#205 Gary Carter

About the Front: Gary Carter's final Topps card is excellent. He's back with the Expos, and he's down in the dirt and showing the umpire the ball. Was Fred McGriff safe or out? Out! It was the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, July 5, 1992. Phil Stephenson hit a two-out single, and McGriff attempted to score from second but was cut down at the plate on a throw by left fielder John Vander Wal. It was a big play, as it kept the San Diego lead at one run. Montreal tied in the ninth and won it in the tenth.

About the Back: There you have Carter's complete career batting record. He hit 298 of those home runs as a catcher, still sixth-most all-time.

Triple Play:

1. He hit his first career home run off of Steve Carlton on September 28, 1974.

2. Gary drove in nine runs in the 1986 World Series against Boston, including back-to-back three-RBI efforts in the Mets' wins in Games Three and Four.

3. Carter was just 57 when he died in February 2012 after battling brain tumors for nearly a year.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: At that time, I didn't appreciate how cool it was to get a Gary Carter card in this set. Nor did I realize that I'd just missed out on witnessing the Kid's career.

Bill James Said: Carter was retired in 1993, and didn't appear in James' Player Ratings.

On This Date in 1993: April 30. Tennis star Monica Seles is ambushed and stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany. The assailant is a crazed fan of Seles' rival, Steffi Graf.