Gary Carter
⭐ Hall of Fame 2003
Born: 4/8/1954 in Culver City, CA, USA
Died: 2/16/2012 in West Palm Beach, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1974-09-16 | Final Game: 1992-09-27
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 205 lbs
Full name: Gary Edmund Carter
Biography
Gary Carter, born in 1954, was a prominent Major League Baseball player whose career spanned from 1974 until his retirement in 1992. Known for his exceptional skills as a catcher and his infectious enthusiasm for the game, Carter played in 2,296 games, compiling 2,092 hits, 324 home runs, and 1,225 RBIs, while maintaining a batting average of .262. His ability to combine offensive prowess with defensive excellence made him one of the most well-rounded players of his time. Over the course of his career, he was selected to 11 All-Star Games and earned the distinction of All-Star Game MVP on two occasions.
Carter's impact on the game went beyond statistics; he was a key figure in the New York Mets' 1986 World Series championship team, solidifying his legacy in baseball history. His leadership and clutch performances in critical moments exemplified the grit and determination of the era, which was characterized by intense competition and the emergence of powerful hitting. After his retirement, Carter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, a testament to his significant contributions to the sport. His career remains a source of inspiration for aspiring players and a pivotal chapter in the narrative of baseball during the late 20th century.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2296 | 7971 | 1025 | 2092 | 371 | 31 | 324 | 1225 | 39 | 848 | 997 | 0.262 | 0.335 | 0.439 | 0.773 | 13602.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | WSN | NL | 9 | 27 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.407 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | WSN | NL | 144 | 503 | 58 | 136 | 20 | 1 | 17 | 68 | 5 | 72 | 83 | 0.270 | 1197.8 |
| 1976 | WSN | NL | 91 | 311 | 31 | 68 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 38 | 0 | 30 | 43 | 0.219 | -684.4 |
| 1977 | WSN | NL | 154 | 522 | 86 | 148 | 29 | 2 | 31 | 84 | 5 | 58 | 103 | 0.284 | 2171.3 |
| 1978 | WSN | NL | 157 | 533 | 76 | 136 | 27 | 1 | 20 | 72 | 10 | 62 | 70 | 0.255 | 886.4 |
| 1979 | WSN | NL | 141 | 505 | 74 | 143 | 26 | 5 | 22 | 75 | 3 | 40 | 62 | 0.283 | 1191.1 |
| 1980 | WSN | NL | 154 | 549 | 76 | 145 | 25 | 5 | 29 | 101 | 3 | 58 | 78 | 0.264 | 1460.9 |
| 1981 | WSN | NL | 100 | 374 | 48 | 94 | 20 | 2 | 16 | 68 | 1 | 35 | 35 | 0.251 | 543.2 |
| 1982 | WSN | NL | 154 | 557 | 91 | 163 | 32 | 1 | 29 | 97 | 2 | 78 | 64 | 0.293 | 2944.6 |
| 1983 | WSN | NL | 145 | 541 | 63 | 146 | 37 | 3 | 17 | 79 | 1 | 51 | 57 | 0.270 | 916.5 |
| 1984 | WSN | NL | 159 | 596 | 75 | 175 | 32 | 1 | 27 | 106 | 2 | 64 | 57 | 0.294 | 2552.2 |
| 1985 | NYN | NL | 149 | 555 | 83 | 156 | 17 | 1 | 32 | 100 | 1 | 69 | 46 | 0.281 | 2310.4 |
| 1986 | NYN | NL | 132 | 490 | 81 | 125 | 14 | 2 | 24 | 105 | 1 | 62 | 63 | 0.255 | 696.3 |
| 1987 | NYN | NL | 139 | 523 | 55 | 123 | 18 | 2 | 20 | 83 | 0 | 42 | 73 | 0.235 | -1046.0 |
| 1988 | NYN | NL | 130 | 455 | 39 | 110 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 46 | 0 | 34 | 52 | 0.242 | -482.8 |
| 1989 | NYN | NL | 50 | 153 | 14 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 0.183 | -684.8 |
| 1990 | SFG | NL | 92 | 244 | 24 | 62 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 25 | 31 | 0.254 | 124.2 |
| 1991 | LAD | NL | 101 | 248 | 22 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 2 | 22 | 26 | 0.246 | -37.0 |
| 1992 | WSN | NL | 95 | 285 | 24 | 62 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 33 | 37 | 0.218 | -457.7 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 118 | 11 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 8 | 15 | 0.280 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | NLCS | NYN | 7 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.222 |
| 1986 | NLCS | NYN | 6 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0.148 |
| 1986 | WS | NYN | 7 | 29 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0.276 |
| 1981 | NEDIV | MON | 5 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0.421 |
| 1981 | NLCS | MON | 5 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0.438 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 76 | 53 | 490 | 33 | 2 | 39 |
| 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 2056 | 1955 | 11785 | 1203 | 121 | 149 |
| OF | 137 | 120 | 214 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | MON | C | 6 | 5 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1974 | MON | OF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | MON | C | 66 | 56 | 280 | 37 | 5 | 6 |
| 1975 | MON | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | MON | OF | 92 | 80 | 150 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 1976 | MON | C | 60 | 55 | 311 | 36 | 2 | 7 |
| 1976 | MON | OF | 36 | 33 | 53 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1977 | MON | C | 146 | 143 | 811 | 101 | 9 | 14 |
| 1977 | MON | OF | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | MON | C | 152 | 147 | 781 | 83 | 10 | 9 |
| 1978 | MON | 1B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | MON | C | 138 | 136 | 751 | 88 | 9 | 12 |
| 1980 | MON | C | 149 | 146 | 822 | 108 | 7 | 8 |
| 1981 | MON | C | 100 | 99 | 509 | 58 | 4 | 11 |
| 1981 | MON | 1B | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982 | MON | C | 153 | 151 | 954 | 104 | 10 | 6 |
| 1983 | MON | C | 144 | 141 | 847 | 107 | 5 | 14 |
| 1983 | MON | 1B | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984 | MON | C | 143 | 134 | 772 | 65 | 6 | 6 |
| 1984 | MON | 1B | 25 | 23 | 218 | 13 | 1 | 19 |
| 1985 | NYN | C | 143 | 139 | 956 | 67 | 8 | 11 |
| 1985 | NYN | 1B | 6 | 6 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985 | NYN | OF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | NYN | C | 122 | 121 | 869 | 62 | 8 | 13 |
| 1986 | NYN | 1B | 9 | 7 | 68 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 1986 | NYN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1986 | NYN | OF | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | NYN | C | 135 | 132 | 874 | 70 | 9 | 13 |
| 1987 | NYN | 1B | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987 | NYN | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | NYN | C | 119 | 116 | 797 | 54 | 9 | 5 |
| 1988 | NYN | 1B | 10 | 6 | 45 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 1988 | NYN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | NYN | C | 47 | 42 | 266 | 31 | 6 | 6 |
| 1989 | NYN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | SFN | C | 80 | 58 | 323 | 31 | 3 | 2 |
| 1990 | SFN | 1B | 3 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1991 | LAN | C | 68 | 55 | 355 | 45 | 5 | 2 |
| 1991 | LAN | 1B | 10 | 4 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| 1992 | MON | C | 85 | 79 | 481 | 52 | 6 | 3 |
| 1992 | MON | 1B | 5 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 2056 |
| First Base | 76 |
| Third Base | 3 |
| Left Field | 5 |
| Right Field | 132 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Roberto Clemente Award | |
| 1986 | Silver Slugger | C |
| 1986 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1985 | Player of the Month | September |
| 1985 | Player of the Week | Week of 1985-09-06 |
| 1985 | Silver Slugger | C |
| 1985 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1984 | All-Star Game MVP | |
| 1984 | Silver Slugger | C |
| 1984 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1982 | Gold Glove | C |
| 1982 | Silver Slugger | C |
| 1982 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1981 | All-Star Game MVP | |
| 1981 | Gold Glove | C |
| 1981 | Player of the Week | Week of 1981-08-28 |
| 1981 | Silver Slugger | C |
| 1981 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1980 | Gold Glove | C |
| 1980 | Player of the Month | September |
| 1980 | Player of the Week | Week of 1980-05-30 |
| 1980 | TSN All-Star | C |
| 1975 | Player of the Week | Week of 1975-06-20 |
| 1975 | TSN Rookie Player of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | MON | NL | $825,000 |
| 1991 | LAN | NL | $500,000 |
| 1990 | SFN | NL | $250,000 |
| 1989 | NYN | NL | $2,198,572 |
| 1988 | NYN | NL | $2,160,714 |
| 1987 | NYN | NL | $2,060,714 |
| 1986 | NYN | NL | $2,160,714 |
| 1985 | NYN | NL | $2,028,571 |
| Total Career Earnings | $12,184,285 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 181.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1985 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 6th | 116.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1984 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 32.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 35.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1981 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 6th | 77.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1980 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 193.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 17th | 15.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1975 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 2nd | 9.0 | 24 | 9 |