The Kid Has All The Credentials

UCLA may have missed out on a probable All-American football star when Gary Carter decided to pass on his letter of intent to play the pigskin sport there and signed with the Montreal Expos in 1974, but Major League Baseball and Carter have no regrets. After 19 star-studded seasons, (including 11 as an All-Star), a pair of All-Star games, two Most Valuable Player awards, a World Series ring and a steamer trunk full of prestigious awards and citations, the current manager of the Long Island Ducks is virtually a legend in his own time.
In 1961, at age 7, Carter won the national championship of the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick program. From that auspicious beginning he has continued to march gloriously ahead as one of America’s most accomplished and well-known athletes and sports personalities. His baseball career is latticed with records. He led the National League in RBIs with 106 in 1984, clouted 324 career home runs and won three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Slugger awards.
Nicknamed The Kid, Carter played with, and against, most of baseball’s great players in the ‘70s and ‘80s. And he has little fear in stepping to the plate to name his “best” list. For top-position players, he picks Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Mike Schmidt. When it comes to pitching, The Kid votes for Dwight Gooden and former Expo Steve Rogers as the best he has “battery-ed” with. Opposing pitchers who rank as his most elite are Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton. Who could argue?
When queried as to how today’s game has changed, Gary is quick to point out the “pitching roulette” on the 21st-century diamonds.  “It’s a parade of specialists moving to the mound these days,” comments Carter. “Now we have a middle reliever followed by a set-up guy who flips the ball to the closer. Virtually nobody pitches a complete game anymore.”
Another key difference from Carter’s playing days is the paucity of “strategic managerial maneuvering. There are fewer bunt plays, there are fewer hit-and-run plays, and the exciting squeeze play is almost extinct. The fans love the home run and that is where today’s emphasis is.”
As for personal, favorite achievements The Kid gets pumped when he talks about the Mets and his role in winning the 1986 World Series … and of course, his induction into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2003. He neglects to mention this writer’s favorite: Carter is the only player ever to hit two home runs in an All-Star game and a World Series game.
Carter also may have overlooked what many Met fans never will – his first game as a Met in 1985. On that momentous occasion he slugged a 10th-inning, walk-off home run off St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Neil Allen to give the Mets a 6-5 opening day victory. In addition to his Major League Baseball Hall of Fame credentials, Carter has been elected to the New York Mets Hall of Fame and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. During the ‘80s, while playing for the Mets and living on Long Island, he was a unanimous selection for the Long Island Sports Hall of Fame
Post-retirement, Carter did a stint from 1993 through 1996 as an analyst for the Florida Marlins. He also appeared in the movie The Last Home Run released in 1998.  But Carter has a zealous desire to manage at the major league baseball level. In 2005 he was manager of the Gulf Coast Mets. A year later he was promoted to be the A-league St. Lucie Mets manager. In 2008 he managed the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League where he guided the team to a league championship.
Wife Sandy and their quartet of youngsters – Christy, Kimmy, Douglas and James (D.J.) – enthusiastically back Carter’s dream to manage in the “big show.” His impeccable playing credentials and respected minor league managerial work augur an opportunity for him to be the Skipper one day in the not too distant future. This Kid sure seems to have earned a shot.