Edit- I checked the boxscore. Carter reached base 3 times and scored twice in the first game I attended.
the '86 Mets will always be my favorite sports team of all time, in no short part because of Gary Carter. very sad. the first Mets game I ever watched was in '86. Strawberry sprained his ankle stealing second and Carter won the game with a HR in the 9th if memory serves me correctly. against the Cardinals.
How very sad. It was obvious when they acquired him that the trade was a steal for the Mets. He was one of those rare athletes who truly loved what he was doing and always gave 100%, and also happened to be very good at what he did. What more could a fan ever ask from a player? It was far from my first game, but I was there at his first game as a Met. That 10th-inning walkoff home run against Neil Allen was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen. RIP to a great Met.
I have to say the same thing 42 and Counting said... I broke down today. As you can see from my comments in the other Gary Carter thread, it was obvious he was close. But there was a rush of emotion for me today when I got to my desk and checked my email/text and heard that he had passed. While I knew this was coming I didn't expect my reaction to be so strong. Gary doesn't only represent the Mets and what's right about baseball to me... he represents a time in my life... a time in my life when I was very close to my brother Sean, and close to my brother Shadetree. Of course I'm still close with both of them, but I was 11-15 years old while he was a Met...and whther you like the Mets and Gary or you hate them... you all must understand/admit that those are the height of the wonder years for sports lovers. An age while these athletes are still heros, and Gary is our shared hero! God Bless Gary Carter and his family. RIP and warm wishes to all those in the Mets family tonight.
Even as a Yankee fan,that Mets team was one of my favs of all time. I was 11 at the time of the 86 series. Having the passion for sports that i have now,was born during game 6 of the 86 series. I saw sports different after that day.
The Empire State Building was orange and blue in his honor on Friday night. A minor irony: Carter also played for the Giants and Dodgers, which were of course the two teams from which the Mets got their orange and blue colors.
