"I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 p.m.," Carter's daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the family website. "This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know."
Carter was an 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. His bottom-of-the-10th single in Game 6 of the 1986 Series helped the Mets mount a charge against the Boston Red Sox and eventually beat them.
With curly, blond locks flaring out from beneath his helmet, and a rigid, upright batting stance, Carter was immediately recognizable. And anyone who watched Carter recognized his zest.
"Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. Nobody enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve every inning he played," Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said.
Carter played nearly 2 decades with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the Expos to their only playoff berth and was the first player enshrined in Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap.
Carter was known as much for his effervescent personality as his talents. He earned his nickname as an eager teen in his first major league camp and the label stuck for the rest of his career, and beyond.
"An exuberant on-field general with a signature smile who was known for clutch hitting and rock-solid defense over 19 seasons," reads his Hall plaque.
Overall, Carter hit .262 with 324 homers and 1,225 RBI. He set the major league record for putouts by a catcher, a testament to his durability despite nine knee operations.
Carter twice was the MVP of the All-Star Game. He won the award in 1981 by homering twice in baseball's first game after a players' strike that lasted 2 months. He remains the only player to have a two-homer performance in an All-Star Game and a World Series game.
Carter also set the NL record for games caught.
Carter was recognized, too, for his contributions off the field when he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award.
Carter hit his first major league homer in September 1974 off future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton as a 20-year-old rookie - Carter homered 11 times against the ace lefty, his top victim.
