldn’t have won the World Series.

The Man

By all accounts, Gary Carter did it the right way.  On a team of indulgent night lifers, Gary abstained, every single time.  Former Met Daryl Strawberry may have said it best: “When you’re a professional athlete that’s (Carter’s) the model you want to live.”  He also added that most of them couldn’t do it like Gary.

The stories that have trickled out since his passing are too many to repeat.  He signed every autograph possible, he was always smiling, he was a great teammate, and a better family man.

As a Fan

In regards to my original point, I never met Gary Carter, but the news of his death saddens me some.  The news also brings back some great memories from my youth.  You see, the 1986 Mets were my team.  The ’86 version of the Amazins is the first team in any sport that I can vividly remember following.

Gary Carter was one of my favorite players.  He was (and still is) in no uncertain terms, my sister’s favorite player.  I’m sure she still has a collection of just Gary Carter cards.  She and our father attended his induction ceremony into Cooperstown.

Those guys were our heroes, and Gary Carter was one of them.  I watched them on television, listened to them on the radio, and dressed like them on Halloween.

The Mets were the beginning of my obsession with sports.  It is possible that my parents’ attic houses a “book” that I wrote about the Mets and their players, in which I even described how manager Davey Johnson platooned some of the positions in the lineup.  How’s that for foreshadowing?

Gary Carter and his Mets provided moments that I’ll never forget.  The mention of his name has always evoked a smile from me, though his death has turned that smile into a bittersweet one.

Thanks for the memories, “Kid.”