By now, we all know the latest news regarding Gary Carter.
And, as they should, tributes to the ailing Hall of Famer are popping up all over the interwebs.
Wednesday, I happened to stumble on New York Post scribe Mike Vaccaro’s piece suggesting that, in light of Carter’s brain cancer, the New York Mets retire their former captain’s number.
Vaccaro made his thoughts known right out of the gate:
The disgrace is that the Mets had 22 years to do the right thing based on performance, based on accomplishment, based on Gary Carter’s inviolable place in the collective heart of their fans. He is a Hall-of-Fame player who played the meat of his prime as a Met. He was the missing piece to a championship puzzle.
I read the rest of the piece in awe.
Dude was right on all fronts. The Mets have, seemingly, all but ignored their legacy and by not having acknowledged “The Kid” by now…they’re pretty much ignoring the importance of his influence on that group of misfits 25 years ago.
Sure, they inducted Carter into their team Hall of Fame…but it wasn’t until 2001. Five years AFTER they enshrined his former teammate on that 1986 World Championship team, Mookie Wilson.
Vaccaro goes on to point out that retiring Carter’s number now would look reactionary given the former team captain’s fight, but, honestly…who cares?
Why wait?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
