Gary Carter’s death yesterday at the age of 57 from brain cancer is the most recent in a string of deaths from the disease to strike the baseball community. Relievers Tug McGraw and Dan Quisenberry, outfielder Bobby Murcer and managers Dick Howser and Jo

His nickname served Gary Carter well right up to his final days. “The Kid.” Once and always, “The Kid.” As his long-time friend Dave Van Horne says, even when it became clear that Mr. Carter’s battle with a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer wa

February, 15, 2012 Feb 15 3:50 PM ET I wrote the other day on baseball's versions of Jeremy Lin -- guys who came out of nowhere to stir up attention on a national scale. Some withstood the test of time (Fernando Valenzuela), some didn't (Hurricane Hazle)

Our next Pinch Hitter is Fred Navarrete, who grew up in New Jersey, attended Rutgers University and now lives in New York City – with his mini-schnauzer, Lulu Guinness — working for a video game publisher. He writes about food, craft beer and occasionall

Our next Pinch Hitter, Stanford Williams, is a 44-year-old Yankees fan who has been married to his wife Anastasia for 23 years. He calls her “an incredible woman,” and the two have three children. One is a student at the University of Virginia Law School

Gary Carter ignited one of the most stunning rallies in World Series history. He started the New York Mets' memorable three-run comeback with a two-out single in the 10th inning of Game 6 against the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 Series. You know the rest -

Baseball Hall of Famer Gary Carter was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer last May. GETTY IMAGES/Stephen Dunn Richard Sandomir New York Times Like her father, Gary Carter, Kimmy Bloemers was a catcher. She played at Florida State. He spent most of hi

In life there are very few moments when you get a sincere opportunity to revisit your youth. Travel back in time to relive something that you really enjoyed when you were young and life couldn’t be any more simple. I had this opportunity this past Sunday

NEW YORK -- It began with a playful 80-year-old Willie Mays talking baseball in commanding fashion for 15 priceless minutes, finally declaring "The Catch" during the 1954 Giants-Indians World Series his most memorable moment in a hallowed Major League Ba

As he is wont to do every now and then, Jose Canseco took to Twitter earlier this week to beg some Major League GMs for a job. The poster boy for the steroid age is a sprightly 47, but he still thinks both that he could handle Major League pitching and t

Like her father, Gary Carter, Kimmy Bloemers was a catcher. She played at Florida State. He spent most of his Hall of Fame career with the Montreal Expos and the Mets. The two extended their sports bond in 2009 when Carter was named the baseball coach a

Gary Carter's fight with brain cancer has turned from brave to extremely grave. On Thursday, Carter's family received a phone call from the doctors at Duke University who have been treating the Mets Hall of Fame catcher informing them that the most recen

Gary Carter’s fight with brain cancer has turned from brave to extremely grave. On Thursday, Carter’s family received a call from the doctors at Duke University who have been treating the Mets’ Hall of Fame catcher, informing them that the most recent MR

Let this be a reminder as to why we have playoffs, and why they serve much better to sports than the BCS. Because they play the games and they settle it on the field, not have their championship games be decided through computers. And I’m not referring t

For Detroit Lions lineman Ndamukong Suh: Two tickets to “Stomp.” (Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith has graciously offered to pick up the tab on this one). For A.J. Burnett: Some stones. The man kind. So that he can become more than just a m

Candy Maldonado was quite possibly the most average player in the history of baseball. He did very little to bring attention to himself. He was never good enough to sniff the All-Star game and just good enough to hit .250 for nine different teams in 14