The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tim Mccarver, former catcher and broadcaster, dies at 81
Tim Mccarver, the All-star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country’s most recognized TV commentators, died Thursday. He was 81. Mccarver’s death was announced by baseball’s Hall of Fame, which said he died Thursday morning in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was with his family.
Among the few players to appear in major league games during four different decades, Mccarver was a two-time All Star who worked closely with two future Hall of Fame pitchers: the tempestuous Bob Gibson, whom Mccarver caught for St. Louis in the 1960s, and the introverted Steve Carlton, Mccarver’s fellow Cardinal in the ’60s and a Philadelphia Phillies teammate in the 1970s. He switched to television soon after retiring in 1980 and became best known to national audiences for his 18-year partnership on Fox with play-by-play man Joe Buck.
“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 told the Hall in 2012, the year he and Buck were given the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting.
Mccarver was signed while still in high school by the Cardinals, just 17 when he debuted for them in 1959 and in his early 20s when he became the starting catcher.
Few catchers were strong hitters during the ’60s, but Mccarver batted .270 or higher for five consecutive seasons and was fast enough to become the first in his position to lead the league in triples. He had his best year in 1967 when he hit .295 with 14 home runs, finishing second for Most Valuable Player behind teammate Orlando Cepeda as the Cards won their second World Series in four years.
Mccarver met Carlton when the left-hander was a rookie in 1965. “Behind every successful pitcher, there has to be a very smart catcher, and Tim Mccarver is that man,” Carlton said during his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1994.
During a 21-year career, when he also played briefly for the Expos and Red Sox, Mccarver hit .271 and only twice struck out more than 40 times in a season.
Younger baseball fans first knew him from his work in the broadcast booth, whether local games for the Mets and Yankees, as Jack Buck’s partner on CBS or with Joe Buck for Fox from 1996-2013. Mccarver won six Emmys, becaming enough of a brand name to be a punchline on “Family Guy,” write a handful of books, make cameos in movies, and even record an album, “Tim Mccarver Sings Songs from the Great American Songbook.”
Many found Mccarver’s broadcasting informative and entertaining. Others thought him infuriating. Mccarver did not cut himself short whether explaining baseball strategy or taking on someone’s performance on the field. In 1992, his criticism of Deion Sanders for playing two sports on the same day led to the Braves outfielder/falcons defensive back dumping a bucket of water on his head.