James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball and a current broadcaster. He began his playing career after being signed by the St. Louis Cardinals from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis in 1959. He hit .359 between Keokuk and Rochester after his signing in 1959 and he was briefly called up to the Cardinals although he was just 17 years old at the time.
He spent the 1960, 1961, and 1962 seasons shuttling between St. Louis and the minor leagues in places like Memphis, Charleston, and Atlanta. By 1963, he was with the big club for good.
McCarver's greatest playing success came with the Cardinals. In 1966, he made his first all star team. In 1967, he finished second to teammate Orlando Cepeda for the National League Most Valuable Player award. He was a member of two World Series champions during his time in St. Louis. Additionally, he fostered a relationship with young pitcher Steve Carlton that would keep him in the major leagues later in his career.
After a trade to Philadelphia involving, among others, his teammate Curt Flood (which led to Flood's dramatic lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause) before the 1970 season, McCarver began a somewhat nomadic existence playing for the Phillies, Expos, Boston, and another brief stint with the Cardinals.
McCarver finished his career as the personal catcher for Steve Carlton for the Phllies in the late 1970s. He retired after the 1979 season to begin a broadcasting career. McCarver briefly returned to duty in September 1980 so he could play in four different decades.
As a broadcaster, McCarver has enjoyed prominence as a color commentator on the network level. He is currently paired with Joe Buck on the Fox network's MLB telecasts, after previous stints with ABC (where he teamed with Al Michaels and Jim Palmer) and CBS (where he teamed with Jack Buck from 1990-1991 and Sean McDonough from 1992-1993). He has also called games locally for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees, and Giants.
McCarver has not been above controversy. In 1992, he criticized Deion Sanders for playing both football and baseball on the same day. For his criticism, Sanders dumped a bucket of water on McCarver during an interview. In 2004, he was criticized by Roger Clemens over the rehashing of a bat throwing incident four years earlier.
In 2003, McCarver set a record by broadcasting his 13th World Series on national television. The first World Series broadcast that McCarver worked on was in 1985. He has won three Emmy Awards for Sports Event Analyst.
The minor league baseball stadium in Memphis was christened "Tim McCarver Stadium" in 1978; it was replaced by a new downtown stadium (named AutoZone Park in a naming rights arrangement) in 2000.
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Last updated: 05-18-2005 13:19:06
