| Tim McCarver | |
|---|---|
 McCarver in 2002 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1941-10-16)October 16, 1941 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | |
| Died: February 16, 2023(2023-02-16) (aged 81) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| 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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Timothy McCarver (October 16, 1941 – February 16, 2023) was an American professionalbaseballcatcher, televisionsports commentator, and singer.[1][2] He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1959 to 1980 for four teams, spending almost all of his career with theSt. Louis Cardinals andPhiladelphia Phillies. A two-timeAll-Star, he helped the Cardinals to the1964 World Series title,batting .478 in the Series, including a three-runhome run in the tenth inning to win Game 5. In 1966, he became the first catcher since the 19th century to lead theNational League (NL) intriples with 13. McCarver was runner-up for the 1967 NLMost Valuable Player Award, behind teammateOrlando Cepeda, after batting .295 and leading NL catchers inassists andfielding percentage.
Traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season, he was later re-joined by pitcher and St. Louis teammateSteve Carlton, becoming his regular catcher as the team won three division titles from 1976 to 1978. After increased use as apinch hitter in his last several seasons, in September 1980, McCarver became the 18th major league player toplay in four decades.
After his playing career, McCarver became a televisioncolor commentator, most notably forFox Sports after previous stints with the other three broadcast networks. He eventually set a record by calling 23World Series as well as 20 All-Star Games, earning threeEmmy Awards in the process. In 2012, McCarver was named theFord C. Frick Award recipient. He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016,[3][4] and theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
McCarver was born inMemphis, Tennessee, where he attendedChristian Brothers High School. He was signed by theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1959. After playing in the minor leagues with theKeokuk Indians and theRochester Red Wings, McCarver reached the Major Leagues for the first time at 17.[5]
McCarver spent the 1960 season with theMemphis Chicks, the 1961 season with theCharleston Charlies, and the 1962 season with theAtlanta Crackers, receiving brief promotions to the major leagues in the 1960 and 1961 seasons. In 1963, he was promoted to the Major Leagues for good.[5]
McCarver hit the tie-breaking home run in the 10th inning, winning Game 5 of the1964 World Series for the Cardinals. In 1966, McCarver was named to theAll-Star Team, scored the winning run in the 10th inning of that1966 All-Star Game, and became the first catcher to lead the National League intriples, with 13.[6] In 1967, he finished second to teammateOrlando Cepeda for theNational League Most Valuable Player award.[7]
McCarver was a member of twoWorld Series champion teams in St. Louis. He was the favorite catcher of the notoriously temperamentalBob Gibson, and he fostered a relationship with young pitcherSteve Carlton that would keep him in the Major Leagues later in his career. In 1968, McCarver was the Cardinals catcher as they won the NL pennant but were ultimately defeated by theDetroit Tigers in a seven-gameWorld Series.[8]
After the 1969 season, the Cardinals traded McCarver,Curt Flood,Joe Hoerner, andByron Browne to thePhiladelphia Phillies forDick Allen,Cookie Rojas, andJerry Johnson.[9] On June 14, 1972, the Phillies traded McCarver to theMontreal Expos forJohn Bateman. The Expos used McCarver as an outfielder.[10] The Cardinals re-acquired McCarver from the Expos forJorge Roque after the 1972 season.[11] TheBoston Red Sox purchased McCarver from the Cardinals towards the end of the 1974 season.[12] The Red Sox released McCarver in June 1975.[13] He signed with the Phillies a week later.[14]
During his first stint with the Phillies, McCarver caughtRick Wise'sno-hitter on June 23, 1971.[15][16] At the end of the season, the Phillies traded Wise to the Cardinals forSteve Carlton, reuniting McCarver with his former teammate. During the 1972 season, the Phillies traded McCarver to the Montreal Expos, where, on October 2, he caught the second ofBill Stoneman's two career no-hitters.[17] McCarver finished his career as Carlton's personal catcher for the Phillies in the late 1970s.[18]
McCarver retired after the 1979 season to begin a broadcasting career.[19] McCarver briefly returned to duty in September 1980,[20] becoming one of 31 players to appear in Major League games in four decades (1950s–1980s).
He caught 121shutouts during his career, ranking him 9th all-time.[21]
After retiring from playing, McCarver worked in sports broadcasting as acolor commentator for several decades. He won threeEmmy Awards for Sports Event Analyst.[15]
He began his broadcasting career atWPHL-TV (Channel 17) in Philadelphia, where he called Phillies games withRichie Ashburn andHarry Kalas.[22] McCarver called games for local sports networks carrying the Phillies from1980 to1982, theNew York Mets from1983 to1998, theNew York Yankees from1999 to2001, and theSan Francisco Giants in2002.[23]
McCarver began working as a backupGame of the Week commentator forNBC in 1980.[24] His work at NBC was followed by stints withABC (where he teamed withDon Drysdale on backupMonday Night Baseball games in 1984 andAl Michaels andJim Palmer from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1994 to 1995 under the"Baseball Network" umbrella) andCBS (where he teamed withJack Buck from 1990 to 1991 andSean McDonough from 1992 to 1993). McCarver called his first World Series in1985 for ABC as a last-minute replacement forHoward Cosell.[25] While atABC, McCarver also served as a correspondent and play-by-play announcer forfreestyle skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and he later co-hosted the primetime coverage of1992 Winter Olympics withPaula Zahn forCBS.[26]
In 1996, McCarver was paired withJoe Buck on theFox network'sMLB telecasts, a role he held from 1996 to 2013.[27] In 2003, McCarver set a record by broadcasting his 13thWorld Series on national television (surpassingCurt Gowdy). He called 24 World Series for ABC, CBS, and Fox.[28] McCarver announced in March 2013 that he would leaveFox after the 2013 season.[29] His final Fox broadcast was October 30, 2013, as theBoston Red Sox defeated theSt. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 to win the2013 World Series.[30]
In December 2013, he was hired to be a part-time analyst for the Cardinals onFox Sports Midwest.[31] He teamed withDan McLaughlin to call 30 games in the 2014 season.[6] His first game called for theCardinals was on April 28, 2014, when they hosted theMilwaukee Brewers. McCarver returned to the Cardinals booth for 40 games in 2015 and continued to call a select number of games each year through2019. McCarver did not work on any telecasts during the team's shortened2020 season, due to health concerns related to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[32] In April 2022, McCarver officially announced his retirement from broadcasting.[33]
McCarver also hosted a nationally syndicated sports interview program,The Tim McCarver Show, from 2000 until 2017.[28]
During the1992 National League Championship Series, McCarver criticizedDeion Sanders, who also had become anNFL star, for playing two sports—football and baseball—on the same day. For his criticism, on October 14, 1992, after Game 7 had concluded, Sanders dumped a bucket of ice water on McCarver three times while covering the National League pennant-winningAtlanta Braves' clubhouse celebration for CBS. After being doused with the water, McCarver shouted at Sanders, "You are a real man, Deion. I'll say that."[34] Also during the 1992 post-season (when McCarver worked forCBS),Norman Chad criticized McCarver inSports Illustrated by saying that he's someone who "when you ask him the time, will tell you how a watch works," a reference to McCarver's habit of over-analyzing.[35]
In October 2008, just before the2008 NLCS, McCarver made public his feelings aboutManny Ramirez, calling him "despicable" and criticizing him for his sloppy, lazy play inBoston and how he had suddenly turned it around inLos Angeles. Ramirez declined to comment.[36]
In 2010, McCarver compared theNew York Yankees' treatment of former managerJoe Torre to the treatment meted out byNazi Germany andStalinist Russia to generals who fell out of favor with their leaders. After receiving negative comments about his position on the topic, McCarver apologized.[37]
On October 9, 2009, McCarver released a cover album ofjazz standards entitledTim McCarver Sings Songs from the Great American Songbook.[1][2]
McCarver married hishigh school sweetheart, Anne, on December 29, 1964. They had two daughters.[5]
McCarver died of heart failure in Memphis, on February 16, 2023, at age 81.[38][25]
Baseball
Broadcasting
Theminor league baseball stadium in Memphis was christenedTim McCarver Stadium in 1978 and[42] was replaced by a new downtown stadium (namedAutoZone Park in anaming rights arrangement) in 2000.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American television prime time anchor, Winter Olympic Games (withPaula Zahn) 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by First | Lead color commentator, Major League Baseball on Fox (withBob Brenley from1996 to1999) 1996 to2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead color commentator, Major League Baseball on ABC (withJim Palmer) 1985–1989 1994–1995 | Succeeded by Last |
| Preceded by | Lead color commentator, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1990–2013 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
