Gary Carter's First Game at Dodger Stadium

Rookie Gary Carter in 1975

Gary Carter was a good man and the world is a lessor place today with his passing.  A player with an infectious smile and a man that lived with tremendous faith.  Everyone that came in contact with him has positive things to say.  He was a man that knew the proper priorities in life and put his family first.  He was a Hall of Famer in life as well as baseball.

The "Kid" was a SoCal phenomenom, out of Fullerton's Sunny Hills High School, and many of us were aware of him before his arrival to the big leagues.  Starting the '75 season for Montreal in right field the day before his 21st birthday, Gary went 3 for 4 with a homer on opening day.  By May 12th, veteran Expo Manager Gene Mauch decided that the enthusiastic "kid" was to replace journeyman catcher Barry Foote behind the dish. I remember attending his first Major League game in Southern California.  Many were excited to see the young local boy start his first game at Dodger Stadium.  It was June 9, 1975.  I'm sure for Gary, it was to be a special night.  It didn't turn out that way.  As you can see by the box score.

Montreal

Batting            AB R H RBI BB SO BA  OPS

Mangual CF    4   0  0  0    0    2    .270   .697

Lintz 2B            4   0  0  0    0   1    .242   .578

Coggins RF    3   0  1  0    1   0    .286   .734

Biitner LF    4   0  2  0    0   0    .383   .901

Jorgnsen 1B    3   0  0  0   1   1    .229   .729

Scanlon 3B    4   0  0  0   0   1    .244   .764

Carter C         4   0  0  0   0   4   .262   .768

Foli SS            2   0  1  0  1   0   .222   .546

Fryman P    2   0  0  0  0   2   .174   .469

DeNola P    0   0  0  0  0   0   .000   .000

Bailey PH    1   0  0  0  0   1   .212   .536

Taylor P            0   0  0  0  0   0   .000   .000

Totals  31   0  4  0  3 12   .129   .335

TB: L Biitner 2; R Coggins; T Foli.

Team LOB: 7.

With RISP: 0 for 4

Los Angeles

Batting       AB R H RBI BB SO BA  OPS

Lopes 2B       4   0 0 0 0 1 .249  .723

Paciorek LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .183  .494

Wynn CF 3 2 2 1 1 0 .286  .961

Cruz PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235  .542

Garvey 1B 4 1 1 1 0 1 .321  .824

Cey 3B         4 0 1 1 0 0 .269  .788

Ferguson RF 3 0 1 0 1 0 .199  .628

Yeager C 2 1 1 0 1 0 .210  .586

Auerbach SS3 0 1 1 0 0 .191  .536

Messrsmth P 3 0 0 0 0 1 .283  .676

Totals 30 4 7 4 3 3 .233  .736

2B: R Auerbach (8, off W Fryman)

3B: S Garvey (4, off W Fryman).

HR: J Wynn (12, off W Fryman; 5th inn. 0 on, 1 out to LF).

SH: S Yeager (2, off D DeMola).

TB: J Wynn 5; S Garvey 3; R Auerbach 2; J Ferguson; R Cey; S Yeager.

RBI: R Auerbach (10); R Cey (33); J Wynn (36); S Garvey (38).

2-out RBI: S Garvey; R Cey.

Team LOB: 6.

With RISP: 1 for 6.

Montreal

Pitching      IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF

Fryman, L (5-3) 5       5 4 4 3 1 1 2.78 23

DeMola     2       2 0 0 0 2 0 2.88 8

C Taylor     1       0 0 0 0 0 0 4.28 3

Totals     8       7 4 4 3 3 1 4.50 34

Los Angeles

Pitching    IP     H      R ER BB SO HR ERA BF

Messrsmth        9     4       0 0 3 12 0 1.90 34

W, (9-2)

Totals    9     4       0 0 3 12 0 0.00 34

Balks: None.

WP: None.

HBP: None.

IBB: None.

Pickoffs: None.

Umpires: HP - Andy Olsen, 1B - Terry Tata, 2B - Ed Sudol, 3B - Bill Williams.

Time of Game: 1:57.

Attendance: 22,701

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With family and friends in attendance and excitement and butterflies in his belly, Gary struck out four times against veteran pitcher Andy Messersmith who threw a 4 hit shutout in less than two hours.  I'll never forget the kid in his final at bat in the bottom of the ninth.  With the Dodgers up 4-0, the Expos mounted their first threat of the night.  Messersmith had walked the first batter and then gave up a single to Larry Biitner.  After retiring the next two hitters, the young rookie eagerly stepped to the plate amongst a lot of fanfare.  He wanted to redeem himself desperately and there was a lot of excitement in the air.  Carter swung from the heals on two pitches as any eager Rookie would, coming up empty and then Messersmith pulled the string on a slow breaking ball that hit the corner, faking Gary out of his shoes as he took it for a called third strike to end the game.  Home plate umpire Andy Olsen emphatically called him out and the crowd went wild as the Dodgers ran off the field victorious.  

Carter twisted and swung his bat in the air in frustration as he complained at the called third strike and stomped back to the dugout.  Many in the crowd laughed as the young rookie ended his disastrous home town debut in dramatic fashion.

The next night was more favorable to Gary as he went 1 for 3 in an Expo 5-4 victory over the Dodgers.

I was hoping to have the opportunity to one day talk to Gary about that first night against the Dodgers that I witnessed.  I even had purchased an Carter Expo jersey made by Mitchell and Ness and was ready to purchase a ticket for a signing last May at the San Francisco Cow Palace where he was to appear.  Sadly, his illness surfaced and the cancellation was in order.

I sent Gary a get well card, and hoped and prayed for him and his family.   Fullerton mourns the loss of one of their great sons.  Fellow Fullerton Hall of Famer Walter Johnson now has a batterymate to catch that slingshot blazing fastball of his.  Rest in Peace Gary, you were one of the greatest.