THE Catcher Tim McCarver broke into the major leagues at the age of 17. In 1959 he came up in September and appeared in 8 games as a St. Louis Cardinal. In 1980, he finished his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and became an instant trivia question. “What major league catcher played in four decades?” The answer – Tim McCarver. Trivia aside, McCarver had all the tools. He was a thinking man’s catcher. There has, in my opinion, never been a better handler of pitchers. When Tim moved into the broadcast booth years later, his analysis of pitching patterns and strategy, gave you an insight into what a great handle McCarver had on pitching. He became the day in, day out Cardinal catcher in 1963. Working with pitchers like Bob Gibson, he helped take the Cards to the 1964 World Series championship. It was their first World Series victory in 18 years. Gibson was a tough competitor. McCarver tells the story about going out to the mound to talk to Gibson after he had been touched up for a few runs. “What the hell are you doing out here?” Gibson barked, “Go back behind the plate, the only thing you know about pitching is that you can’t hit it.” That having been said, Tim still was the foundation of that great Cardinal team. He won Game 5 of the 1964 with a three run home run and had a Series batting average of .478. In 1965, McCarver met a rookie Cardinal pitcher named Steve Carlton. His life with Carlton started on rocky terrain. The two disagreed about everything when it came to pitching, but they grew to respect and rely on each other. In 1967, McCarver had his best season ever. He finished with career highs in average (.295), homers (14), and RBI (69). The Cards went on to beat the Red Sox in the 1967 Series, and McCarver placed second in the World Series MVP balloting to teammate, and future Hall of Famer, Orlando Cepeda. The next two seasons were tough for McCarver. He hit just 12 homers in those two years and was traded, at the end of 1969, with Curt Flood to the Phillies for Dick Allen in a seven-player swap. He spent over two years with the Phillies before a series of trades sent him to the Expos, back to the Cardinals, and on to the Red Sox. In his career, McCarver caught two no-hitters. The Phillies’ Rick Wise against the Reds threw one on June 23, 1971. To show he was not just any pitcher, Wise hit two homers that day. On the last day of the 1972 season, McCarver caught the no hitter thrown by the Expos’ Bill Stoneman against the New York Mets. In mid-1975, at the urging of none other than Steve Carlton, the Phillies reacquired McCarver. McCarver became Carlton’s personal catcher. The joke around the National League was that, when they died, they were going to be buried 60 feet, six inches apart. In the broadcast booth, McCarver is informed, opinionated, profound and funny. He has no problem second guessing decisions ranging from intentionally walking a batter to guarding the line in late innings. In analyzing a batter’s swing, McCarver once said, “It amazes me that people form such bad habits. I say amaze, because it is just a plain fact of life that good habits are as easily formed as bad ones.” He is part Yogi Berra and Walker Cooper and part Ben Franklin and Will Rogers. He is Tim McCarver and he is as good a baseball man as you will ever find. ===================================================================
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