The Passing of Gary Carter
I can’t imagine any Met fan who followed the team in the 80’s would believe that The Kid would be the first to leave us. I think the saying only the good die young really applies here. I’m definitely sad that he’s gone but happy in the fact that he’s no longer suffering and has gone on to a better place. My condolences go out to his family.
What do the Mets do from here? One of my initial reactions to hearing of his passing was for the Mets to retire his number at Citi Field. But then I think if the Mets do retire his number this season, is that only because he passed? The news that Carter had the malignant tumors in his brain surfaced last May, couldn’t they have honored him some point last season? Does the fact that he only played 5 seasons as a Met factor in? Could it be because he’s actually in the Hall of Fame as an Expo? Keith Hernandez arrived in NY before Carter and his number isn’t retired either so can you even retire Carter before Hernandez?
Personally I’d like to see them retire both Hernandez and Carter but if that’s not what the team decides, how about re-naming the Robinson Rotunda to Carter? Believe me I understand the significance of Jackie Robinson and what he meant to the game and specifically National League Baseball, but he never played for the Mets. Every MLB team has Robinson’s number retired; did we have to dedicate a section of our stadium to him as well?
Fellow Mets fans, what would you like to see the Mets do to honor Carter’s legacy?
