Gary Carter Dies at 57: Ranking Carter's 5 Greatest Moments as a Met

On February 16, 2012, the Carter family, the Mets and MLB lost a true legend in Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who succumbed to brain cancer, which he had been battling since May 2011. It was a very sad day for the Mets, their fans, and Carter's former teammates. Although Carter spent the vast majority of his career with the Expos, it became clear that his most memorable years were with the Mets from 1985-1989.

When the Mets acquired Carter from the Expos prior to the 1985 season, he became one of the final pieces of the Mets' quest to win a World Series. The Mets came very close to making the playoffs in 1985, but ultimately fell short to the Cardinals. Nonetheless, Carter did a great job with helping Dwight Gooden win the NL Cy Young Award that year.

In 1986 though, the dream that Carter and the Mets had came true and the Mets won the World Series that year in dramatic fashion. The Mets did not win another World Series title during the rest of Carter's years with the Mets, but the Mets were arguably one of, if not the best team altogether through the 1980s, and Carter was one of the big reasons why the Mets were as consistent as they were when he was around.

Even after Carter left the Mets and eventually retired from playing, he always stayed active within baseball and helped out the Mets in various managerial capacities within the Mets minor league system. With all this being said, it's clear that Carter really enjoyed being a Met and it's unfortunate that the Baseball Hall of Fame did not recognize this when they chose to have Carter inducted as an Expo.

The death of someone as significant as Carter is never a good thing for anyone, but this is also a time to celebrate Carter's blessed life and the great achievements he accomplished. Here are Carter's five greatest moments as a Met.

5. Carter's Two Home Runs in Game 4 of the 1986 World Series

After losing the first two games of the 1986 World Series, the Mets were down 2-0 and going to Fenway Park for the next three games of the series. Many people thought that the Mets were in a deep hole now that the Red Sox were the home team. However, the Mets' offense woke up and won the game 7-1 as Lenny Dykstra hit a leadoff home run and Bob Ojeda pitched well throughout the game.

In Game 4, it was Carter who provided most of the Mets' offense as he hit two home runs over the Green Monster, which helped the Mets win 6-2 and tie the series at 2-2. It gave the Mets hope that they could win the World Series, which they ended up doing.

4. Carter's Walk-off Single in Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS

Before the Mets got to the 1986 World Series, they had to get past the Astros in the NLCS. It was a very exciting series, and once again, Carter was right in the middle of the action.

In Game 5, the Mets and Astros were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie until the bottom of the 12th. Mets' second baseman Wally Backman reached on an infield single and then took second base on Astros pitcher Charlie Kerfeld's pickoff attempt. Kerfeld then intentionally walked Keith Hernandez to face Carter, who had been mired in a 1-21 slump to that point. However, Carter hit a walk-off single to center field to win the game for the Mets and give them a 3-2 series lead as the two teams went back to Houston.

This was a critical game in the end for the Mets, especially since they won Game 6 as well, because it helped them avoid a Game 7 against NL Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott. Scott had been dominating the Mets' offense and had gotten into the hitters' heads. Thus, the chances of the Astros winning that game at home would have been very good.

3. Carter's 300th Career Home Run

In 1988, Carter entered the season with 291 career home runs and got to 299 home runs by May 16. However, Carter fell into a terrible slump and did not hit his 300th career home run until August 11 at Wrigley Field.

Carter had been very anxious at the time to get his 300th career home run out of the way and was very relieved to finally get it done, even if it occurred away from Shea Stadium. Getting to 300 career home runs also helped boost his career credentials even further. He ended up with 324 career home runs when he retired, and his 298 home runs as a catcher ranks sixth all time.

Carter's Opening Day Walk-off Home Run in 1985

On Opening Day of the 1985 season, the Mets were expected to really contend for the World Series, especially after acquiring Carter in the previous offseason. As the Mets' season began, Carter showed his team and its fans why he belonged there.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Mets were tied 5-5 when Carter hit a walk-off home run off former Met Neil Allen to give the Mets the win over their rival, the Cardinals. The two teams then battled all year long for the division crown, but the Cardinals ended up coming out on top by winning 101 games, while the Mets had won 98. Regardless of the NL East outcome, Opening Day still became one of the more fondly remembered moments in Mets history and one of Carter's best moments in his career.

1. Carter's Single That Started the Game 6 Rally in the 1986 World Series

Throughout his career, Carter was always a "team first" player. In other words, the individual numbers didn't matter as much, as long as the team was winning. That was what Carter really cared about and he always made it known to his teammates who fed off Carter's energy.

This became very evident in arguably the greatest inning in Mets history. The Mets were down 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th, Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez both flew out to put the Mets one out away from their amazing season potentially ending in heartbreaking fashion. However, the next batter was Carter and he refused to give up, even with the Mets' backs against the wall.

Carter hit a single to start the famous rally that has become synonymous with the 1986 World Series itself. Rookie Kevin Mitchell, who had replaced slugger Darryl Strawberry thanks to a double switch was next to bat. He followed with a single of his own and the next batter, Ray Knight also hit a single, which allowed Carter to score and put the Mets at a one run deficit.

Red Sox pitcher and former Met Calvin Schiraldi was then replaced with Red Sox closer Bob Stanley. Mets' left fielder Mookie Wilson was next to bat and he worked the count to 2-2. On the seventh pitch, Stanley threw a wild pitch that went to the backstop and allowed Mitchell to score the tying run.

On the 10th pitch of Wilson's at-bat, he hit a ground ball down the first base line that somehow got past Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner and Knight came across the plate to score the winning run, which forced the World Series to go to seventh game. The Mets ultimately won that game and the World Series.

As a result, a lot of credit for the Mets' championship has to go to Carter for not giving up on his team and for starting the greatest rally in baseball history. Being the "team first" player he was, this has to be Carter's greatest moment as a Met without question.