Gary "The Kid" Carter

Gary Carter in his practice jersey with the Montreal Expos back in the early 80's. I took out my identical jersey yesterday just to have a long look at it.

I am going to take a little break from the weather this morning.

We lost Hall of Fame catcher and former Montreal Expo Gary "The Kid" Carter to brain cancer yesterday at the young age of 57. No matter how you look at his 20 year career in the majors he was class all the way. He started his career here in Montreal and delivered so many memories to me as a child and later on in my teen years. My friend Steve D (yes another Steve) and myself were big baseball fans growing up. We had the privilege of watching some pretty amazing players pass through the Montreal organization, none with more energy and enthusiasm than Carter. He was the face of this franchise for the 12 seasons he played here. One big thrill was seeing him in the 1982 MLB All Star game right here at the Big O in Montreal, which luckily I attended. I still have my ticket stub!

Sadly in 1984 the Expos traded away Carter to the New York Mets. My friend Steve and I went in different directions. We were both angry at the Expos for trading him, Steve became an instant Mets fan while I became a huge Boston Red Sox fan. We both still are fans of our respective teams to this day. Well you can see where this is going, to the now famous 1986 World Series between the Mets and Sox. Carter kept the game going in the 9th inning with a clutch hit which later led to the Bill Buckner error and eventually a Game 6 win and World Series title. It would be Carters only championship in his long career. Looking back this morning, I am so glad the Mets won, if just for Carter. The Red Sox had bigger things ahead for them in 2004. It was Carter's well deserved World Series and looking back and reflecting, it was exactly how it was suppose to be.

Rest in peace Gary Carter, my thoughts and prayers to his wife and family.