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Ricardo Adolfo Jacobo Carty
Milwaukee Braves
Outfield
Born: September 1, 1939, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Signed: Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent, October 24, 1959
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1963-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966-1967, 1969-1970, 1972; Texas Rangers 1973; Chicago Cubs 1973; Oakland Athletics 1973; Cleveland Indians 1974-1977; Toronto Blue Jays 1978; Oakland Athletics 1978; Toronto Blue Jays 1979
Rico Carty battled injuries, illness and a lack of defensive skills to become one of the best hitters of the 1960s and early 1970s. He had a fantastic rookie season, batting .330 with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs and finishing as the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year award to Dick Allen (#460). His average that season placed him second in the league behind Roberto Clemente (#160) for the batting title. Carty settled in as the regular left fielder for the Braves over the next several seasons, but missed the entire 1968 season while recovering from tuberculosis. He had a career year in 1970, being named to the All-Star Game as a write-in candidate and starting in the same outfield as Hank Aaron (#170) and Willie Mays (#250). Carty won the league's batting title with a .366 average, while hitting 25 home runs and driving in 101 runs. He also put together a 31-game hitting streak during the year.
Carty would unfortunately miss the entire 1971 season following a gruesome knee injury suffered after colliding with Dominican League teammate Matty Alou (#318) in a winter league game on December 11, 1970. He battled back from the injury but it would be several years before his offensive output came anywhere close to pre-injury levels. With the arrival of the designated hitter, Carty settled into that role during the final six seasons of his big league career, driving in at least 80 runs three years in a row between 1976 and 1978. With the Blue Jays and Athletics in 1978, he enjoyed his last great season, batting .282 with 31 home runs and 99 RBIs. Carty retired after 1,651 games with 1,677 hits, a .299 average, 204 home runs and 890 RBIs. He was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in their inaugural class of 1996.
Building the Set
September 5, 2021 from Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #345
On the Sunday before Labor Day, we had planned to head to Hersheypark for the day but rain was in the forecast and we decided to postpone our Hershey visit until October. Suddenly with no plans, I voluntarily agreed to step foot into another mall as I had remembered seeing a modest baseball card show being advertised for the weekend. Modest turned out to be an understatement, as there were less than 10 tables present and only a few tables were selling anything older than from the 1990s. One dealer had a few boxes of vintage Topps cards, and with $20 to spend and after the dealer told me everything was 50% off the sticker price, I found five cards we needed for our set. Strangely enough, the dealer only had 1965 Topps cards featuring Braves, Angels or Astros players. This Carty card was only $3.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #476
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1964-1973, 1975-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Topps Rookie Cup #7
113 - Carty non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
September 5, 2021 from Deptford Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #345
On the Sunday before Labor Day, we had planned to head to Hersheypark for the day but rain was in the forecast and we decided to postpone our Hershey visit until October. Suddenly with no plans, I voluntarily agreed to step foot into another mall as I had remembered seeing a modest baseball card show being advertised for the weekend. Modest turned out to be an understatement, as there were less than 10 tables present and only a few tables were selling anything older than from the 1990s. One dealer had a few boxes of vintage Topps cards, and with $20 to spend and after the dealer told me everything was 50% off the sticker price, I found five cards we needed for our set. Strangely enough, the dealer only had 1965 Topps cards featuring Braves, Angels or Astros players. This Carty card was only $3.
On the second floor of the mall, former Phillies players Lenny Dykstra, Dave Hollins, Mickey Morandini and Kevin Stocker were available for autographs. Having autographs from everyone in that group except Dykstra, we opted to leave the mall and head to the movies to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Not a bad way to close out the summer!
The Card / Braves Team Set
The glorious Topps 1964 All-Star Rookie trophy is displayed prominently on the front of Carty's card. The dealer I bought this card from indicates "RC" on the sticker affixed to the top loader, but Carty's rookie card came in 1964 when he shared a card with pitcher Dick Kelley. This is also Carty's second appearance in the set as he was featured on the 1964 Batting Leaders card (#2). The cartoon on the back highlights Carty's brief stint as a catcher. He struggled defensively behind the plate and wanting to get his bat in the line-up, the Braves moved him to the outfield.
The Card / Braves Team Set
The glorious Topps 1964 All-Star Rookie trophy is displayed prominently on the front of Carty's card. The dealer I bought this card from indicates "RC" on the sticker affixed to the top loader, but Carty's rookie card came in 1964 when he shared a card with pitcher Dick Kelley. This is also Carty's second appearance in the set as he was featured on the 1964 Batting Leaders card (#2). The cartoon on the back highlights Carty's brief stint as a catcher. He struggled defensively behind the plate and wanting to get his bat in the line-up, the Braves moved him to the outfield.
Topps reprinted this card as part of its 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Reprints insert set, with Chrome and Chrome Refractors parallel versions available as well. Carty is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.
1965 Season
Carty suffered a back injury early in the 1965 season while trying to learn how to play first base and his injury kept him out of the line-up for most of the year. He appeared in 83 games for the Braves, batting .310 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs. Carty made 70 starts - all in left field - most frequently sharing the outfield with Mack Jones (#241) in center and Aaron in right.
1965 Season
Carty suffered a back injury early in the 1965 season while trying to learn how to play first base and his injury kept him out of the line-up for most of the year. He appeared in 83 games for the Braves, batting .310 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs. Carty made 70 starts - all in left field - most frequently sharing the outfield with Mack Jones (#241) in center and Aaron in right.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #476
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1964-1973, 1975-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Topps Rookie Cup #7
113 - Carty non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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Next Card: #306 Bubba Phillips - Detroit Tigers
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