1985 HEADLINE: Gary Carter Connects For 5 Home Runs In 2 Games!!!

1985 HEADLINE: Gary Carter Connects For 5 Home Runs In 2 Games!!!

On this day in 1985, Gary Carter became just the 11th player in major league history to crush 5 home runs over the course of 2 consecutive games.

An amazing feat for any slugger, this incredible accomplishment is even more amazing as Carter was never really known as a long-ball threat.

I thought it would be fun to re-live those 5 round-trippers.  Here are the notes:

HR #	Date	Inning	Pitcher	Men On-Base	Total RBI
1	9/3/1985	1	D. Dravecky	1	2
2	9/3/1985	4	D. Dravecky	0	3
3	9/3/1985	5	L. DeLeon	2	6
4	9/4/1985	2	R. Jackson	0	7
5	9/4/1985	7	E. Wojna	0	8

Very impressive, if I do say so myself!!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Carter!!!

Happy Birthday Gary Carter!!!!

Happy Birthday Gary Carter!!!!

Today, we celebrate the life and birth of Gary Edmund Carter.

Had it not been for a player named Johnny Bench, Gary Carter may be considered the best catcher in baseball history.  In this case, 2nd place is not too bad of a spot to be in when you’re behind one the greatest players in major league history.

Gary Carter brought a level of offensive and defensive consistency to the catching position for 19 seasons.  An 11-time All-star, Carter was the team leader during his days with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.  His solid offensive play, highlighted by winning 5 Silver Slugger awards, and his dominant defense in which he won 3 Gold Gloves established him as one of the most complete players during the 1970’s and into the 1980’s.  With a career batting average of .262, Carter captured 2,092 hits during his playing days.  And with 324 homers, 1,225 RBI, and 1,025 runs scored, Carter provided punch to the offense that was rare from the catcher’s position during those times.  Due to the rarity of this kind of production by a catcher, Gary Carter finished in the Top 17 for the MVP award 7 times during his career.

Gary Carter played in 1 World Series match-up in 1986 and his New York Mets won the title in 7 games.  During that series, Carter batted .276 while hitting 2 home runs and knocking in an amazing 9 runs.

We miss you and love you Gary!!!

Happy Birthday.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #5 – Gary Carter 2003 Topps Tribute

Baseball Card Show Purchase #5 – Gary Carter 2003 Topps Tribute

I’m not normally a fan of zoomed-in, posed photography on my baseball cards, but that does come with a few exceptions.

One of those exceptions would be when a card looks as nice as this one…

 

The card comes from the 2003 Topps Tribute baseball card set and I think that it looks great.

Offering up a picture of a very young Gary Carter in his White Montreal Expos jersey, the contrast of the colors of his uniform and the sky behind him are fantastic.

I also think that the added elements of the Gold name and Topps Tribute logo bring in a nice touch of royalty to the card.

1985 HEADLINE: Gary Carter Connects For 5 Home Runs In 2 Games!!!

1985 HEADLINE: Gary Carter Connects For 5 Home Runs In 2 Games!!!

On this day in 1985, Gary Carter became just the 11th player in major league history to crush 5 home runs over the course of 2 consecutive games.

An amazing feat for any slugger, this incredible accomplishment is even more amazing as Carter was never really known as a long-ball threat.

I thought it would be fun to re-live those 5 round-trippers.  Here are the notes:

HR #	Date	Inning	Pitcher	Men On-Base	Total RBI
1	9/3/1985	1	D. Dravecky	1	2
2	9/3/1985	4	D. Dravecky	0	3
3	9/3/1985	5	L. DeLeon	2	6
4	9/4/1985	2	R. Jackson	0	7
5	9/4/1985	7	E. Wojna	0	8

Very impressive, if I do say so myself!!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Carter!!!

Gary Carter 2013 Topps Archives – 1972 Topps Design

Gary Carter 2013 Topps Archives – 1972 Topps Design

Man, it seems like each and every card that I encounter from the 2013 Topps Archives set that uses the ’72 Topps design offers a zoomed-in image.

And way too ‘Zoomed-In’ at that!!!

This is Gary Carter’s card from the set:

I will say that I always enjoy adding a new Expos card to my collection.  And I really like the way that the teams’ nameplate looks when put into the ’72 Topps graphic design.

The photo choice, while too close, is a good one.  It features a very young Carter and is a great shout-out to those old, vintage, non-earflap having batting helmets!!

NICE!!!

Gary Carter 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Base

Gary Carter 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Base

I’m excited to see the love that Topps has been giving Gary Carter over the last year.  And the photo selection that they made for Carter’s card in the 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen baseball card set is superb.

Have a look:

 

As you can see, Carter is in the midst of a mighty swing in which he put every ounce of his energy.

And yes, I love those old Mets uniforms too!!

Baseball Card Show Purchase #4 – Gary Carter 2006 Topps Triple Threads ‘Hall Of Fame’

Baseball Card Show Purchase #4 – Gary Carter 2006 Topps Triple Threads ‘Hall Of Fame’

This is another card that stopped me while shuffling through bargain boxes at the show.

The card is from the 2006 Topps Triple Threads set, and it is another one that I have never seen before.

Here it is:

The card features a young Carter in his home Expos uniform.  And while the background of the card contains a lot of White, it does not affect the image at all.  The shading that Topps used within the background makes Carter’s image pop.

This one is a great addition to my Gary Carter collection!!  We miss you, Mr. Carter!!

Happy Birthday Gary Carter!!!!

Happy Birthday Gary Carter!!!!

Today, we celebrate the life and birth of Gary Edmund Carter.

Had it not been for a player named Johnny Bench, Gary Carter may be considered the best catcher in baseball history.  In this case, 2nd place is not too bad of a spot to be in when you’re behind one the greatest players in major league history.

Gary Carter brought a level of offensive and defensive consistency to the catching position for 19 seasons.  An 11-time All-star, Carter was the team leader during his days with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.  His solid offensive play, highlighted by winning 5 Silver Slugger awards, and his dominant defense in which he won 3 Gold Gloves established him as one of the most complete players during the 1970’s and into the 1980’s.  With a career batting average of .262, Carter captured 2,092 hits during his playing days.  And with 324 homers, 1,225 RBI, and 1,025 runs scored, Carter provided punch to the offense that was rare from the catcher’s position during those times.  Due to the rarity of this kind of production by a catcher, Gary Carter finished in the Top 17 for the MVP award 7 times during his career.

Gary Carter played in 1 World Series match-up in 1986 and his New York Mets won the title in 7 games.  During that series, Carter batted .276 while hitting 2 home runs and knocking in an amazing 9 runs.

We miss you and love you Gary!!!

Happy Birthday.

UncleMoe Sends Over Some Great Cards!!!

UncleMoe Sends Over Some Great Cards!!!

One of the most loyal trade partners that I have had the pleasure of trading with over the years is UncleMoe.

We have an understanding – he gets my Diamondbacks and I get his Marlins.  The deal was never etched into stone, it has naturally progressed.  In addition to that, if I uncover any of the players that he collects while at my monthly card show, I grab them for him.  And he always returns the favor with cards of the guys that I collect.

It has been this way for the last few years, and is as close to having a ‘trading partner’ like I had when I was a kid.

The last package of cards from UncleMoe was again, AWESOME!!!

This time around, he sent me some new Marlins cards for my team collection, and some modern cards of the legends that I collect.

On to the bounty!!!

2 Gary Carter cards that I was missing:

A full page’s worth of Marlins:

And two very sweet Eddie Murray and Jim Palmer cards that I did not have:

Thank you Moe!!!  These are great additions to my collection.

Gary Carter 2012 Topps Archives – 1984 Topps Design

Gary Carter 2012 Topps Archives – 1984 Topps Design

So, while I am not the kind of collector to pick at critique each and every newly issued baseball card that I come across, but I do expect the card companies to maintain the integrity of the game, even if it is just on a chunk of cardboard.

So, while I do like the look of this Gary Carter baseball card from the 2012 Topps Archives set, it is inaccurate.

The card features the 1984 Topps design, but in ’84 Gary Carter played for the Expos.  He departed them after the 1984 season, but he did spend every minute of it his Expos uniform.

 

Still a pretty great looking card though…