Former Mets Broadcaster Tim McCarver Dead At 81

QUEENS, NY — Tim McCarver, an All-Star catcher and decorated former New York Mets broadcaster has died, the Mets and MLB confirmed in tweets Thursday afternoon. He was 81.

McCarver’s death was first announced by baseball’s Hall of Fame, which said he died Thursday morning in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was with his family.

"Tim McCarver was an All-Star, a World Series Champion, a respected teammate, and one of the most influential voices our game has known," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in a statement. "As a player, Tim was a key part of great Cardinals and Phillies teams in his 21-year career. In the booth, his analysis and attention to detail brought fans closer to our game and how it is played and managed. Tim’s approach enhanced the fan experience on our biggest stages and on the broadcasts of the Mets, the Yankees and the Cardinals.

During his 60 years in baseball, McCarver won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as one of the country’s most recognized, incisive, and talkative television commentators.

“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 his broadcast partner Joe Buck were given the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. “It is translating that for the viewers. One of the hard things about television is staying contemporary and keeping it simple for the viewers.”

McCarver's trademark was his wide breadth of knowledge. He would spend hours preparing for each game and spent his spare time visiting art museums and reading books. He could recite poetry from memory.

He was known for his calls, which at times seemed psychic.

In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, the score was tied at 2 between the Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Yankees drew in their infield with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 9th. Relief ace Mariano Rivera was facing Arizona’s Luis Rodriquez.

“Rivera throws inside to left-handers,” McCarver observed. “Lefthanders get a lot of broken-bat hits into shallow outfield, the shallow part of the outfield. That’s the danger of bringing the infield in with a guy like Rivera on the mound.”

Moments later, Gonzalez’s bloop to short center field drove in the winning run.

McCarver and his wife, Anne McDaniel, had homes in Sarasota, Florida, and Napa, California. In recent years, McCarver announced part-time for Fox Sports Midwest and worked the occasional Cards game before sitting out the 2020 season because of concerns about COVID-19. Besides the Frick award, he was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, in 2017.

"We are saddened to learn of the passing of Cardinals Hall of Fame catcher Tim McCarver," the Cardinals wrote in a tweet. " ... McCarver caught 12 seasons in St. Louis over his 21-year career. Our condolences go out to the McCarver family and his many baseball friends and colleagues."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.