Tim McCarver, Award-Winning Broadcaster and Former World Series Champion, Dies at 81

Two-time World Series winner and Hall of Fame MLB broadcaster Tim McCarver died Thursday.

He was 81.

The Baseball Hall of Fame announced the news but did not disclose McCarver's cause of death.

"Tim McCarver's immense impact on baseball spanned generations, from a 21-year career on the field to the broadcast booth, where his insights and passion for the game made him one of its most beloved voices—and the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting excellence," said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairperson of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Tim enjoyed celebrating the game, and he was a consistent presence in Cooperstown during our annual Induction Weekend events. On behalf of the Hall of Fame members and all of us in Cooperstown, we share our heartfelt condolences with his family and friends, and with all of the fans who he entertained and informed for more six decades."

McCarver played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox over the course of his 21-year MLB career. He hit a tiebreaking home run in Game 5 of the 1964 World Series on his way to his first ring and won a second in St. Louis three years later. The Cardinals inducted McCarver into their Hall of Fame in 2017.

After his playing career ended in 1980, McCarver found a second career in baseball as a broadcaster. He was on the broadcast team for 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games, being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inducted McCarver in 2016.

"I think there is a natural bridge from being a catcher to talking about the view of the game and the view of the other players," McCarver said in his Hall of Fame speech. "It is translating that for the viewers."

McCarver officially retired from broadcasting in 2022. He last called games during the 2019 season before stepping aside in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.