Gary Carter Death: Hall of Fame Mets Catcher Loses Battle with Brain Cancer at 57

New York Mets Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter lost his battle with brain cancer, dying Thursday at a hospital near his home in West Palm Beach where he had been receiving hospice care for the last week. He was 57.

“I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 pm.,” Carter’s daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote on the family’s website. “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know. He is in heaven and has reunited with his mom and dad. I believe with all my heart that dad had a STANDING OVATION as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus.”

As our own Dusten Carlson reported earlier, Carter originally was diagnosed with four brain tumors last May. In recent months, the family hoped that, with chemotherapy and other treatments, the tumors were in check. But in January, the family revealed that doctors found several new tumors on Carter’s brain.

In an interview at the time, expressed to the Daily News his frustration and fears about his worsening condition.

“This is an incredible journey, nothing I could have ever imagined,” he said. “God is helping me get through this.”

Nicknamed “Kid” for his relentless energy and enthusiasm, his boyish smile and his genuine love for the game, Carter played nearly two decades with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

An 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Gary is probably best remembered for His bottom-of-the-10th single in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series helped the New York Mets mount a charge against the Boston Red Sox and eventually beat them.

Carter, also the first Expo inducted into the HoF, finished his 19-year MLB career with a .262 average, 324 home runs and 1,225 RBIs.

ESPN reflects on the life and career of Gary Carter in the video clip below:

via ESPN