Two-time MLB All-Star catcher Tim McCarver dies at age of 81

Former Major League Baseball catcher Tim McCarver of Memphis, Tennessee passed away at the age of 81 on Thursday. McCarver played 21 seasons at the Major League level. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals for a dozen seasons (1959 to 1961, 1963 to 1969, 1973 to 1974), the Philadelphia Phillies for nine seasons (1970 to 1972 and 1975 to 1980), one season with the Montreal Expos (1972), and two seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1974 and 1975). After his Major League Baseball playing career, McCarver was a famous baseball broadcaster. He was best known for his time as FOX as the lead analyst from 1996 to 2013.

MLB Career Statistics

McCarver batted .271 with 97 home runs and 645 runs batted in. During 1909 Major League Baseball games, 6206 plate appearances, and 5529 at bats, he scored 590 runs and had 1501 hits, 242 doubles and 57 triples, to go along with 61 stolen bases, 548 walks, 2148 total bases, 35 sacrifice bunts, 64 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .337, and a slugging percentage of .388.

Two-time All-Star

McCarver represented the Cardinals and the National League in the 1966 and 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Games. In 1966, he batted .274 with 12 home runs and 68 runs batted in. During 150 games, 586 plate appearances, and 543 at bats, McCarver scored 50 runs and had 149 hits, 19 doubles, a Major League baseball leading 13 triples, nine stolen bases, 36 walks, 230 total bases, and five sacrifice flies. McCarver had career highs that season in hits, triples, stolen bases and total bases.

In 1967, McCarver batted .295 with 14 home runs and 69 runs batted in. During 138 games, 540 plate appearances, and 471 at bats, he scored 68 runs, and had 139 hits, 26 doubles, three triples, eight stolen bases, 54 walks, 213 total bases, four sacrifice bunts, six sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .369, and a slugging percentage of .452. McCarver had career-highs in runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, walks, and batting average. Also in 1967, McCarver was second in National League Most Valuable Player voting, only behind his Cardinals’s teammate, first baseman Orlando Cepeda of Ponce, Puerto Rico.