Former baseball player and NY Mets broadcaster Tim McCarver has passed.
OT: Tim McCarver RIP
- Thread starter MadRU
- Start date
Loved him. Great broadcaster.
Damn, I remember him as the first real baseball analyst. I loved listening to him when he covered the Mets. He'll be missed, RIP.
I always learned something about baseball when I listened to him cover Mets games.
I liked him as a broadcaster, thought he was pretty good. And of course, he was the guy who bailed out Ralph Kiner when he made his famous, "And on this Father's Day, we would like to wish you all a happy birthday..." comment. PAUSE. McCarver: "That's only if it happens to be your birthday as well, of course."
I always remember him for one of the funniest comments he ever made about a player that I am sure none of the listeners had any idea of what he was saing.
Jose Cruz had his big afro and he either stole 2nd or he had just hit a double and slid headfirst into 2nd. Lost his helmet on the play - As Jose runs his hand through that big hair of his and put his helmet back on- Tim says "As Jose requaffs" at 2nd base."
I didnt even catch it at the time but my then wife- just busted out laughing as she caught it right away.
Tim was so much more of a pleasure when with the Met's than after when he went national.
What a loss.
Jose Cruz had his big afro and he either stole 2nd or he had just hit a double and slid headfirst into 2nd. Lost his helmet on the play - As Jose runs his hand through that big hair of his and put his helmet back on- Tim says "As Jose requaffs" at 2nd base."
I didnt even catch it at the time but my then wife- just busted out laughing as she caught it right away.
Tim was so much more of a pleasure when with the Met's than after when he went national.
What a loss.
Was it Gibson or Carlton who would send McCarver from the mound back behind the plate with the statement "the only thing you know about pitching is that it's hard to hit"? Always like Tim in the Mets' booth. Good mix of imparting knowledge and humor.
Good man, played against him.
RIP Tim
RIP Tim
In 1977,I was able to drink for free at a Kearny bar for the night because of Tim's longevity.
A discussion emerged about MLB'ers who played in 4 decades.
I opined that McCarver had a chance to do so as he had played for the Cardinals at age 17 in 1959.
The bartender challenged me over that,so I offered him the free drink prop.He accepted.
I told him to hold my seat and my change and that I'd be back in some 20 minutes.
I returned with the Baseball Encyclopedia and showed him the info.
He said:"Pick up your money."
I left around 4 AM.The bar closed at 2 for outsiders.
Getting a few hours of sleep before going to work was natural for me at age 27.
I no longer do any hoisting.
A discussion emerged about MLB'ers who played in 4 decades.
I opined that McCarver had a chance to do so as he had played for the Cardinals at age 17 in 1959.
The bartender challenged me over that,so I offered him the free drink prop.He accepted.
I told him to hold my seat and my change and that I'd be back in some 20 minutes.
I returned with the Baseball Encyclopedia and showed him the info.
He said:"Pick up your money."
I left around 4 AM.The bar closed at 2 for outsiders.
Getting a few hours of sleep before going to work was natural for me at age 27.
I no longer do any hoisting.
I didn't care for him as a broadcaster -- but was probably biased after years of listening to Kiner, Nelson and Murphy. He must have been good at his craft as he got to do a lot of national broadcasts.
For me a little went a long way as a broadcaster. As a ballplayer very, very good receiver & good hitter. Just a good ballplayer.
Never forget Deion Sanders deliberately seeking out Tim McCarver with ice cold bucket of water for punishment for allegedly "bad mouthing" him.
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It was Gibson.
The way I remember McCarver telling it is he was headed out to the mound to talk to Gibson and Bob told him "Go back where you came from. You don't know anything about what's going on out here."
Also, I remember McCarver as a better hitter than a defensive catcher.
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Gibson is a guy I wish I saw pitch, but I missed him. He sounds like a complete bad a$$ out there. My earliest memories of him were the Primatin asthma mist commercials he did.
a lot of these guys wouldn't have made it past 3 innings as they would have been tossed every game- all the great pitchers back in the day also head hunted in a big way.
Today, they can't make it past three innings because they'll get pulled for a reliever!
He was so dominant one year ( 1968 1.12 ERA) that they decided to lower the mound.
Also, you didn't stand there and admire your home run off of Gibson. Anyone who dared do anything like that was sure to get drilled the next time up.
That's a crazy year. During my era, dominant years I remember (that may not have been par with that, not sure) were Ron Guidry that one year in 1978 and Dwight Gooden in 1985 I think. And of course my all-time favorite, Rick Sutcliffe coming over from the Indians to go 16-1 with the Cubs in 1984 and win us our first division since 1945.
RIP. A life well-lived. The book he co-authored with Bob Gibson was great.
Fantastic read:
www.espn.com
Fantastic read:
World Series champion, TV analyst Tim McCarver dies at 81
Tim McCarver, the Hall of Fame broadcaster and All-Star catcher who won two World Series titles with the Cardinals, has died at age 81.
www.espn.com
During a spot on the Ed Sullivan show before the 1956 World Series.
Ed asked my dad in front of the audience what he says to pitchers when he visits them at the mound.
Dad:
I don’t go out and talk to them about the trouble their in, they already know they’re in trouble.
Dwight Gooden .... 1985 24-4 1.53 ERAThat's a crazy year. During my era, dominant years I remember (that may not have been par with that, not sure) were Ron Guidry that one year in 1978 and Dwight Gooden in 1985 I think. And of course my all-time favorite, Rick Sutcliffe coming over from the Indians to go 16-1 with the Cubs in 1984 and win us our first division since 1945.
Ron Guidry..............1978 25-3 1.74 ERA
But check this out for the best pitcher I've ever seen:
Sandy Koufax..........
1963 25-5 1.88 ERA
1964 19-5 1.74 ERA
1965 26-8 2.04 ERA
1966 27-9 1.73 ERA
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Never saw Sandy Koufax but always was amazed when I saw shows or read about him. Just incredible. Look at the amount of decisions!
Hit a grand slam for Phils on July 4 but passed Garry Maddox and was credited with three run single. He had fun with it later telling reporter he had done it three or four other times.
As a kid from Memphis he was tested about being teammates with blacks. Gibson once asked for a sip of his soda and McCarver thought for a second and said "I'll save you some"
As a kid from Memphis he was tested about being teammates with blacks. Gibson once asked for a sip of his soda and McCarver thought for a second and said "I'll save you some"
I recall that as a,catcher with the Cards he had enough speed that he used to get a decent amount of triples. Of course I also remember him very well as a Mets broadcaster. And for the Deion Sanders incident. R.I.P. Tim
Not to change the subject but Pedro for his 7 year run was the only thing close.
Tim was just a professional- there was no way not to know the game better if you listened to him for his 40 years in the booth.
Only guy now that gives you actual playing the field insight close to him is Keith H.
With Tim, it wasnt only giving the color but sharing.
The player who stepped into the batters box after Gibson gave up a HR did NOT dig in
Was put in as a pinch runner and proceeded to tear both his quads while running something out.
And he told the story in the way you expect Tim McCarver to tell it.
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