He Was Just a Kid

Throughout his career, Carter was a leader
in every sense of the word.

Less than a year after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Hall of Famer Gary Carter lost that battle Wednesday, passing away at age 57.

It was just last May Carter and his family received the shocking news that he had a malignant tumor in his brain. It was apparent the cancer was spreading and taking a tole on Carter's health, causing many to wonder how long he had left.

In January, Carter's condition took a turn for the worst, validating everyone's deepest concerns. The cancer had spread and saw several more tumors appear on his brain.

While we continue to mourn the loss of one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, it's time to celebrate the life of not only a Hall of Famer player, but a Hall of Fame person.

Carter was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1972. He made his Major League debut just two years later, becoming arguably the greatest player in franchise history. In his first full season with the Expos, Carter hit .270 and slugged 17 home runs. He was named to his first of 11 All-Star Games and finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

1984 would become Carter's best offensive season, posting career-highs in plate appearances (669), at-bats (596), hits (175), batting average (.294) and runs batted in (106). Not to mention his 106 RBIs led the NL.

That December, with Montreal preparing to rebuild, Carter was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for four young prospects.

It was the move that saved the Mets franchise and brought them their second and most recent World Series title.

A team already armed with the power-hitting Darryl Strawberry, electric Dwight Gooden and slick-fielding Keith Hernandez, Carter was brought in to be the savior. And he was just that. On Opening Day 1985, in his first game as a Met, Carter justified the 4-for-1 trade with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning, receiving his first taste of the New York spotlight.

In a town where many crumble, Carter embraced the challenge, flourishing under pressure and captivating Shea Stadium. That was never more apparent in the postseason.

Playing in 30 career playoff games, Carter owned a .280 career average with four home runs and driving in 21 runs. He had 33 career hits in the postseason, but none bigger than four of the 12 hits he had in the 1986 postseason.

In Game 5 of the NLCS, Carter, who was batting a dismal .047 prior to the at-bat, laced a game-winning, walk-off single in the 12th inning, giving New York a 3-2 series advantage -- a series the Mets clinched the following night in 16 innings.

Reaching the World Series for the first time in his career, Carter hit two home runs over the Green Monster in Game 4 of the Fall Classic, becoming the only player in history to homer twice in a All-Star and World Series game.

But it's his 10th inning single in Game 6 that will forever live in New York lore.

With two out and nobody one, Carter, with his tenacious personality, refused to be the final out of the series, orchestrating the most improbable and greatest rally in postseason history. The veteran catcher lashed a base hit into left field and three batters later, Mookie Wilson would hit his infamous ground ball that some how trickled under the glove of Bill Buckner, forcing a decisive seventh game.

Carter and Co. would reach the pinnacle of the sports world two nights later.

If Hernandez was the team's captain, then Carter was his first mate.

Carter would spend three more season with the Mets, but was released in 1989 and bounced around the NL his final three seasons, spending a year each with the Giants and Dodgers before returning to where it all began.

However, Carter managed to bring a crowd to their feet one last time.

In his final Major League at-bat, Carter lined an opposite field, RBI double over Andre Dawson's head, giving the Expos an eventually 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 27, 1992. He played in just 95 games that year, batting .218 and retired at season's end.

He finished his career with a .262 average, 324 HRs and 1225 RBIs. Carter is one of only five players to play at least 50 percent of his games as a catcher and record 275 HRs, 350 doubles, 1,000 RBIs and 1,500 hits while doing so, joining the recently retired Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez and fellow Hall of Famers, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk.

Even in the biggest fight of his life, Carter
never lost the smile that inspired us all.

Carter totaled four 100 RBI seasons as a catcher, including three straight from 1984-86, tying him with Bill Dickey for the third most all-time. He won five Silver Sluggers in his career and finished as high as second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting, that coming in 1980.

That same season Carter would win his first of three consecutive Gold Gloves, showing he was just as good behind the plate. Possessed with one of the strongest throwing arms in baseball history, nobody ran on Carter.

He is one of five catchers to catch more than 2,000 games in his career, catching the fourth most in history and an NL record 2,056 games. According to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, along with three other catchers, Carter holds the Major League record for being behind the plate in 90 percent of his team's games in five different seasons.

Also one of game's greatest game callers, it wasn't a coincidence Gooden's best season came in Carter's first year as his battery mate. Gooden posted career bests in wins (24) earned run average (1.53), complete games (16) and innings (276.2), capturing his only NL Cy Young.

Carter was named the All-Star Game MVP two times in his career (1981, '84) and was the recipient of the '89 Roberto Clemente Award.

In 2003, after a baffling five-year wait, Carter was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in his sixth year on the ballot, receiving 78.02 percent of the vote. That same season his No. 8 would be retired by Montreal -- the team and cap he would go into Cooperstown wearing.

But it was his infectious smile and enthusiasm, passion and love for the game that earned him the nickname the 'Kid' over his 19-year career and the rest of his life.

Carter, who was the head coach of Palm Beach Atlantic baseball team, made his final public appearance on Feb. 2 in his team's first game of the 2012 season. Honoring Carter the only way they knew how, the Sailfish won on a walk-off base hit by senior Travis Murray.

Murray's position? Yep, you guessed it. Catcher.

Carter wasn't only the savior the Mets needed, but the one baseball needed as well.

Reyes On The First Subway Out Of Queens?

Reyes' speed adds a different dynamic to his
game.

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is one of baseball's most exciting and dynamic infielders, and could be well on the verge of becoming one of the wealthiest.

Reyes is set to become a free agent at seasons end and will be one of the hottest commodities this winter.

Despite already having eight major league seasons under his belt, Reyes is still only twenty-eight and enjoying a career year. The Mets shortstop is currently leading the National League with .341 batting average and a share of the lead in runs scored with 54. He only trails Boston's Adrian Gonzalez for the major league lead in hits with 103 compared to the first basemen's 104.

However, Reyes is known for his speed and athleticism with the 2011 season being showcase for that thus far. He is leads the majors in the most exciting play in baseball with 12 triples and is second only to Houston's Michael Bourn with 26 stolen bases.

It looks to be paid day for Reyes, but are the Mets willing to pay him the money he is looking for?

It has been reported that Reyes is seeking a contract similar to that of Carl Crawford, who signed a seven-year $142 million deal this past offseason to man left field in Fenway Park for the Red Sox. That is an average of $20 million per season compared to the $11 million Reyes is making this season.

Crawford's '11 salary is approximately $14.8 million, but increases greatly throughout the contract. He is set make $19.5 million next season with the final five years of the contract paying the speedy outfielder $20 million or more per year.

Longtime Mets owner and investor Fred Wilpon doesn't see Reyes receiving that type of contract from him or anybody else for that matter, especially with his injury history. "He's a racehorse. He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it," Wilpon stated.

Reyes' injury history is the only reason that statement could hold true. Now in his ninth season, the three-time All-Star has only played in 150 games four times in his career, averaging 115 games per season. He missed 29 games last season after starting the year on the disabled list with a thyroid problem.

With similar career numbers, Reyes will
be seeking Carl Crawford type money
this offseason.

If Reyes can stay healthy there is no question he is one of the best shortstops and players in the game today.

He is currently the fifth highest paid player on New York with left-handed ace Johan Santana, who is out until mid-season recovering from surgery, is the highest at $22.5 million. He and Florida Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez are tied for the third highest paid at their position, trailing only the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal ($13 million) and the Yankees' Derek Jeter ($14 million) for the top spot.

The Mets have the seventh largest payroll in baseball this season at $118.8 million, but might not have the money to resign Reyes at that price given the current financial situation of the organization and commitment that have made to other players.

New York in recent years have overpaid for players like Jason Bay, Carlos Beltran, and Francisco Rodriguez with the type of production they have received from each during their time with the club. This has handcuffed ownership and the organization putting them on the verge of bankruptcy.

It was reported in Febraury that Wilpon and the Mets were loaned $25 million from Major League Baseball last November to cover the day-to-day expenses of the team after facing a liquidity crisis.

The Mets would become the second team in last year to declare bankruptcy if they choose that route. The Texas Rangers were delcared bankrupt last May with the Los Angeles Dodgers and embattled owner Frank McCourt on the verge of following suit.

All that being said, Reyes, when healthy, is the most important piece to this franchise moving forward and need to find a way to keep him in Queens for the long haul.  With New York having other major contracts expiring at seasons end, this leaves the possibility they could do just that.

Beltran's seven-year $119 million contract he signed prior to the 2005 season expires at the close of '11. Rodriguez also finds himself in the final-year of the three-year $37 million deal he signed in December of 2008, giving the Mets some financial flexibility this offseason

All-Star third basemen David Wright is not a free agent until after next season, but his future with the team could directly linked to Reyes.

The Mets could lose Wright, left and Reyes,
right in consecutive years if they are not
careful.

Along with Reyes, Wright has been the face of the franchise since 2004. While together they have yet to appear in a World Series, they have drawn comparions to another great left side of the infield just a subway ride away. Reyes and Wright have been said to be the younger verision of Yankees' third basemen Alex Rodriguez and Jeter, who have also played along side one another since '04.

That is high praise for two players that have had their share of health issues.

However, like Reyes, Wright is only twenty-eight and if the Mets can find someway to keep these two together and healthy those comparions could be validated soon.

A lot depends on the way this team plays the rest of the season. The Mets, who are currently 35-38 and in fourth place in the NL East, could be prone to trade Reyes at the July 31st trading deadline if that doesn't improve. Cinninatti and San Franciso are looking too upgrade at shortstop and increase their chances of getting back to the postseason with Reyes looking to be the logical fit for both.

Whatever the future holds for Reyes, it's sure to be a bright one with the sun right above the horizon.

United We Stand

When the new broke of bin Laden's
death the score read 9/11.

After giving it a few days to soak in Sunday night marked a truly historic and proud day in our nation's history with the successful assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Nearly a decade later New Yorkers and Americans are still feeling the effects of that tragic September day.

Although, for most, those wounds will never be healed, it gives some a sense of closure and hope to restore order in our beloved country.

Now, we can reflect and see how the world of sports gave us so much to look forward too when all hope appeared to be lost.

The 2001 World Series is one of the greatest ever to be played and meant so much more to a city than a world championship.

The New York Yankees were trying to win their fourth World Series title in as many years under manager Joe Torre and fifth in a six-year span. Standing in their way were the veteran, strung together, castoff Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks took the first two games of the series at home, putting the Yankees in an unfamiliar role, underdogs. It only seemed fitting just months after September 11, for the first time in our nation's history, we looked like underdogs. The series was headed back to New York for the next three games, where the Yankees and the city of New York would receive a much need lift from one another.

The Yankees would make World Series history in games four and five.

New York became the first team in World Series history, in consecutive nights, to hit a two-run game-tying home run in the ninth inning, courtesy of Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius. It was the loudest people had heard Yankee Stadium in it's, at the time, 78-year existence.

The Yankees had taken on the face and personality of their city by showing many their resiliency and how to demonstrate resolve.

It seemed as if the hated New York Yankees, for the moment, had become a team of destiny and America's team . New York would go on to lose the series in seven games, but for those three games at the Stadium that Fall, New Yorkers were given three hours of relief and an escape from reality.

For sports fans the news first broke on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies hosting the New York Mets.  In the ninth inning, with the score locked at in 1-1 tie, oddly enough the games line read 9/11. It gives almost an eerie feeling with the death of bin Laden earlier that night September 11th's date would surface.

One of the more interesting things to think about is that night there was a New York team playing.

It was not just any New York team, but the team that played the first game back after play was suspended. On September 21, 2001, just ten days after the terrorist attacks, play resumed with a game against the Atlanta Braves and Mets at Shea Stadium.

With the Mets trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, up stepped their team leader and catcher, Mike Piazza. With a man on, Piazza launched an eventual game-winning two-run home run deep into the New York night, once again, at least for a moment, put New Yorkers worries aside.

It's strange to think that night the Mets manager was Bobby Valentine and with New York playing Sunday night nearly ten years to the day, one of the men calling the game from the booth was none another than the former Mets manager.

You have to believe that after the news broke, these things are not just a consequence, but a sign of how everything comes full circle.

As word began to travel throughout Citizens Bank Park, the Philly Fanatics began to chant, "USA, USA, USA!!". ESPN play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman did his best to embrace the moment and relish a triumphant victory for not only our military, but the entire country.

Sometimes sports gets you lost in the moment, but then comes times like these were you realize some things are bigger than life itself.

This is so much more than a sports story, United We Stand.