U.S.A. – NEW YORK In his 60 years as a professional baseball player, All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame announcer Tim McCarver earned two World Series rings with the St.
Louis Cardinals and became one of the country’s most well-known, insightful, and voluble television commentators. He passed away on Thursday. He was 81.
According To The Baseball Hall Of Fame, McCarver Died Of Heart Failure On Thursday Morning In Memphis,
Tennessee, Surrounded By His Family.
In his 1994 Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Steve Carlton credited Tim McCarver as the reason he was so successful as a pitcher.
To quote Timmy himself: “I had to pitch inside. When I first started out, I was hesitant to throw inside. Timmy knew how to fix the problem.
In the past, he’d position himself behind the batter. The only official present prevented me from seeing McCarver’s face when I threw inside because of the darkness.
McCarver always joked that the space between the pitching rubber and home plate (60 feet, 6 inches) would be the perfect place for his and Carlton’s graves after they died.
McCarver Hit.271 For His Career And Only Struck Out More Than 40 Times Twice In A Season.
He played for the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox during his 21 years in the majors. He hit.273 in the postseason with his greatest performance coming in game seven of the 1964 World Series, in which the Cardinals beat the New York Yankees.
McCarver went 11 for 23, drew five walks, and hit a three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to help his side to a 5-2 victory at Yankee Stadium in Game 5.
For Younger Baseball Fans
his time in the broadcast booth with the New York Mets and New York Yankees as Jack Buck’s partner on CBS or with son Joe Buck for Fox from 1996 to 2013 was their first introduction to the sport.
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Knowledge Was His Calling Card.
He enjoyed going to museums and libraries in his leisure time, and he had a remarkable memory for poetry, which he could recite from memory.
Working as a one-man scouting squad, he knew every nuance of the situation and put in many hours of prep time before each game. It was as if he has telepathic abilities at times.
With the score knotted at two and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yankees drew in their infield.
Mariano Rivera, a relief ace, was going up against Luis Rodriquez, an ace for the Diamondbacks.
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Against Left-Handed Batters, “Rivera Throws Inside,” McCarver Said.
Left-handed batters routinely send ground-ball hits towards the outfield’s shallower areas. With a pitcher like Rivera on the mound, that’s the risk you take by playing the infield in close.
A Few Pitches Later, Gonzalez Hit A Game-Winning Bloop To Short Center Field.
ESPN’s Keith Olbermann told The New York Times in 2002 that, “when you the consider the pressure of the moment, the time he had to say it, and the accuracy, his call was the sports-announcing equivalent of Bill Mazeroski’s home run in the seventh inning to defeat the Yankees in 1960.”
It was generally agreed that McCarver was both educational and enjoyable. Some people found him quite irritating.
No matter if he was discussing baseball strategy or criticizing a player’s play, McCarver never held back. After being asked the time, he would explain how a watch was made, as noted by Norm Chad of Sports Illustrated in 1992.
His criticism of Deion Sanders’s decision to play for both the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons on the same day prompted Sanders to drop a pail of water on his head the same year. Following 16 years with the Mets, he was let go in 1999.
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McCarver Told The New York Times Sortly After Being let Go By The Mets
Some broadcasters think that their job is to the club and the team only.” Never in my life have I considered something like that.
My first responsibility is to the fans at home. Because in my opinion, praise that is devoid of constructive criticism is no longer praise at all.
In my opinion, that’s something any reasonably bright individual should be able to figure out.
McCarver and his wife, Anne McDaniel, split their time between residences in Sarasota and Napa. After working for Fox Sports Midwest on a part-time basis and calling the rare Cards game in previous years, McCarver has decided to skip the 2020 season out of fear of contracting COVID-19.
In Addition To The Frick, In 2017 He Was Inducted Into The Cardinals Hall Of Fame.
In his victory speech, he said, “By the time I was 26, I had played in three World Series and I thought, ‘Man this is amazing, virtually a World Series every year. “Uh-uh. The nature of the game ensures that you never cheat. I was never again a member of a World Series roster.
