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Gary Carter Hand Signed
As catcher for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets, Gary Carter ended his 19-year career with major league records for most put-outs as catcher with 11,785 and most chances accepted at catcher with 12,998. His 298 career home runs and four seasons with 100 or more RBIs shows this defensive player dominated at offensive as well. Nicknamed “The Kid” for his youthful presence and omnipresent smile, Gary Carter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. Carter has hand-signed this official baseball with the special inscription of "HOF 2003". This product comes complete with a Steiner Sports Certificate of Authenticity.
Each and every hand-signed collectible that carries a tamper-proof hologram is witnessed by a Steiner Sports representative. Once the collectibles have been autographed, they are cataloged and inventoried.
A notarized affidavit is prepared and signed by the athlete and a Steiner Sports representative. The notarized affidavit records the date and location of the signing and also details the items that were signed by the specified athlete. This document is then secured within the Steiner Sports main offices.
Each hand-signed collectible is examined for quality and signature condition. If the collectible meets the Steiner Sports standard of excellence a tamper-proof Steiner Sports hologram is affixed to the product.
Once the hand-signed collectible has passed the steps listed above, a Steiner Sports Certificate of Authenticity is created for the collectible. The collectible is then sealed and stored within our main office and is not handled until it is delivered to a sports collectible enthusiast.
Gary Edmund Carter (born April 8, 1954), nicknamed "Kid", was a Major League Baseball Hall Of Fame catcher from 1974-1992. Carter played with the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
During his career, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League. He won three Gold Glove awards (1980, 1981, 1982), and five Silver Slugger awards (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986).
Gary Carter was born in Culver City, California and attended Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California, where he was a three sport star in baseball, basketball and football (he signed a letter of intent to play football at UCLA before signing with the Montreal Expos) [1]. Carter made his major league debut with the Expos on September 16, 1974, going 0 for 4 against the New York Mets. He hit .270 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI in 1975, his first full season, making the All-Star team and receiving The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. Gary Carter became the 5th (and latest to date) player to hit 2 home runs in an All-Star Game in 1981 (joining Arky Vaughan-1941, Ted Williams-1946, Al Rosen-1954, and Willlie McCovey-1969.
While solidifying his spot as one of baseball's premier catchers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he set personal-highs in RBI (106, leading the league), batting average (.294), hits (175), total bases (290), and games played (159) in 1984. At the end of the 1984 season, Carter was traded to the New York Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham, and Floyd Youmans.
In his first game as a Met on April 9, 1985, he hit a 10th inning walk-off home run off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Neil Allen to give the Mets a 6-5 Opening Day victory.
With the Mets, Carter enjoyed consistent production with 32 home runs and 100 RBI in 1985; and 24 home runs and 105 RBI in 1986, winning his only World Series championship in that season. Carter will be forever remembered by Mets fans as the man who started the Mets 10th inning two out Game 6 rally in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Carter would come around to score the first of three Mets runs that inning on a single by Ray Knight, as the Mets would defeat the Red Sox in one of the most famous games in baseball history. It also widely forgotten that Carter's 8th inning run scoring sacrifice fly was the hit that forced the game to go into extra innings. Carter also crushed two home runs over the Green Monster in Game 4 of the Series at Fenway Park. Carter thus became the only player to date to have hit 2 home runs in All-Star Game (1981) and 2 home runs in a World Series Game (1986). Carter batted only .235 in 1987, and was released at the end of the 1989 season after hitting just .183. After leaving the Mets, he played for the Giants in 1990, the Dodgers in 1991, and returned to Montreal in 1992. After his retirement, Carter served as an analyst for Florida Marlins television broadcasts from 1993-1996.
Carter was a career .262 hitter with 324 home runs and 1225 RBI. Over his 19-year career, he ranks sixth all-time in career home runs by a catcher with 298, and was selected as a All-Star eleven times, winning the Most Valuable Player award in the 1981 and 1984 games.
In 2003, his sixth year on the ballot, Gary Carter was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Carter had previously been inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2001. Also in 2003, Carter was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame along with Kirk McCaskill. His number 8 was retired by the Montreal Expos, and Carter is the only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to sport an Expos cap on his plaque.
After the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. following the 2004 season, Carter's number along with Andre Dawson, Rusty Staub, and Tim Raines were moved to the Bell Centre, home of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. The Nationals have since reissued the number 8 to Marlon Anderson. While the Mets have not retired number 8, it has remained unused since Carter's election to the Hall of Fame.
Carter was the manager of the Gulf Coast Mets minor league team in 2005 before being promoted to the A-level St. Lucie Mets for 2006.
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