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George Commo's Blog - Friday 2-17-12

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Created on Friday, 17 February 2012 12:45

Written by George Commo

Gary Carter died yesterday ...

The media is remembering him as a Met ... they are tying him to the Mets amazing comeback to beat the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series ... but for me that painful memory has nothing to do with Gary Carter. Go to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown ... take a look at his plaque in the Hall of Honor. Gary Carter is and always will be a Montreal Expo.

They called him The Kid. He came to Montreal in the mid-70's ... and immediately injected life into a moribund franchise. Soon he was joined by guys like Andre Dawson, Warren Cromartie, Ellis Valentine, Tim Raines and Steve Rogers. They moved into the Olympic Stadium and began a great run ... a run that sadly never quite made it to the World Series ... buta run that was exciting nonetheless. Those were days when baseball mattered in Montreal, and The Kid was at the center of it.

He had his critics ... "Carter never met a camera he didn't like" was the complaint. He was called "a media hog" ... the guy who always had to be there with the soundbite. But as a young radio/TV guy from Vermont ... a little shy about coming up and interviewing sometimes surly big league players ... The Kid was a breath of fresh air. He was always accessible ... always willing to give you a few minutes ... and when you spoke with him he always remembered your name and would answer you by name in the interview ... and he would smile and THANK YOU when it was over.

It was interesting watching the reaction to his passing yesterday. As I said earlier the national and New York media spoke of him almost exclusively as a Met. But up north the death of Gary Carter actually brought back some good memories. It was the lead story on the Montreal TV news. It actually bumped the Canadiens back to story two. For one sad day The Kid awakened memories of the days when there was Major League Baseball in Montreal ... and it mattered. He made it matter in the mid-70's ... and he made it matter again yesterday.

Thanks Kid.