Gary Carter

I first met Gary Carter on April 5, 2003 at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Gary was a Minor League roving instructor in the New York Mets organization. From my time working in the Phillies minor league system, I recalled that most roving coaches will spend the first few days of the season at the Spring Training facility. In this case, the St. Lucie Mets. I took the roughly 3 hour drive and arrived at Tradition Field. during the game, I walked the concourse of the stadium trying to peer into the St. Lucie Mets dugout to spot Gary Carter to confirm my hunch of him actually being there. Turns out, I was right! After the game, I was standing along side a chain-linked fence, overlooking the St. Lucie Mets players and coaches parking lot. After about 45 minutes of waiting, he walked out. I had my jersey and my sharpie ready. I asked him for his autograph as well as congratulated him on the announcement of his Hall of Fame induction. I mentioned to him that he was one of my all-time favorite baseball players. I was able to meet up with Gary again in August, 2006 at Brighthouse Networks Field in Clearwater, Florida. He was managing the St. Lucie Mets at that time. He again was very friendly and allowed me to have a picture taken with him after a game against the Clearwater Threshers. Mr. Carter sadly passed away at the age of 57 from a brain tumor on February 16, 2012.