Tim McCarver has passed away

mauidano

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joe dokes

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One of the few 4-decade players. And off the top of my head, 13 triples in a season by a catcher might still be a record.
He was an excellent analyst before he wasn't.
Not a HoFer, but a baseball all-timer.

Had his career high OPS+ with the 75 Sox. (166) ... (22 PAs)
 
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Petagine in a Bottle

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Oh, damn. A voice that will always be associated with some of the biggest Red Sox games of my lifetime. Bummed to hear this.
 

CaptainLaddie

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Very well said, and seemed like a really nice guy.

My main memory of Tim McCarver is still the 2004 ALCS, well past the peak, when he was saying things like "Mt. Everest erupts again!" after Big Papi homers ;)
"A walk is good as a home run in this spot"
"There's a difference between 2 balls and 1 strike and 1 strike and 2 balls"

I remember watching an old Braves/Jays WS game during March or April of 2020 and McCarver was going the color. He was fantastic.
 

InsideTheParker

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Russo doing a nice obit on mlbn right now. Pointed out that unlike many broadcasters today, McC let the game breathe, didn't talk constantly. Costas remembering first game with McC on NBC, a Red Sox/Angels game.
 

brs3

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His voice really brings back the greatest moments of my Red Sox fandom. Though he was past his prime by then, the quotes were solid gold.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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One of his best calls was in the 2011 World Series. After Buck makes the call on the Freese walk-off, the two of them stay silent for like two minutes. Then Tim just says “How did this happen?” A perfect line for that game.
 

joe dokes

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Bob Gibson now gets to tell him to get the fuck off the mound and back behind the plate in another astral plane.

He and Kiner were great in their primes.
That he caught both Gibson and Carlton -- two reportedly surly fellows -- in their primes says something about him.

McCarver and Kiner repeatedly slackjawed at Dwight Gooden's rookie year was incredibly genuine. A catcher and hitter with minds blown. "Uncle Charlie isn't good enough for that curveball. It's more of a Lord Charles."
 

Warning Track Speed

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My obscure McCarver memory was some horrible Mets team playing maybe the Cardinals a few decades ago. Jose DeLeon on the mound, and after a couple minutes of dead air, McCarver deadpans, "DeLeon, no relation to Ponce."
 

Max Power

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RIP Tim


SI dated Sept 4 '67
I learned from Clint Hurdle on the SABRcast this week that SI never told anyone that they were going to be on the cover. He didn't find out until he went to a 7-11 in spring training and saw himself on one of the magazines on the counter.
 

E5 Yaz

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I'm trying to remember the quote, but when McCarver was with the Red Sox in 75, he said on the team plane, "We're now entering Cleveland. Please set you watches back 30 years."
 

Garshaparra

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My moniker is direct from McCarver's mangling of Nomar's last name on broadcasts. Buck would always nail it, and McCarver would try to avoid saying it, but when he did, it was in a hurry. Still had his color commentator fastball in those early 00's playoff runs, a real legend of the game.
 

cheekydave

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I grew to dislike his announcing as he got older, but have to admit, after watching the joke of a SuperBowl this past weekend, and the IMO not big enough for that stage performance by the announcers, McCarver delivered a professional package.

Always wondered what happened when he and Sanders ran into each other next time when no one was around?

RIP.alot of " names" are passing lately, which means that we are getting older.
 

Humphrey

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Very well said, and seemed like a really nice guy.

My main memory of Tim McCarver is still the 2004 ALCS, well past the peak, when he was saying things like "Mt. Everest erupts again!" after Big Papi homers ;)
"Start Spreading The News".....McCarver's comment after the Sox got the final out in Game 7. :)
 

Humphrey

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My moniker is direct from McCarver's mangling of Nomar's last name on broadcasts. Buck would always nail it, and McCarver would try to avoid saying it, but when he did, it was in a hurry. Still had his color commentator fastball in those early 00's playoff runs, a real legend of the game.
Jose UREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEbay
 

Yaz4Ever

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Not a fan of him as an announcer, but he seemed like a decent human being and Buck probably made me dislike him more. RIP Mr. McCarver.
 

Remagellan

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He was the John Madden of baseball--the guy who made you see things in the game he loved that you might never have considered before. If people got tired of him the way the never did with Madden, maybe that's due to the fact that there are so many more baseball games than football games, so we spent many more hours listening to Tim than we did John. I grew up across the river from NYC so I remember his early days as the Mets color man, and back then it seemed like I learned something new from him every game he did.
 

SoxFanInCali

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He was an excellent analyst before he wasn't.
Always had that knack for predicting a big moment before it happened. The most famous one probably being when he said that Rivera gives up broken bat bloopers to lefties and it's dangerous to play the infield in, one pitch before Luis Gonzalez blooped in a broken-bat single beyond a drawn-in Jeter to win the 2001 World Series.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Setting aside his announcing style, he clearly loved the game and that alone made him palatable behind the mic. He certainly had his perspective but I always felt as though he was inviting others in to something good he had found when discussing baseball.

RIP and gratitude for his role as part of our soundtrack of pure joy.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Loved to make fun of him as an announcer, but the truth is that was just for fun and to sound cool.

He loved baseball. He conveyed that love through the tv. He knew the game. Everything on top of that is not that important.
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
My obscure McCarver memory was some horrible Mets team playing maybe the Cardinals a few decades ago. Jose DeLeon on the mound, and after a couple minutes of dead air, McCarver deadpans, "DeLeon, no relation to Ponce."
Outstanding.

20 years ago, I loved to hate his absent-minded drivel. But I grew to appreciate his playing career and passion for the game. R.I.P.

61313
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I remember the board turning on McCarver pretty hard as he got older and the whole Derek Jetter of it all got more insufferable…but I always really appreciated the way he provided actual color commentary during games. Glad to see the community has grown fonder of him.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I forgot about his prescient comment about the Yankees pulling the IF in during Game 7 of the ‘01 WS being a risk because of Rivera’s cutter generating an unusual number of broken bat bloopers. Great callback.
 

terrynever

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Tim killed the Yankees in the 1964 series. I can still see his 3-run homer off Pete Mikkelsen land in the bullpen to seal a St. Louis win. He had fun playing the game as a starter, a backup and personal catcher for Steve Carlton. Then he changed the role of the color man in broadcasting booths.
 

MFYankees

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Tim McCarver was also one of the leading advocates for truly integrating the Cardinals clubhouses of the early '60s. D. Halberstam's "October 1964" does a good job of showing McCarver's contributions. I also loved the way he bombed the MFY in Game 5 of the '64 WS.
 

worm0082

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Seemed like after his talk show stopped filming new episodes, the one episode with Willie Mays still ran on weekend mornings for years. Kind of reminded me of the Magic Johnson show. Last two weeks it was on after it was canceled they just repeated the Stern Episode almost every night.
 

lexrageorge

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I did like him as a broadcaster when he started, then of course hated him during the fierce Red Sox vs Yankee rivalries of the mid 2000's. His complaining about Jason Varitek's "gloving" A-Rod in the face was hilarious. And he did lose his fastball towards the end, as do all of us. But in the big picture those are minor quibbles, and agree he was very insightful in discussing the strategies and possibilities along with the various strengths and weaknesses of players.

Was signed by the Red Sox after Carlton Fisk hurt his knee in 1974. The Sox catching corps consisted of Bob Montgomery and Tim Blackwell, so it was hoped his experience would help in the stretch run in which the Red Sox started September 3 games up in first place. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly enough as the Sox would go 11-18 in the month and finish in 3rd place, 7 games behind the Orioles. He had a nice 2 game stretch in 1975 where he went 4 for 8 with a double and triple, which basically led to his 166 OPS+ in those 22 at bats. But he was soon after released in order to make room for Fisk, who came off the DL after recovering from a broken hand he received in spring training after being hit by a pitch. Probably a mistake to cut him instead of Bob Montgomery. McCarver would go on to have some decent years in Philly, and his 99 OPS+ in 90 games in 1978 may have helped the Sox spell Fisk here and there. But Zimmer probably would have put him in the dog house for some reason.

RIP.
 
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ifmanis5

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Seemed like after his talk show stopped filming new episodes, the one episode with Willie Mays still ran on weekend mornings for years.
Haha, yes. I was surprised he had his own show and even more surprised that it had run for about a decade. No idea who watched it.
Semi-frequent Don Imus guest. I remember when he went on to talk about how the Mets fired him for Tom Seaver. He was diplomatic as usual.
Life lesson is that Tim, Phil Simms and Billy Packer were some of the best to ever do it in their prime but so overstayed their welcome that the last bad impression they gave was the one that stuck for many.
 

Al Zarilla

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I turned on the TV just recently for the first time today/tonight. It happened to be on MLB network and they were doing a tribute to Tim McCarver. I thought, that's nice, as they were showing a lot of baseball stuff across many decades. Then I thought, oh oh, so I turned to SOSH and unfortunately it was true that he was gone.

Soon after, a really nice tribute by Aaron Boone.
 

BoSox Rule

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Even though his decline as an announcer is noted if you were hearing his voice the moment felt huge. People like to rag on announcers like Joe Morgan or McCarver or Joe Buck but there’s something awesome and nostalgic about watching an old game, even just a regular season Sunday Night or national game and Pedro is on the mound and Buck and McCarver or Joe Morgan and Jon Miller (who is incredible) are on the call.