Saying goodbye to The Kid (1954-2012)
Baseball mourns the loss of Gary Carter, who helped the Mets to the 1986 title and was inducted in the Hall of Fame after a 19-year career with the Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers. “The Kid” passed away peacefully on Feb. 16, 2012, at the age of 57 in his home state of Florida after a courageous battle with brain cancer.
“Driven by a remarkable enthusiasm for the game, Gary Carter became one of the elite catchers of all-time,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. “‘The Kid’ was an 11-time All-Star and a durable, consistent slugger for the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, and he ranks among the most beloved players in the history of both of those franchises. . . . I extend my deepest condolences to Gary’s wife Sandy, their daughters Christy and Kimmy, their son D.J., their grandchildren, his friends and his many fans.”
Major League Baseball invites fans to please leave any condolences and memories of Gary in this guestbook blog’s comments.
Remembering Gary Carter 
Gary,
Wishing you nothing but a full and complete recovery and have included you in my prayers.
Bob Sauer
Gary,
My brother-in-law was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma back in December and after finishing his first round of radiation and chemotherapy, his tumors shrunk significantly. He is now on a regimen of chemotherapy in which he is on for 5 days and off for 25 days and appears to be doing well. He has another MRI to take in August to see how its doing. I never heard of this type of cancer when he was initially diagnosed and now I seem to hear about it all the time. Which is why I was shocked when I heard you too are dealing with this aggressive cancer as well. We all live here in NY and I just wanted to wish you the best as you battle this disease. You were a great champion and and a great addition to my beloved Mets back in the time when they needed somebody to put them over the top. I’m sure you are taking that winning additude with you as you deal with this new curveball.
Dave
Gary and Family
God will bless you and comfort you through these hard times. I know you will fight this battle and win the battle as you always have as an athlete. We love you Gary and hope to see you back in action soon.
Sincerely,
DeSantis family
To the Carter family:
I am a huge fan and wanted to send my personal well wishes along. I am a New York Mets fan and Gary was (is) a childhood hero of mine. I have all of his baseball cards, read his book and was there when he was inducted into the hall of fame in Cooperstown in 2003. I always look forward to seeing him each year at the hall of fame induction weekend (I love to hear him sing O’ Canada), which my family and I attend every year. He represents baseball and the beginning of my passion for it. I know that he will overcome this challenge. Two outs, two strikes, no one on…we all know you can do it!
Mike Tortora, Connecticut
Gary,
Good luck and God Bless. You are in the prayers of baseball fans everywhere. Everything you did for Montreal, New York, and LA will never be forgotten. I hope you make a full recovery.
Gary, I saw you in Caguas, 1974 playing for the Criollos, and I’ll never forget your smile since then. Felix Millan called you Cholito. Get well soon, Cholito.
Gary,
I am a Met fan since 1962 and grew up two miles from Shea.I believe alongside Gil Hodges , and Tom Seaver , you provided the most leadership and guts that the Met’s ever received . We have a picture of you with my son taken at Al Lang Field in Florida in the spring of 1986 , and my son still has it proudly hanging in his house. I know that you will fight this oppnent as hard as you have any in the past and come out the winner you have always been. I wish you and your family all of our prayers , and all the best in the future ! Thanks for the memories !!!!
Tom & Scott Daniel
gary and family…
thinking of you and wishing you the best…you were a part of my life as i watched you play growing up and now that i live in new york your legacy is all around. you are a great ball player and a great person and your indomitable heart remains an inspiration and i know you can beat this…get well soon…we’re all pulling for you!
Longtime Met’s fan. Gary, you help make the majic of the ’86 season, but more then that your enthusiasm for the job,career you had I can’t think once that you didn’t run out a pop fly. Always ran to first to back up firstbase,etc.You can see from your face how much you enjoyed what you did on the field.More important seeing the things you did off the field is important reason you are so loved by the Met’s fan. You are in my prayers and want you to fight this thing like coming up in that game “because you didn’t want to make the last out”! God Bless you and your family!!!!Let’s Go Carter!!!
Born and raised in Brooklyn I was always and always will be a Met fan! I even have the 86 met season on video tape and converted it to a DVD! My favorite player in that season and all seasons he played … Was Gary Carter! Not only were you adorable but you always seemed like a wonderful person beside the wonderful player. As I would always say, a Mench!!
I was very said to hear about your health and my prayers and best wishes are with you and your family. You have always fought to win when you played baseball and I think you will do the same here!
Michele B
Gary and Family,
You were a fighter then, and I know you will be a fighter now. Stay positive, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Gary I always remember a picture you signed for me on the Mets cruise and it simply said “smile” and it made me smile because you have one of the most wonderful smiles ever to grace a ballfield. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Barbara Leccese
My prayers are with you and your family. May God Bless a legend.
Dear Gary “The Kid” Carter,
Not a single soul who hasnt experianced the pain of cancer knows how tough a time this is for you and your family. My Father is a life long Gary Carter fan, and when you came to the Mets in winter of 1985 the Mets were ready to add anoher ring to their collection. When you Toyed with Fenways Green Monster in game 5 of the world series in 1986 people went crazy. Kid from one family to another, we pray to god that he can help you and your family through this time.
– The Haight Family
Gary, My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family in this battle you are facing.Thank you for your dedication & hard work as a member of the Mets,and creating many memories for years to come.
Gary:
I pray every night for your health. Iam a devoted catholic and “San Pregrino” is the Saint that with Jesus permition heal that sickness. It worked for my wife and it will work for you, I know that for sure.
Johnny (Desde Puerto Rico)
Gary and family,
Praying for you. You don’t know me, but I feel that I’ve known you forever. You gave me the most happy times in 1986. I lived in NYC the time. I have been your admirer always. God bless you always. WE BELIEVE!
Olga
Gary and your family,
I call you Gary, as opposed to Mr. Carter, becasue I feel like you’ve been a friend my whole life. Hearing of your illness struck me to my core and I just wanted to share with you and your family some of how you touched my life.
First, even finding out the horrible news of your illness showed the lasting impact that you have had on my life. I am now 37 years old and far from the little boy who idolized you, but when the news broke, I recieved countless calls and emails from friends and family checking how I was. If this much support can pour out for me I hope it has been sent 100 fold to your actual family.
Not many kids from Long Island choose a catcher from Montreal as their favorite player when they are seven years old, but something about the way you played and who you were just clicked. From that moment on my family did not miss an expos series, until that glorious day you were traded to the Mets (which I’ll get to shortly). The walls of my room were adorned first with your Sports Illustrated Expos poster, expos penants and newspaper clippings, and then joined by your poster with the Mets (as well as one of Doc). I had countless playground arguments that you were the single greatest player in baseball history (I actually argued someone to a standstill that you were better than Babe Ruth – I’m a lawyer now). I wore the # 8 on every sports uniform I had and to this day my signature looks remarkably like yours, with the end of the name looping back to cross the T.
You did a wonderful act of kindness for me by helping my cousin, who also died of brain cancer fulfill a promise to his young cousin in NY. He lived in Montreal and knew that I loved you and the Expos and told me he’d get me something special. Months later in the mail came a ball signed by yourself, Pete Rose, the Hawk and Tim Raines – I cherish this ball becasue it is my most lasting tangible reminder of my cousin and I thank you for being part of it.
To this day one of my happiest memories was being woken by my parents to be told of your trade to the Mets. Once the shock subsided I was awake for hours with joy. From that moment on the good memories just kept coming. Like all Mets fans I will never forget the ’86 series but in my mind the more than the usual things stick out: the 2 shots you put over the Green Monster and how with 2 outs in the 9th of Game 6 it was you who stepped to the plate and I knew there was no way this was going to be the last out.
I now have a son who is almost 2 and I can only hope that he finds a sports hero who this many years later he can say proudly to his son, that was my favorite baseball player.
All my family’s prayers and best wishes are with you and yours.
– Avi Luft
Dear Gary Carter and Family:
Although I don’t know you personally, I wanted you to know I am thinking of you and praying for your return to good health. I have heard many stories of what a wonderful human being you are, Gary, and I know God is watching over you.
Please take care and God Spped!!
Mary Ciecierski
Gary, in September of ’86, my family ran into you in the Stratton Restaurant in Forest Hills. I was six years old at the time; you were eating dinner with Ray Knight and Ed Hearn. My grandfather, my father and I interrupted your dinner to shake your hand and wish you well for the postseason. My grandfather, who was elderly and had trouble seeing, told you to “step into the light” so that he could see you. Rather than tell us to go away, you stood there under the low-hanging lamp for a solid minute while he adjusted his glasses so that he could see you. You then shook our hands and signed an autograph on the back of a paper take-out menu that we still have: it reads “Good Luck and God Bless. Gary Carter.”
Gary, I cannot tell you what your selfless act means to me and to my family, even to this day. I now teach history at a school whose motto is “That They Be Good Men.” I tell this story to my students as an example of what it means to be a truly good person. Now it is our time to thank you for this memory and for so many others. Gary, we love you and our thoughts and prayers are with you every day. Good Luck and God Bless. The Davidson Family
Dear Gary And Family,
My husband and I are life long Met fans and every loved minute that you were a Met! There is no other like you, a class act and stand up guy all the way.
We wish you a speedy recovery and our hearts are with you and your family through this difficult time. With love & respect, The LaGennusa Family
Gary,
You were my favorite met growing up. It was because of you that I became a catcher playing for the girls softball league as a young girl. My prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time. I pray for your recovery.
Hey Gary,
You are one of my favorite players of all times. I am a huge Met fan, who lived in the Phillies market area ofr 50 years til I moved to Ohio, now in the Indians realm. Always a Met fan though. Only god knows the plan, he put you here to make a difference in the world in some way, if only to influence one little child you barely know. My hope is that his plan for you is not yet done, my prayer is that if it is you rest in the arms and the love of God. Good luck to you, bless you and your loved ones as you battle through…
Vicky
Hi Gary. Very fond memories that my brother and I have watching the ’86 series on a tiny 4.5″ black and white television in my mom’s kitchen when I was nine years old. You were and still are our hero! Sending this from Yale-New Haven Hospital in CT, where 20 days ago I received the news that I have a very rare cancer, that initially paralyzed me from the waist down. I’ve already re-gained some use of my legs and feet, and I’m not quitting till I walk out of here! I’m determined to get better and hope you are, too. You have thousands of people praying for you and your family, and here’s one more…
Thinking of you, and your family.
Gary, you are a great human being, wishing you a full recovery
Stay strong, and thank you for the memories. You had “Great”
heart when you played, keep that heart going.
Gary, I`ve read your book titled A DREAM SEASON all about the dream come true
championship 1986 season many times, i cherish the book and it is still in mint condition i`ve had it for many years. Gary just as the 86 Mets, beat the odds, you
will also beat your illness. My prayers are with you to get better, and have a long life.
YOU ARE MY CHAMPION.
Sending good, healing vibes your way!
Thank you for all the joy and great baseball you played. Also for the baseball I have signed “Best Wishes Jan Gary Carter & Keith Hernandez” That was in 1986. I am 8 years cancer free (69 years old) from stage 4 cancer. I know you can do it also!! All my love, thoughts and prayers for you and your family.
Jan Lindner
Your a great hero to many. Do what you do best, Win!
Your energy and optimism has always led you to success. It will be there for you now as well. You are one of the greatest Mets of all time. Thank you for making the 86 Mets of the greatest baseball teams of all time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
SEÑOR CARTER
WISHING YOU AND FAMILIA THE BEST.
GET WELL AND I KNOW YOU WILL.
LIFE IS LIKE A BASEBALL GAME. GAME ISNOT OVER UNTILL OUT 27 IS RECORDED. AND WE ARE JUST IN THE BTM OF THE 5TH INNINS
THE ADAMES FAMILY
Get well soon, Gary! Thank you for being inspirational to all of us!
Hey Gary Hope U get well and have a speddy recovery and give Cancer a real good kick in the ass. I was a Yankees Fan growing up in the 80’s but U were my favorite Met as a kid. U played the game right way and have a heart of kid when u played baseball. U are up thier with Keith, Straw, Doc, Mookie and Nails as my favorite met players. Get Well Kid. Hope U return to Citi Field Next Year. Jonty Belleville, NJ
Gary…you have always been our hero for Claudette (my wife) and for me. You WILL get through this and that is an order!! GOD Bless!
John and Claudette
Tulsa,OK.
You truely are a role model, Gary. I am pleased that your years with the Mets were during my son’s most impressionable years. He loves you still and so does his old man. Beat this thing!
Bill & Billy Caffrey
Gary.
In the words of Jim Valvano, NEVER GIVE UP! DONT EVER GIVE UP! I know youll be positive and strong. Thats you. Positive and strong. Good Luck Gary. Youll never be alone. We’re always with you. God Bless You.
dear Gary
I am praying for you and your family. I am a child of the 80s and besides lets go mets. I always remember to say Gary Carter. May God have his healing hand over you. God bless you.
You are class with a capital C. Get well soon, we miss you!!
AS A LIFELONG YANKEE FAN BUT A BASEBALL FAN FIRST, I ALWAYS ADMIRED THE WAY YOU PLAYED THE GAME DURING YOUR ENTIRE CAREER. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE DETERMINATION ON YOUR FACE AS YOU LINED A BASE HIT TO LEFT IN THE 9TH INNING OF GAME 6 IN THE 1986 WORLD SERIES AND YOUR EXUBERENCE IN THE DUGOUT DURING THAT INCREDIBLE INNING. I HOPE YOU BEAT THIS WITH THE SAME DETERMINATION AND EXUBERENCE THAT ONLY A PERSON LIKE LIKE YOU CAN MUSTER.
PEACE TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
CARLOS BRODERMAN
Gary,
I remembered when they interviewed you the day you got traded. you pointed to your finger and said that winning a world series is the only thing you need to accomplish in your career, you came through for us and we will come through together with y
ou as you battle this, thanks for the memories.
MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU GARY ,AND YOUR FAMILY .YOU WILL ALWAYS BE “THE KID” TO ME AND METS FANDS OF THAT ERA.
73 YR. OLD METS FAN ROBERT [BUTCH ] BEEBE
Gary,
I will never forget your contributions to the 1986 Mets, including how you triggered the historic comeback in Game Six vs. the Red Sox. You are in my thoughts, I pray for your recovery and know you can face this battle and win it!
-Steve
Mr Carter. You are one of the first names I leaned when I became a mets fan. Thsnk you for the memories younhave made for me with my dad. I wish you strength and peace.
DEAR MR. CARTER & FAMILY.
MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR GIVING A KID FROM COLLEGE POINT MANY MEMORIES FROM SHEA ALL THE WAY TO THE DAY YOU HAD KIND WORDS TO A 50 YEAR OLD GUY FROM PORT SAINT LUCIE WHILE SIGNING A BASEBALL. CAUSE WHEN I STROLLED ONTO THE SPRING TRAINING FACILITY AND TURNED INTO THAT CHILD WHO COULD SEE SHEA FROM HIS HOUSE FOR THAT SPECIAL MOMENT THAT WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED IN MY HEART THANKS MR CARTER
MIKE M
One of the greatest ever! Thank you and Rusty for bringing me into my Mets Fandom. I think that you have etched a great spot in the hearts of Mets Fans around the world and we are indebted to you for that!
God Speed!
Gary, you were the missing piece that was needed for the Mets and you truly were amazing, not just as a baseball player. Stay strong and we wish you all the strength and courage required to beat this terrible disease. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time. Love Always,
The Segal Family
Gary,
Good luck to you and your family. You are proof that the best way to play baseball is to play hard and have fun. Mets fans will always remember you.
Erik and Tyler Scheibe
Even though you don’t know me, I feel as if I know you. You are considered family to me and will always be my favorite ball player. You are in my heart and prayers daily. We love you kid! God bless you Gary!
Gary & Family,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, we pray for healing and peace. May God comfort you through this difficult time. Thank you for the wonderful memories now lets get ready to head into extra innings.
The Matos Family