Tim McCarver, 81, became one of MLB’s ‘most influential voices’
Tim McCarver, who parlayed his lengthy baseball career into a similarly long stint in the broadcast booth, died Thursday of heart failure at the age of 81, Major League Baseball announced.
“Tim McCarver was an All-Star, a World Series Champion, a respected teammate, and one of the most influential voices our game has known,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “As a player, Tim was a key part of great Cardinals and Phillies teams in his 21-year career. In the booth, his analysis and attention to detail brought fans closer to our game and how it is played and managed. Tim’s approach enhanced the fan experience on our biggest stages and on the broadcasts of the Mets, the Yankees and the Cardinals.
McCarver, a catcher, was one of only a few MLB players to appear in games over the span of four decades. His MLB career began in 1959 with St. Louis, with whom McCarver earned two World Series rings and his only two All-Star nods and finished second in the 1967 National League MVP voting. He caught many of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson’s memorable starts, and the two developed a close relationship, with loaded quips flying back and forth. McCarver was behind the plate in 1968, when Gibson posted his nearly unthinkable 1.12 ERA.
From there, McCarver became something of a journeyman, with stints in Philadelphia (twice), Montreal, St. Louis a second time and Boston. His final seasons were spent helping the Phillies win three straight NL East titles from 1976 to 1978 as ace Steve Carlton’s ”personal catcher“ before McCarver retired after the 1979 season.
In 1980, McCarver came out of retirement to play in six season-ending games so he could join the four-decade club. By then, he already had joined Philadelphia’s broadcast booth, and appearances on NBC and ABC broadcasts soon followed along with a move to New York and Mets broadcasts from
1983 to 1998. McCarver would end up working for all four major U.S. broadcast networks, most notably with Fox after it acquired the MLB rights package in 1996. He called 24 World Series for ABC, CBS and Fox, a record for a color analyst on television.
McCarver’s broadcast career spanned nearly 40 years and included 29 consecutive postseasons, according to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.