Former All-Star Rico Carty passed away yesterday, according to a report from Dominican newspaper Listin Diario. The 15-year MLB veteran was 85 years old.
Born in San Pedro de Macoris, Carty signed with the then-Milwaukee Braves prior to the 1960 season as a catcher. During his time in the minor leagues, he converted to the outfield and, after a brief cup of coffee in 1963, emerged as the Braves’ regular left fielder during the 1964 season. In 133 games, Carty slashed an excellent .330/.388/.554 with 22 homers and 28 doubles. That excellent season earned him a second place finish behind Phillies infielder Dick Allen in Rookie of the Year voting. Back issues limited Carty to just 83 games the following year, though he continued to hit well when healthy enough to take the mound.
Following the Braves’ relocation to Atlanta in 1966, Carty remained a fixture of the club’s lineup. He hit well during the club’s first year in Atlanta but slumped somewhat the following year as he slashed a relatively tepid .255/.329/.401 that, while decent, fell well short of his typical standards as a hitter. Carty then proceeded to miss the 1968 season due to a tuberculosis diagnosis. The ailment wiped out his entire season, but the slugger managed to recovery in time to return to the Braves early in May of 1969. Upon his return, he enjoyed the best offensive season of his career to that point with an excellent .342/.401/.549 slash line in 104 games.
After impressing in his return from illness the previous year, the 1970 season saw Carty reach his peak in his first full season back after recovering from tuberculosis. Then in his age-30 season, the slugger slashed an incredible .366/.454/.584 as he slugged 25 homers and 23 doubles while leading the league in both batting average and on-base percentage across 136 games. The superlative season saw Carty named an All-Star for the first and only time in his career and led him to a tenth-place finish in NL MVP voting behind titans of the game such as Johnny Bench, Billy Williams, Bob Gibson, and Willie McCovey.
Before Carty could follow up on that excellent season, however, he suffered a disastrous knee injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. He underwent surgery and tried to return to action in time for Spring Training 1971, but ultimately missed the entire season due to the injury. He returned to the lineup in 1972 but struggled to stay healthy once again and found himself limited to 86 games as he hit .277/.378/.408 with just six homers. That was Carty’s final season in a Braves uniform, as he was traded to the Rangers in October 1972.
The 1973 season was a tumultuous one for Carty. After suffering a fractured jaw while playing winter ball in the offseason, he began the season as the first regular DH in Rangers history but hit just .232/.311/.301 in 86 games with the club and bounced from the Cubs to the A’s throughout the remainder of the season after being placed on waivers. Those struggles seemed as though they may be the end of Carty’s career, but he caught fire after signing with the Mexican League’s Cafeteros de Cordoba. That excellent play in Mexico earned him another chance in the big leagues, as Cleveland brass decided to sign him to return to the big leagues.
It’s a gamble that wound up paying off, as Carty would spend four seasons in Ohio. From his signing in 1974 to his departure following the 1978 season, Carty slashed an excellent .303/.372/.455 with 47 homers and 81 doubles as the club’s regular DH. His best season in Cleveland came in 1976, when he slashed .310/.379/.442 and earned some down ballot consideration for the AL MVP award. Carty was traded to the Blue Jays (who had briefly selected him in the 1976 expansion draft before quickly trading him back to Cleveland that same offseason) prior to the 1978 season, and he continued to provide value as he slashed .282/.348/.502 with a career-best 31 homers at the age of 38 in a season split between Toronto and Oakland.
Carty’s big league career came to a close in 1979, when he hit .256/.322/.390 in 132 games for the Blue Jays. He later worked for Toronto as a scout in Latin America and was inducted to the Braves Hall of Fame in 2023. Overall, the 15-year veteran was a career .299/.369/.464 hitter in the big leagues and collected 1677 hits, including 204 home runs, during his time as a major leaguer. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in extending our condolences to Carty’s family, friends, loved ones, and fans.
RIP one of my favourites
RIP Beeg Boy.
RIP to an on base king.
Rico never “took the mound.”
The Beeg Boy could heet! Was cleanup hitter behind the Hammer for years.
As soon as I read that he “hit well when healthy enough to take the mound” I knew without looking that this was a Nick Deeds article.
What a great hitter. Injuries kept him from the hall of fame.
The fact that this dude finished 10th in the MVP voting with a.366/.454/.584 line and 25 bombs is proof that he played during baseball’s greatest era.
He would have finished 2nd in both leagues in 2024 with those numbers, too. So, while you might be right, that is not the proof.
RIP Rico.
Ricardo (Rico) Carty, a legend in DR, RIP.
A great player from my childhood. Enjoyed watching him play. RIP Rico.
One of my non-Cub favs from my childhood. RIP Rico! Injuries robbed him – he had Hall of Fame talent.
Yes! And also one of my stock answers to Immaculate Grid with the intersection of the Cubs and a handful of teams.
Rico was born too early. The AL didn’t adopt the DH until he was 33. If the DH had existed when he broke in no doubt he would have been in the Hall of Fame. Not a particularly good OF. And he would have made enough money that he wouldn’t have needed to play winter ball where he got hurt several times. RIP
Very solid career. RIP!!
Condolences to his family. He was a terrific hitter!
The Mets couldn’t get him out .
I do not enjoy people dying, because obviously that sucks, but I do enjoy these retrospective articles when they do inevitably pass on for introducing me to interesting players from well before my time that don’t get talked about as much as the Bob Gibsons and Mickey Mantles of the world.
Dude was a beast. RIP.
Rico could hit. Injuries really kept him from having the career he was capable of.He was talented. Sad day. RIP.
RIP
Good bye, Beeg Boy.
Rico could hit. And when he was healthy he could hit every pitcher, any pitch, to any part of the field. R.I..P. Beeg Boy.
Borderline HOFer had TB and injuries not robbed him of 2-1/2 prime seasons.
RIP Rico.
Loved this guy, quiet…let his bat do the talking for some great years. Saw him a couple times in Chicago. Health and injury issues kept him out of many full seasons. Blessings to his family.
One of those players who suffered through some nasty injuries. No telling how good he could have been. Condolences to your family and friends. RIP Mr. Carty.
Looking at his Wikipedia page. He played for the Rangers,Cubs and A’s in 1973. It says he had a “personality clash” with Ron Santo which forced the cubs to trade him to Oakland. That’s honestly crazy to read that. I would’ve thought Ron Santo was such a likeable guy never heard anything bad about him.
Hopefully now they can get along as they reunite. Rest in Paradise Rico.
Good player. I remember him from my teen and young adult years.
Might want to fix “though he continued to hit well when healthy enough to take the mound.”
So, this guy was special as a hitter, and if not for major health issues, the sky was the limit to his career. His path was similar to Fred Lynn’s maybe?