Dave McCarty,, 1b for 2004 Red Sox passes away.

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Dave McCarty, a first baseman who appeared in 89 games for the 2004 Red Sox, has passed away. He was 54. McCarty attended the 2004 reunion at Fenway earlier this month. He played parts of 11 seasons in the majors with seven teams
 
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Van Everyman

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Jesus that’s sad. IIRC the first overall pick in the draft by the Twins. Had a big (inside the park?) home run against the Royals in 2004. RIP.
 
Red(s)HawksFan

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Van Everyman said:
Jesus that’s sad. IIRC the first overall pick in the draft by the Twins. Had a big (inside the park?) home run against the Royals in 2004. RIP.
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Drafted 3rd overall in 1991.

Career ERA+ of 241 (1.69 FIP) thanks to his three relief appearances for the 2004 squad, one of which was a two inning scoreless effort in a one-run game. They genuinely tried him as a reliever for a time. Always thought that was cool.
 
Van Everyman

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Red(s)HawksFan said:
Drafted 3rd overall in 1991.

Career ERA+ of 241 (1.69 FIP) thanks to his three relief appearances for the 2004 squad, one of which was a two inning scoreless effort in a one-run game. They genuinely tried him as a reliever for a time. Always thought that was cool.
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I’m wrong about the inside the parker too. It was a two-run triple that won them the game.

I believe the word on McCarty was that he would absolutely launch balls in batting practice.
 
H

h8mfy

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Never easy to read these notices especially when they are younger than you, but since we share a surname, this one jumps out. I liked seeing my name on the back of a Red Sox jersey. (And the Celtics jersey Walter wore.) RIP, cousin(?) - thanks for the little thrills, and contributing to the big one.
 
ngruz25

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Red(s)HawksFan said:
Drafted 3rd overall in 1991.

Career ERA+ of 241 (1.69 FIP) thanks to his three relief appearances for the 2004 squad, one of which was a two inning scoreless effort in a one-run game. They genuinely tried him as a reliever for a time. Always thought that was cool.
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Also was one of the rare players that threw lefty and batted righty, like Rickie Henderson.

Very interesting career and always came across as super thoughtful and willing to do whatever to play Major League Baseball. Didn’t he do some work for NESN, too?
 
Andy Merchant

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Man, that's awfully young to pass away so abruptly.

I remember him being a smart guy that hit well as a bench player with the Sox, but he disappeared pretty quickly after 2004. Best wishes to his family.
 
fenwaypaul

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canderson said:
I was at that walkoff game. This is horrible news. Thoughts to his family and friends.
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I was there for that one as well. (My lying memory wants me to believe that I saw 5 walkoff homers at Fenway in 2004, but the only other one I’m certain of is Mueller off Rivera, and I’m too lazy to look up the others.) I liked McCarty as a player and it’s terribly sad to see him gone at such a young age. Echoing your thoughts to those close to him.
 
The Gray Eagle

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Oh no. Sorry to hear this. 54 is way too young. Glad he got to be at the reunion and catch up with his old teammates and hear the cheers one last time.
He was always a fun, interesting player. One of The 25. RIP.
 
TallerThanPedroia

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DJnVa said:
Walk-off against Seattle:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoZw0Lr1GiI&ab_channel=MLBArchiveChannel
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canderson said:
I was at that walkoff game. This is horrible news. Thoughts to his family and friends.
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I'm too sad to be coherent so I'll just paste something I wrote 20 years ago:

Dave and I had a rocky start. He sort of fooled everyone by hitting like Manny Ramirez in spring training. He made the roster to be a bench player, but our insane amount of injuries pushed him into a more regular role as an outfielder and first baseman. Oh yeah, he also pitched mop-up after a disastrous opening day at Fenway. That's right, McCarty is old school. He can hit, field, and pitch.

But he didn't do much to start off, until a game against Seattle on May 30th. I was down at Brown, my college friend's sister was graduating, and I and another friend had gone down to hang out. They were doing family stuff that afternoon, so the other friend and I went to a bar and watched the game there.

The game started off promising, with Curt Schilling taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but after a blown save by Keith Foulke the game went into extra innings. My friend caught me griping about McCarty as he came to bat in the bottom of the tenth. I decided to give him a second chance, and said that I would start liking him if he got a game winning hit. If it was a walkoff home run, I would even buy his shirt.

He grounded out. "See?" I said.

But in the twelfth inning, after Varitek was hit by a pitch, Francona gave McCarty the green light on a 3-0 pitch and Dave launched it into the centerfield stands.

The MLB store didn't have his shirt, of course, but they let you put any name and number you want on them:

81245

I wore that shirt during every game the rest of the season.

Once Doug Mientkiewicz, a left-handed hitter with a bit of a better glove, showed up, McCarty didn't have much of a role, though he played in 91 games, the tenth most of any player that crazy year. But in his last appearance against Baltimore, a meaningless appearance in a meaningless game, he gave up one hit in two innings with three strikeouts, including one against future Hall of Famer Raphael Palmeiro.

I think he made the postseason roster for the ALDS and ALCS, but not the World Series. But he was there, and had one of my favorite moments during the ALCS celebration:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TO_-mG7_SE&feature=youtu.be



RIP Dave

81246



81247
 
Myt1

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TallerThanPedroia said:
I'm too sad to be coherent so I'll just paste something I wrote 20 years ago:

Dave and I had a rocky start. He sort of fooled everyone by hitting like Manny Ramirez in spring training. He made the roster to be a bench player, but our insane amount of injuries pushed him into a more regular role as an outfielder and first baseman. Oh yeah, he also pitched mop-up after a disastrous opening day at Fenway. That's right, McCarty is old school. He can hit, field, and pitch.

But he didn't do much to start off, until a game against Seattle on May 30th. I was down at Brown, my college friend's sister was graduating, and I and another friend had gone down to hang out. They were doing family stuff that afternoon, so the other friend and I went to a bar and watched the game there.

The game started off promising, with Curt Schilling taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but after a blown save by Keith Foulke the game went into extra innings. My friend caught me griping about McCarty as he came to bat in the bottom of the tenth. I decided to give him a second chance, and said that I would start liking him if he got a game winning hit. If it was a walkoff home run, I would even buy his shirt.

He grounded out. "See?" I said.

But in the twelfth inning, after Varitek was hit by a pitch, Francona gave McCarty the green light on a 3-0 pitch and Dave launched it into the centerfield stands.

The MLB store didn't have his shirt, of course, but they let you put any name and number you want on them:

View attachment 81245

I wore that shirt during every game the rest of the season.

Once Doug Mientkiewicz, a left-handed hitter with a bit of a better glove, showed up, McCarty didn't have much of a role, though he played in 91 games, the tenth most of any player that crazy year. But in his last appearance against Baltimore, a meaningless appearance in a meaningless game, he gave up one hit in two innings with three strikeouts, including one against future Hall of Famer Raphael Palmeiro.

I think he made the postseason roster for the ALDS and ALCS, but not the World Series. But he was there, and had one of my favorite moments during the ALCS celebration:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TO_-mG7_SE&feature=youtu.be



RIP Dave

View attachment 81246



View attachment 81247
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I was at that Baltimore game. He looked good. Absolutely sucks to hear this.
 
mr_smith02

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When I reflect upon 2004 there are the "big" names that instantly pop into my mind, but when I ruminate on it some more I remember the folks like Dave McCarty who played smaller, but pivotal, parts in the magnificent drama that erased decades of burden for me and so many others.

Rest in Peace, Dave and thank you for playing your role in a season that will allow so many of us to rest in peace one day.
 
staz

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Sad to see this, R.I.P. Dave. Condolences to the McCarty family.

And as someone older than 54 (who has never been a professional athlete) this is disturbing, to say the least.
 
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