Maybe the Pirates Were Drunk

Today is the birthday of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, born 1954 in Culver City, California.

While he’s best known for his domineering presence behind home plate, and his clutch batting for the Mets in the 1986 NL Championship and World Series — Carter’s furthest reaching impact may be coining the term “F-Bomb”.

When he was just 12 years old, he lost his mother to leukemia. To support the family his father, Jim, took on a second job in addition to coaching both him and his sons in youth baseball.

Through it all, Carter managed to both maintain the cheery attitude he’d become known for in the pros, and to become a star athlete in high school — serving as captain on the football, basketball, and baseball teams.

But it wasn’t until he bunked with veteran catcher John Boccabella during the Montreal Expos spring training in 1973 that he found the religion he’d lost after his mother passed away. Boccabella, who was a devout Catholic who attended Mass daily and led Sunday services for the Expos, had a profound effect on him. Carter began reading the same books as Boccabella, and said that they reinforced his belief that he should be “happy to be alive, to be enthusiastic, to not fill your life with hate over the stupid things…I learned a lot from ‘Boc’ and I’ll always be grateful to him”.

Carter paired his newfound faith and sunny disposition with a pure athleticism that earned him the affection of his teammates. Ron Darling, pitcher for the Mets, called him the moral compass of the team.

So when Carter argued with home plate umpire Greg Bonin after being called on strikes in a game against Pittsburgh, he was taken aback when he started swearing at him. He told a reporter after the game, “After he started cursing, I walked away and I said, ‘Why are you cursing at me?’ He said, ‘I talk like that.’ I said, ‘OK, guttermouth. “Cater said he has been thrown out only twice in the majors, both times by Eric Gregg. “That was when I used to use the F-Bomb”.

Gary Carter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, and passed away in 2012.

Right Field Heroics, The Pirates are Drunk, and the NL West is on Fire

• Right Fielders Doing the Most — We’re not far into the season and we’re already seeing stunning defensive plays. Wilyer Abreu fired a rocket to third last night against the Cardinals, and Victor Robles made a spectacular catch into the netting at Oracle Park on Sunday.

• Speaking of the NL West… — The most competitive division in MLB right now has four teams at or above .500. This’ll be an amazing group to watch this season.

• Maybe They Were Drunk — The Pirates removed a tribute to Roberto Clemente and replaced it with an ad for some booze. Fans were justifiably angry. The Pirates have already announced that they’ll put the tribute back up.

• Guerrero Inks the Deal — After not being able to come to an agreement before the start of the season, the Blue Jays have signed a 14-year extension for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. valued at $500 million.

• Snell on IL – Dodgers hurler Blake Snell was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The team described it as precautionary – but it’s a concerning sign for the player they signed for $182 million this winter.

On This Day

Hank Aaron Beats the Babe

• 1974 — Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth's longstanding record. This historic achievement occurred at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers.