Carty was signed by the Braves in October 1959, and played 4 seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut in September 1963. During his first 3 seasons in the minors, he was exclusively a catcher. In 1963, he played both catcher and outfield.
During his rookie season in 1964, Rico compiled a .330 batting average (2nd behind Roberto Clemente). He also finished 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Richie Allen.
Carty hit over .300 during the 1965 and 1966 seasons, while his defensive shortcomings were nicely hid as the left fielder. He also started 14 games behind the plate in 1966, despite regular catcher Joe Torre being in the lineup at 1st base (I can't figure that one out!)
After an off-year in 1967, Rico missed the entire 1968 season due to tuberculosis, but roared back with batting averages of .342 in 1969 and a league-leading .366 in 1970. That season he also hit 25 home runs, collected 101 RBI, and was in the starting all-star lineup despite not being on the ballot.
Carty missed another entire season (1971) with a knee injury, and was never the same after that. Following the 1972 season, he was traded to the Rangers, and spent the remainder of his career bouncing around to several teams (primarily the Rangers, Indians, Blue Jays) as a DH and some-time outfielder.
Carty retired after the 1979 season.
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2 comments:
The story goes (according to Jim Bouton) that Rico Carty didn't trust banks or the clubhouse vault and carried his wallet on the field in his back pocket.
Bob,
I also read that as time went by, he got into fights with teammates, including Hank Aaron.
(I also learned yesterday that Aaron played 1st base for half of 1971 and all of 1972. He then returned to outfield (although in left) for his final 2 seasons in Atlanta.)
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