Tim McCarver | |||
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McCarver in 2002.
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Catcher | |||
Born: Memphis, Tennessee |
October 16, 1941 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 10, 1959, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 5, 1980, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .271 | ||
Home runs | 97 | ||
Runs batted in | 645 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball catcher.
McCarver played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Boston Red Sox between 1959 and 1980. He appeared in the MLB All-Star Game in 1966 and 1967, and was the starting catcher for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 and 1967.
McCarver was the recipient of the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting.
McCarver was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McCarver, following his years with Memphis' Christian Brothers High School, was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959. Playing with the Cardinals' minor league teams of Keokuk and Rochester, McCarver reached the MLB level for the first time at the age of only 17.
He spent the 1960, 1961, and 1962 seasons shuttling between St. Louis and the minor league teams of Memphis, Charleston (West Virginia), and Atlanta. In 1963, he was called up to the majors for good.
In 1964, his tiebreaking home run in the 10th inning won Game 5 of the World Series. In 1966, McCarver was named to the All-Star Team, scored the winning run in the 10th inning of that 1966 All-Star Game, and became the first catcher to lead the National League in triples, with 13. In 1967, he finished second to teammate Orlando Cepeda for the National League Most Valuable Player award. McCarver was a member of two World Series championships during his time in St. Louis. He was the favorite catcher of the notoriously temperamental Bob Gibson, and fostered a relationship with young pitcher Steve Carlton that would keep him in the major leagues later in his career. In 1968, he was the Cardinals catcher as they took the NL pennant but lost to the Detroit Tigers in a seven-game World Series after being up 3 games to 1, the Tigers being only one of 6 MLB teams to accomplish that feat.