About 2,000 pay tribute to Carter
Palm Beach Atlantic pitcher Logan Thomas speaks at a memorial service for Hall-of-Fame catcher Gary Carter. (Feb. 24, 2012) Credit: AP
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- People who knew Gary Carter agree with what his daughter Kimmy Bloemers said, that "Dad had a standing ovation as he walked through the gates of heaven." For good measure, many of them gathered Friday night and treated him to one final, emphatic curtain call down here, too.
They celebrated the Hall of Fame catcher and Mets great, not with the sort of loud cheers that used to get him to the top step of the Shea Stadium home dugout but with memories, hymns and their presence, about 2,000 strong at Christ Fellowship Church. They recalled his career, his life, his faith and his smile. As far as they were concerned, he was a Hall of Famer in every one of those.
"I don't cry for you, Gary, I cry for me," said fellow Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, whom Carter grew up idolizing. "We loved you so much. Gary, thanks for letting me in your life."
Bench -- speaking at a lectern in front of a large picture of Carter, smiling, as a Met -- also referred to the quality that was on everyone else's mind: the enthusiasm that earned him the nickname "Kid." He had enough of it to fill Shea Stadium, his own home, the church and anywhere else.
Sure, during his playing days, some people were skeptical that anyone could be so relentlessly upbeat. "But he wasn't phony," Darryl Strawberry said outside the large worship hall. "He was the real deal. He walked the walk. It wasn't a show, it was just his life. This man lived a wonderful life.
"The last time I got a chance to talk to him, he said, 'Straw, I've been blessed. If it's God's will for me to go, I'll be happy with it,' " the former slugger said. "I know God is very proud of him right now."
People came from all over to pay tribute. Lenny Dykstra, who has had financial and legal troubles, flew in from Los Angeles. Tim Raines, who credited Carter with helping him break in with the Expos and who managed against him in the Atlantic League when Carter led the Long Island Ducks, came from Arizona. Many other former and current Mets players and executives also made it.
They saw photos of Carter and his high school sweetheart, Sandy, his wife of 37 years. They heard Bloemers and her sister speak about Carter walking them down the aisle at their weddings. They heard Carter's son D.J. recalling being impressed at what a celebrity his dad was when he threw a ceremonial first pitch during the 2000 World Series at Shea. They heard pastor Tom Mullins compare Carter to Barnabas in the Acts of the Apostles: "Many people were brought to the Lord because of his life."
And they remembered that Carter really was that positive, even when he was suffering from brain cancer in the past year.
When the Mets were an out away from losing the 1986 World Series to the Red Sox -- down by two runs with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the 10th in Game 6 -- Carter singled to ignite the rally that saved the season.
"I made the first out of that inning, Keith made the second out," Wally Backman said. "I can remember him saying, 'We're still going to do this, we're still going to do this.' "
His friends don't believe that ever will end. Rusty Staub, a close friend who crossed paths with Carter in Montreal, New York and Palm Beach, said, "He's smiling down right now, I know it."
