Where have you gone Rico Carty?
Rory Ryan
By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press
According to the Baseball Almanac, Rico Carty is the 257th oldest living former Major League Baseball player, right between Dooley Womack at 256 and Tom Parsons at 258.
For the record, I have never heard of Womack or Parsons. (In case you are interested, the list – from 1 to 1,000 – is online at https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/Oldest_Living_Baseball_Players….)
Carty, 84, was an outfielder, mostly for the Milwaukee Braves and the Atlanta Braves. At 6-3 and 200 pounds, he was nicknamed "Beeg Boy."
He was one of the first prominent Major Leaguers from the Dominican Republic – and that was significant.
Carty represented the Dominican Republic in the 1959 Pan American Games and signed a contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. He was an excellent hitter, but not a great defensive player. Originally a catcher, Carty was converted into an outfielder in order to lessen his defensive liabilities and to get his bat into the everyday lineup.
He made his Major League debut for the Milwaukee Braves in September 1963 – and no, I do not remember it. My baseball interest (back then an obsession) started a few years later.
Carty had an impressive first full season in 1964, finishing second to Roberto Clemente for the National League batting title with a .330 average and finishing the season as runner-up to Dick Allen in the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year Award ballot.
Carty played in the Major Leagues from 1963-79, mostly with the Braves, where he helped the franchise win its first National League Western Division title in 1969. Carty had a career batting average of .299 and was the 1970 National League batting champion with a .366 batting average. He earned a starting role in the 1970 All-Star Game as a write-in candidate.
Carty's best season was in 1970, when he hit 25 home runs with 101 runs batted in and won the National League batting title with a .366 batting average, the highest average in the Major Leagues since Ted Williams – the greatest hitter who ever played the game – recorded a .388 batting average in 1957 when he was almost 40 years old.
Despite not appearing on the All-Star ballot, Carty was voted to be a starting outfielder for the National League as a write-in candidate in the 1970 All-Star Game, playing alongside Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in the outfield. It would be the only All-Star appearance of Carty's career.
It always bothered me that Carty's lifetime average ended at .299. A career average of .300 or higher used to be a strong consideration for the Hall of Fame. Carty fell just short.
Carty’s career-best 171 OPS+ from the 1970 season is the third-highest mark ever by a Braves player over at least 130 games during the Atlanta era. Aaron topped this four times in his career, including twice (1969 and 1971) after the club moved from Milwaukee.
As I recall from watching and attending Cincinnati Reds games vs. the Atlanta Braves with my dad, Carty always seemed to be one of the best hitters in the game – for either team. He had an aggressive stance at the plate, like he was ready to crush whatever Jim Merritt or Gary Nolan had to offer.
In addition to his Braves career, Carty also played for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers.
His career was marked by battles with injuries, illnesses (tuberculosis) and teammates. Carty’s tenure was tarnished by a clubhouse fight he had with Ron Reed, and the punches he exchanged with Aaron on a team flight in 1967.
In 1996, Carty was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame as part of their inaugural class, and in 2023 he was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame.
Where Rico Carty is today, I have no idea. Maybe my friend and fellow baseball fan Jeff Ryan might know. Jeff (no relation) and I had good conversations about baseball and its many changes through the years when I was a newspaper publisher in West Union a quarter of a century ago.
Carty was good. There can be no doubt about that. And he paved the way for many, many future players from the Dominican Republic – including the Reds talented and popular shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper. He can be reached at roryeryan@gmail.com.
Comment
Rico Carty
I was 14 or 15 years old. I went to a Braves game at the old County Stadium. Me and my friends waited in the parking lot for autographs. All I had was half of my ticket (like ones you get now to ride a roller coaster). Rico came out, signing autographs, and my turn came. I handed him my less than 1 inch by 1 inch ticket stub. He took it and gave me a look that said, REALLY? And he signed it.
Rico Carty
I found him...
Hi, I'm Rico Carty's stepson.
He's in good health, but as I always say, I notice that the world forgets that sometimes what one contributed or did is worthless. Everyone knows that in those days, baseball players didn't make money. And my old man receives very little money these days. Regards.
•••Publisher's note: I always admired Rico Carty and thought he was underrated. And you are correct, players back then were underpaid.
Rico Carty Baseball Bat Giveaway
I received a red Rico Carty bat from a 1970's era Cleveland Indians Game... and my brother had the red Alan Ashby bat. I think they were given out on the same day. I was hoping to find the date somewhere. So Rico became my favorite player and I was sad when he was traded to the Blue Jays in '78.
Rico Carty
Saw him play with Braves in 1965-1966. I was always taken by his flash, his exuberance, and gosh could he hit!
I had sort of forgotten he got into a fight with Henry Aaron, boy that takes some kahunas! Also Ron Reed, who was 6.6 and not a shrinking violet. Loved those Braves teams, came up way short in World Series wins, only 1957 I think, then lost to Yankees in 1958. But, boy those were the days, and Carty, with that wide smile and incredible whip of the bat....how good he was is cemented by the fact that, after being left out of the "bigs" in his late 30's and then playing in the Mexican League, he was brought back by Cleveland and had something like 83 RBIS nearing 40. What a player! Would love to shake his hand. Anyone who knows how to reach him, I gather he is in his birth place, San Pedro de Macoris, the most populous baseball mecca in the Dominican Republic, based on number of big leaguers / per population (217,000)! Thank you Rico, you played with verve and fun, loved watching you hit!!!!!!!!!!!!!..and you played when they paid peanuts, compared to today!!
Rico
Sorry Rory, afraid I am not helpful concerning the whereabouts or condition of said Rico. Perhaps Mr./Miss Google could provide information.
But I do remember the name and the fact that he was one heckuva hitter. Funny, the name that popped into my head reading your article was none other than Eddie Matthews. He was quite the hitter in more ways than one.
No doubt Rico helped pave the way for our present Dominican Dandy. From the dirt lots to the big leagues with a joyous passion. He is definitely must watch tv, Apple notwithstanding.
•••••Publisher's note: Jeff, my first Little League baseball bat was an Eddie Mathews model.