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If you’re fortunate, occasionally you can be a witness to a memorable moment. Sometimes it is only later that you might realize you were.
On a beautiful night a few years ago — OK, maybe more than a few years; it was April 7, 1975 — the Montreal Expos played the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson was the opening-day pitcher. In his final season, Gibson struck out 12 Expos that game.
A rookie right fielder had an RBI single off Gibson in the first. Gibson took a 4-3 lead into the eighth but faltered. Trailing 5-4, he left for a pinch hitter in the eighth. In the Expos’ ninth with Elias Sosa on in relief, the Montreal right fielder hit a three-run home run. It was the second of his career. The kid would go on to have an illustrious career as a catcher and finish with 324 home runs.
Gary Carter went 3-for-4 with four RBI in his debut.
Gary Carter died Thursday (Feb. 16). He was 57.
“I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 p.m. This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know,” his daughter, Kimmy Bloemers, wrote on the family web site.
“He is in heaven and has reunited with his mom and dad. I believe with all my heart that dad had a STANDING OVATION as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus.”
Carter’s career ended in 1992 where it had begun — with the Expos. His final swing was a seventh-inning, run-scoring double in the seventh inning at Olympic Stadium. Carter left for a pinch-runner as the crowd cheered in what would be a 1-0 victory against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs also were part of Carter’s history by providing the 300th homer of his career (Aug. 11, 1988) and his 324th and final homer (Aug. 12, 1992). Both home runs came at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs and Cardinals were two of Carter’s favorite teams for hitting home runs against.
Gary Carter's Topps rookie card
GARY CARTER’S HOME RUNS BY TEAM
PHILLIES 45
CUBS 41
BRAVES 30
CARDINALS 30
PIRATES 29
PADRES 27
METS 26
REDS 26
GIANTS 24
ASTROS 18
DODGERS 18
EXPOS 10
TOTALS 324
Carter went on to greater fame and fortune as a member of the New York Mets. Something says even if he had stayed in baseball’s wilderness with Montreal, he still would have ended up with a plaque in Coopertown, N.Y.
After news of Carter’s death, former Expos teammate Andre Dawson was gracious enough to spend some time chatting with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris for a special “Sports & Torts” segment:
Back to the lighter, more typical fare that can be found on this site.
OK, so this space has been slightly remiss about a favorite miss — namely the lovely April Rose, who has been busy this week with a variety of on-camera activities. Part of her week was spent at the CHicago Auto Show. Among her other work, she has been hostess of “Maximum Exposure.” Here she is in the most recent installments:
Look for a posting later today on the Bulls-Celtics game. To appease the impatient, how about a Luvabulls video (if that doesn’t work, please seek professional assistance):
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