Traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season,he was re-joined by pitcher and St. Louis teammate Steve Carlton,becoming his regular catcher as the team won three division titles from 1976 to 1978. After increased use as a pinch hitter in his last several seasons,in September 1980,McCarver became the 18th major league player to play in four decades.
After his playing career,McCarver became a television color commentator,most notably for Fox Sports after previous stints with the other three broadcast networks. He eventually set a record by calling 23 World Series as well as 20 All-Star Games,earning three Emmy Awards in the process. In 2012,McCarver was named the Ford C. Frick Award recipient. He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016,[3][4] and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
Early life
McCarver was born in Memphis,Tennessee to Alice (née Phelan) and Edward McCarver,the fourth of five children;he had three brothers and a sister. His father was a police lieutenant. He went to segregated schools,including Christian Brothers High School where he played baseball,basketball,and football. Reportedly,amongst the subjects in which he was well-versed were poetry,World War II and Civil War generals,show tunes,and Shakespeare.[5]
McCarver credited his sister,Marilyn for helping him. She helped him with fielding and it was her idea for him to become a left-handed hitter.[6]
Playing career
Early years
McCarver turned down a football scholarship at the University of Tennessee to play professional baseball. Instead,he signed to a $75,000 contract by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959 when he was 17. After playing in the minor leagues with the Keokuk Indians and the Rochester Red Wings,McCarver reached the Major Leagues for the first time at 17.[6] He was with the Memphis Chicks for the 1960 season,the 1961 season with the Charleston Charlies,and the 1962 season with the Atlanta 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.[6]
McCarver was a member of two World Series champion teams in St. Louis. He was the preferred catcher of the notoriously temperamental Bob Gibson. McCarver said if he had any prejudices it was probably Gibson who helped him get past them.[9]
During his time in St. Louis,he also fostered a relationship with young pitcher Steve 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 the Detroit Tigers in a seven-game World Series.[10]
McCarver on the field before a game in St. Louis against the Boston Red Sox,May 2017
During his first stint with the Phillies,McCarver caught Rick Wise's no-hitter on June 23,1971.[17][18] At the end of the season,the Phillies traded Wise to the Cardinals for Steve 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 of Bill Stoneman's two career no-hitters.[19]
McCarver finished his career as Carlton's personal catcher for the Phillies in the late 1970s.[20] He thought he ws done playing baseball and made some audition tapes for Philadelphia tv stations.[6] He retired after the 1979 season to begin a broadcasting career.[21] He briefly returned to play in September 1980,[22] becoming one of 31 players to appear in Major League games in four decades (1950s–1980s).
He had 121 shutouts as a catcher during his career,ranking him 9th all-time.[23]
Broadcasting career
After retiring from playing,McCarver worked in sports broadcasting as a color commentator for several decades. He won three Emmy Awards for Sports Event Analyst.[17]
In 1996,McCarver was paired with Joe Buck on the Fox network's MLB telecasts,a role he held from 1996 to 2013.[29] In 2003,McCarver set a record by broadcasting his 13th World Series on national television (surpassing Curt Gowdy). He called 24 World Series for ABC,CBS,and Fox.[30] McCarver announced in March 2013 that he would leave Fox after the 2013 season.[31] His final Fox broadcast was October 30,2013,as the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 to win the 2013 World Series.[32]
Return to local broadcasting
In December 2013,he was hired to be a part-time analyst for the Cardinals on Fox Sports Midwest.[33] He teamed with Dan McLaughlin to call 30 games in the 2014 season.[7] His first game called for the Cardinals was on April 28,2014,when they hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. McCarver returned to the Cardinals booth for 40 games in 2015 and continued to call a select number of games each year through 2019. McCarver did not work on any telecasts during the team's shortened 2020 season,due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] In April 2022,McCarver officially announced his retirement from broadcasting.[35]
McCarver also hosted a nationally syndicated sports interview program,The Tim McCarver Show,from 2000 until 2017.[30]
Criticism
During the 1992 National League Championship Series,McCarver criticized Deion Sanders,who also had become an NFL 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-winning Atlanta 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."[36] Also during the 1992 post-season (when McCarver worked for CBS),Norman Chad criticized McCarver in Sports 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.[37]
In October 2008,just before the 2008 NLCS,McCarver made public his feelings about Manny Ramirez,calling him "despicable" and criticizing him for his sloppy,lazy play in Boston and how he had suddenly turned it around in Los Angeles. Ramirez declined to comment.[38] In 2010,McCarver compared the New York Yankees' treatment of former manager Joe Torre to the treatment meted out by Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia to generals who fell out of favor with their leaders. After receiving negative comments about his position on the topic,McCarver apologized.[39]
Music career
On October 9,2009,McCarver released a cover album of jazz standards entitled Tim McCarver Sings Songs from the Great American Songbook.[1][2]
Personal life
McCarver married his high school sweetheart,Anne,on December 29,1964. They had two daughters,Kathy and Kelly.[6] Tim McCarver died of heart failure in Memphis,on February 16,2023,at age 81.[9][27]
Awards and honors
McCarver speaking upon being inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame,August 2010
↑ Robertson, John (June 15, 1972). "McCarver won't catch for Expos". The Montreal Star. p.D-2. Retrieved February 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "McCarver rejoins Cards". The Greenville News. Associated Press. November 7, 1972. p.9. Retrieved February 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Twins' Goltz Halts Bosox". The Miami Herald. September 1, 1974. p.2-E. Retrieved February 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Sox Ask Waivers On Tim McCarver". Holyoke Transcript-Telegram. Associated Press. June 24, 1975. p.16. Retrieved February 17, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "McCarver signs with Phillies". The Boston Globe. United Press International. July 2, 1975. p.49. Retrieved February 17, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
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