We just learned that Tim McCarver passed away.  He was 82.

Back in 2014, I asked myself what post-season baseball would be like after Tim McCarver retired from the booth.  He left after a long and successful career as a player and then broadcaster.  He was the best analyst in my book.  He also wrote a great book about the game he loved: Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It like a Pro.

Tim broke with the Cardinals in 1959 and became one of the best catchers in the game.  He retired with a .271 batting average in 1,909 games.  After baseball, he became a great TV analyst.

This is a wonderful summary of his career on and off the field:

McCarver worked as an analyst and play-by-play voice for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees, Cardinals and Giants from 1980-2019. It was his work as a broadcaster with the Mets that gained McCarver fame and earned him an opportunity to become an analyst for ABC, CBS and FOX, which lasted a combined 28 years, calling a then-record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games. ...

Like many analysts in baseball, McCarver, born in Memphis on Oct. 16, 1941, preceded his time behind the microphone with years behind the plate. He spent 21 years as a Major League catcher for several teams, including the Cardinals, Phillies, Expos and Red Sox. His best years were with the Cardinals, with whom he won World Series titles in 1964 and '67. In the '64 Series against the Yankees, McCarver shined at the plate, going 11-for-23 with five RBIs and a home run that broke a tied score in the 10th inning of Game 5. He even stole home in Game 7. He won another Series ring in '67, the year he earned his second All-Star selection and finished second in National League MVP voting, and he went 9-for-27 with a homer and four RBIs in the Cards' seven-game World Series loss to Detroit in '68."

Wonder if he is the only catcher to steal home?  In a World Series game?

One of his best moments was catching Bob Gibson's 17 Ks in Game 1 of the 1968 series against Detroit.  I remember running home from school with my little transistor, hoping to catch the end of the game on TV.  I got home, but Curt Gowdy was already interviewing Gibson.

After St. Louis, he caught Steve Carlton with the Phillies and was the one who spoke with the media after his starts.  Carlton avoided the press, and McCarver would answer their questions.  They understood each other as well as any other battery in baseball history. 

RIP, Tim McCarver.

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Image: Johnmaxmena2