Rico Carty, the 1970 National League batting champion with the Atlanta Braves, passed away on Saturday at the age of 85.
Rico Carty Has Passed Away at 85
Rico Carty enjoyed a standout MLB career from 1963 to 1979, despite missing the entire 1968 season due to tuberculosis and 1971 because of a knee injury. He played for several teams, including the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1963-72), Texas Rangers (1973), Chicago Cubs (1973), Oakland Athletics (1973, 1978), Cleveland Indians (1974-77), and Toronto Blue Jays (1978, 1979).
Primarily known for his time with the Braves, Carty was inducted into their Hall of Fame last year. Renowned for his flamboyant playing style, he popularized one-handed catches in left field before they became common. Over his career, the right-handed hitter posted an impressive .299/.369/.464 slash line with 204 home runs, 890 RBIs, and a 132 OPS+. His best season came in 1970, when he won the NL batting title with a .366 average and led the league with a .454 on-base percentage.
Primarily a left fielder, Rico Carty also played at the other outfield positions, first base, and even caught 17 games in 1966, where he impressively threw out 50% of attempted base stealers. Though considered an average fielder overall, he excelled in 1966, leading all NL left fielders with 218 putouts.
“I Believe He’s Capturin’ Their Imagination”
Rico Carty’s infectious smile and approachable nature endeared him to fans everywhere he played. As a rookie from the Dominican Republic, Carty quickly made an impression. During a Sunday afternoon game in Milwaukee, he hit two home runs. After his second blast, a fan in the left-field bleachers shouted, “Rico, baby, we love you!” Carty glanced back with a beaming smile. Watching the moment unfold, his manager, Bobby Bragan, turned to coach Dixie Walker and remarked, “I believe that fellow is capturin’ their imagination.”
Bragan expanded on the thought to McHugh, saying, “I don’t know how to describe it, but Rico does things with a flourish—like catching the ball one-handed, running out from under his cap, and pounding his bat on the ground when he misses a third strike.”
“I Never Gave Up”
After missing the entire 1968 season, Rico Carty made a triumphant return in 1969, slashing .342/.401/.549 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs. Reflecting on his comeback, he told Al Abrams of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “My belief in God and my body helped me come through.” This was a time when players from opposing teams would often sit down for interviews with writers. Carty continued, “I never gave up. I knew in my heart I would come back. Why [did] I know? Because I have faith. I also know I never been sick, bad, since I was one year [old].”
Carty played a pivotal role in the Braves’ historic 1969 season. His seventh-inning sacrifice fly off Wayne Granger on September 30 broke a tie and secured a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, clinching the Braves’ first-ever NL West Division title. In the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Carty made the most of his lone postseason appearance, going 3-for-10 with two doubles and three walks.
“A Hitter Has to Be Like a Sportswriter”
Rico Carty delivered a remarkable season in 1970, slashing .366/.454/.584 with 25 home runs, 101 RBIs, and an impressive 171 OPS+. At one point, he was batting .401 as late as June 17. However, by June 26, his average had dipped slightly to .377, and he confessed to Ira Berkow of the Newspaper Enterprise Association that he was tired of the constant questions about hitting .400.
Carty drew an interesting comparison, saying, “A hitter has to be like a sportswriter. He cannot be bashful. In my job, be bold. I walk into every pitcher and I’m not scared of any of them, no matter if his name is Seaver, Gibson, Marichal, Maloney, Dierker.”
After sitting out the 1971 season and posting a modest .277 average in 1972, the Braves moved on from Rico Carty, sending him to the Texas Rangers. From there, Carty became something of a journeyman, playing for several teams before wrapping up his career with the Oakland A’s under Charlie O. Finley and the expansion Toronto Blue Jays. Both clubs were popular destinations for veteran hitters transitioning to designated hitter roles in their final seasons.
The Last Word
In 1995, Post-Gazette sportswriter Paul Meyer overheard a conversation between former Pirates pitcher and broadcaster Steve Blass and Felipe Alou, then managing the Montreal Expos and a former teammate of Rico Carty. Blass remarked, “You know, Rico Carty was the best two-strike hitter I ever pitched against. He would shorten up his stroke on two strikes, and he was so strong he could almost play ‘pepper’ in games and do pretty much what he wanted to do with two strikes.”
Alou nodded in agreement, adding, “To this day, I think he was the best two-strike hitter I’ve ever seen in baseball.”
