Tim McCarver

He played with four teams over four decades and won two World Series titles, then took his baseball smarts and gift of gab into the TV booth.

He was a fine bridge player who was cited in the bridge column of The New York Times. Beyond his game-day appearances, he was host of “The Tim McCarver Show,” a long-running program, first on radio and later on television, in which he interviewed athletes and other sports celebrities. He was a co-anchor, with Paula Zahn, of the 1992 Winter Olympics for CBS. Both were on the Cardinals in the 1960s, and McCarver was behind the plate for Gibson’s 1968 season, in which his earned run average was a minuscule 1.12, the lowest for any pitcher in over a century. He started each of the next two seasons in the minors, appearing briefly with the Cardinals in September. McCarver hit poorly and was less of a factor in the Cards’ 1967 Series win over Boston, but he hit .333 in the ’68 Series against Detroit, though the Cardinals lost in seven games. Released by Boston in June 1975, he was brought back to the Phillies, where Carlton’s production had grown modest, and for the next few seasons he was Carlton’s personal catcher while a younger player, Bob Boone, caught the other starters. Along with McCarver, the Cardinals tried to send the outfielder Curt Flood to the Phillies, but he refused to report, and his subsequent lawsuit went to the Supreme Court. McCarver ran well; for the Cards in 1966, he led the league in triples with 13, the only time in baseball history a catcher did such a thing. In some ways, McCarver’s progression from behind the plate to behind the mic was a natural one. In defiance of a broadcasting norm, McCarver was not averse to criticizing the play of a team that employed him; when he was fired from the Mets job in 1999, after 16 seasons, it was reportedly because of just such candor. His other option was to play the fielders only partway in and hope that a ground ball might be turned into a third-to-first or second-to-first double play.

Tim McCarver, a two-time All-Star with the Cardinals as a player, called 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games and won the Ford Frick Award in 2012.

New York Mets organization: “We are saddened to learn of the passing today of Tim McCarver, who for 16 years in the television booth gave Mets fans an insightful, humorous and knowledgeable behind the scenes look into the game of baseball. Cardinals principal owner and CEO Bill DeWitt: “Tim was a very popular player with the Cardinals and a key member of our World Series Championship teams in 1964 and 1967. As a player, Tim was a key part of great Cardinals and Phillies teams in his 21-year career. Following his playing career, fans throughout the world, including here in Philadelphia, listened to him describe their favorite team’s most iconic moments with professionalism and class. McCarver also played for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos as he became one of the few MLB players to appear in four different decades. McCarver played 12 seasons with the Cardinals, teaming up with ace Bob Gibson to form the heart and soul of two World Series championship squads in 1964 and 1967.

Tim McCarver, a 21-year MLB veteran and longtime FOX Sports broadcaster, died Thursday. He was 81 years old. McCarver began his major-league career in 1959 ...

Besides the Frick award, he was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, in 2017. McCarver and his wife, Anne McDaniel, had homes in Sarasota, Florida and Napa, California. [Phillies](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies-team), Expos and [Red Sox](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/boston-red-sox-team) in a career that spanned 1,909 games. There was just the umpire there; I couldn’t see him (McCarver), so I was forced to pitch inside." "Left-handers get a lot of broken-bat hits into shallow outfield, the shallow part of the outfield. In his spare time, he visited art museums, read books and could recite poetry from memory. "Timmy forced me (to) pitch inside. After his retirement as a player in 1980, McCarver found a second career as a Hall of Fame broadcaster. Six feet tall and solidly built, McCarver was a policeman’s son from Memphis, who grew up playing baseball and football and imitating popular broadcasters, notably the Cards’ Harry Caray. McCarver worked closely with two future Hall of Fame pitchers: the tempestuous Bob Gibson, whom McCarver caught for St. He was the NL MVP runner-up in '67, finishing behind teammate Orlando Cepeda. Louis Cardinals](https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/st-louis-cardinals-team) at the age of 17.

Rob Manfred, comisionado de las Grandes Ligas, emitió un comunicado en el que da sus condolencias y resume el impacto de Tim McCarver en la MLB.

Además, en 1966 y 1967 consiguió sus dos invitaciones al All-Star Game de la MLB. Antes de llegar a la cabina, pasó 21 temporadas como cátcher en las Grandes Ligas. McCarver no tenía limites al momento de externar su opinión. Aunque se despidió de FOX en 2013, siguió como comentarista de los Cardinals. “Extiendo mis condolencias a la familia de Tim, amigos y aficionados que aprendieron del juego de él”. El dos veces ganador de la Serie Mundial falleció a los 81 años en su hogar en Memphis, Tennessee.

McCarver had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators.

Besides the Frick award, he was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, in 2017. "Some broadcasters think that their responsibility is to the team and the team only," McCarver told The New York Times soon after the Mets let him go. "When you ask him the time, (he) will tell you how a watch works," Sports Illustrated's Norm Chad wrote of him in 1992. In 1999, he was fired by the Mets after 16 seasons on the air. The same year his criticism of Deion Sanders for playing two sports on the same day led to the Atlanta Braves outfielder /Atlanta Falcons defensive back's dumping a bucket of water on his head. McCarver finished 11-for-23, with five walks, and his 3-run homer at Yankee Stadium in the 10th inning of Game 5 gave his team a 5-2 victory. "Lefthanders get a lot of broken-bat hits into shallow outfield, the shallow part of the outfield. Younger baseball fans first knew him from his work in the broadcast booth, whether local games for the New York Mets and New York Yankees, as Jack Buck's partner on CBS or with son Joe Buck for Fox from 1996-2013. The two initially clashed, even arguing on the mound during games, but became close and were reunited in the 1970s after both were traded to Philadelphia. McCarver liked to tell the story about drinking an orange soda during a hot day in spring training and Gibson asking him for some, then laughing when McCarver flinched. "I think there is a natural bridge from being a catcher to talking about the view of the game and the view of the other players," McCarver told the Hall in 2012, the year he and Buck were given the Ford C. NEW YORK — Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St.