Remembering Tim McCarver's Phillies Career

Tim McCarver was an established Major League star before he ever put on a Phillies uniform. In seven years as the St. Louis Cardinals' starting catcher, McCarver had been an All-Star twice, had played on three National League pennant winners and two World Series Champions, was the star hitter on the 1964 World Champion team, was second in the 1967 MVP balloting, and had caught future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson during his incredible 22-9, 1.12 ERA season in 1968. When McCarver was traded to the Phillies in the infamous Curt Flood/Dick Allen deal, he was expected to slot in as the Phillies starting catcher, but in his nine seasons with the Phillies, McCarver was the #1 catcher for only one season: 1971. His impact with the Phillies eventually rested on his becoming Steve Carlton's personal catcher and on his consistent, timely hitting.

McCarver's first season with the Phillies in 1970 was not even a month old, when he broke a finger on his throwing hand on a Willie Mays foul tip. That injury led to one of the more bizarre incidents in Phillies injury history, when backup catcher Mike Ryan broke a couple of his glove hand fingers in the same inning, trying to tag out an on-sliding Willie McCovey. Ryan somehow finished out the inning but could not continue and was replaced by utility man Jim Hutto, for his first ever Major League appearance behind the plate. You can read the full story of that fateful day here.  McCarver returned to the Phillies in September and hit .316 for the final month. 

After a slow start with the bat in 1971, McCarver recovered to hit a solid .278, He struck out only 26 times in 525 plate appearances over 134 games. Hitting highlights included a game on June 30 where he had two hits including a home run and scored three runs in a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, a three-run home run off the Montreal Expos Mike Marshall that gave the Phillies a come from behind 7-5 victory on July 8 at Veterans Stadium, and a four-hit game against his former team the Cardinals on August 1. The season also featured a fistfight with former Cardinal teammate Lou Brock, when Brock had the temerity to laugh after McCarver dropped a foul popup.

Despite the good offensive numbers, much of the talk after the 1971 season was about McCarver's defensive liabilities, particularly his throwing. McCarver admitted he had never been the strongest throwing catcher, and years of catching and finger injuries had not helped when he went to grip the ball out of his mitt. McCarver was candid about the problems, "I've just never been a strong throwing catcher," he told the Daily News' Bill Conlin. "I got the job done in my good years, but then I started thinking about throwing the ball instead of just throwing it."

McCarver worked hard to improve his throwing under the tutelage of his backup, Mike Ryan, and maintained his starting role for the start of the 1972 season, during which he was reunited with his former Cardinal battery-mate, Steve Carlton. Carlton would, of course, go on to have one of the greatest seasons a pitcher has ever had, but McCarver would not be around for most of Carlton's success. McCarver caught Carlton in 12 of his first 14 starts, compiling a 7-6 record, but he got off slowly with the bat, hitting only .237. On June 14 he was traded to the Montreal Expos for journeyman John Bateman. The trade was precipitated by McCarver's relatively high salary of 70K, more than the Phillies were willing to pay for a hit first catcher who wasn't hitting. Bateman went on to catch most of Carlton's victories in his 27-10 season.

After the trade McCarver wandered from the Expos, back to the Cardinals, and then to the Boston Red Sox. He was used primarily as a first baseman and pinch-hitter. His days as a catcher seemed to be winding down. In July of 1975, however, the Phillies signed McCarver as a free agent and almost immediately he became Steve Carlton's designated catcher. Bill Conlin wrote, "McCarver is to Carlton what Rasputin was to Czarina Alexandra. Carlton and McCarver mix like vodka and tomato juice." The pairing, of course, worked. In 1976, with McCarver doing most of his catching, Carlton regained his 1972 form and led the Phillies to their first playoff appearance in 26 years. When Carlton took the mound in game one of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, McCarver was behind the plate. 

The Phillies, with McCarver usually catching Carlton and otherwise acting as a pinch hitter, won the National League East Division in 1976, 77, and 78. McCarver was still a good hitter. He hit .277, 320, .247, during those years. While he did not hit for high average as a pinch hitter, he contributed enough hits, along with a considerable number of walks to make him valuable in that role. On July 4, 1976, McCarver celebrated the Bicentennial by hitting a grand slam home run in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. Unfortunately, in his excitement, he passed baserunner Garry Maddox between first and second base. He was ruled out at second base and credited with only a three-run single.

By 1979, McCarver's skills on the field had eroded considerably and he retired to the broadcast booth, as had long been his plan. The Phillies brought him back for a cameo at the end of the Championship 1980 season, so that he could become one of the very few players to play in the Major Leagues over four decades, 1959-80. From there McCarver became one of the most insightful and entertaining baseball analysts ever. 

It as a fine ballplayer I prefer to remember him, however. McCarver often spoke for Carlton during Steve's silent years in the Phillies' locker room, but here I would like to turn the tables and give Carlton the final word. In his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1994 Carlton said, "Behind every successful pitcher there is a very smart catcher and Tim McCarver is that man [for me]. Timmy forced me to pitch inside. Early in my career I was reluctant to pitch inside. Timmy had a way to remedy this. He used to set up behind the hitter. There was just the umpire there. I couldn't see him [McCarver}, so I was forced to pitch inside."