Page 195 - 1975 BoSox

188 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
e two teams met again the following week. Brock was on third when Torre lifted a shallow yball to right eld. Brock tried to score and Willie Montanez’s throw easily beat him to the plate and he was left no choice but to bowl over McCarver. ere was a brief moment when it appeared that the previous week’s ght would resume, but Brock picked up McCarver’s hat and handed it to him which put an end to the hostility.
McCarver’s rst stint with the Phillies ended in 1972 with a deadline trade to the Montreal Expos. Of the trade, McCarver said, “Being traded is something I’m acclimated to, but it would be easier to accept if the people being traded and their families were treated with respect.” Two things bothered him; one is that he never heard from general manager Paul Owens who traded him and the other was that he just put $1,100 down on an apartment in Philadelphia.
His time in Montreal was brief, but for the rst time in his big-league career he played other positions besides catcher. He appeared in six games as a third baseman and 14 as an out elder. e 1973 season saw McCarver return to his baseball roots in St. Louis. He appeared in 130 games — 77 of those were at rst base — and he hit a respectable .266. e 1974 season saw another move: McCarver was sold to the Boston Red Sox in a stretch-drive move aimed at strengthen- ing the bench for their pennant battle with the Baltimore Orioles. He was not much help as he batted only .250 with one run batted in and the Red Sox fell short in their bid to unseat Baltimore as American League Eastern Division champions.
It was expected that Boston would release him after the season but they held on to him. A spring training talk with manager Darrell Johnson convinced him that his chances of making the team were good and he would be counted on to contribute. He was quoted in the Boston Globe on March 15, 1975: “I’m not here to be a ll in...I have a little pride with the good years I have had behind me.” Unfortunately, things did not work out so well for McCarver. He appeared in four May games but didn’t start until June; he was released
soon after despite a .381 batting average when Carlton Fisk was reactivated.
inking his playing days were over, McCarver did some audition tapes at various Philadelphia television stations. Before anything came of it, the Phillies signed him to a contract and his career continued. ere would prove to be some productive times ahead. In 1975 with Phillies ace Steve Carlton struggling, manager Danny Ozark began having McCarver catch Carlton on his turn through the rotation with good results. In 1976, with Carlton o to a slow start, Ozark paired the two again and Lefty won four starts in a row with McCarver behind the dish. He became Carlton’s personal catcher and the Phillies won the Eastern Division, making the postseason for the rst time since 1950. McCarver showed he could still hit as he batted .277. Philadelphia lost the NLCS to eventual World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.
An unfortunate McCarver incident occurred on July 4 as the nation celebrated its bicentennial. He hit a grand slam into the right- eld seats in Pittsburgh’s ree Rivers Stadium and on his way around the bases he inadvertently passed teammate Garry Maddox. He was called out for passing the base runner and received credit for a single and three RBIs.
1977 was another good year for the McCarver-Carlton tandem and the Phillies. Carlton went 23-10 en route to his second Cy Young award while McCarver batted .320. e Phillies won their second consecutive division title, but again lost in the NLCS, this time to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
McCarver’s playing days wound down in 1978 and 1979. He still caught Carlton regularly, but some of his starts were handled by regular catcher Bob Boone. He retired at the end of the 1979 season and was hired into the broadcast booth by the Phillies. He imme- diately took to the job and a second career was born. His playing days were not quite nished, as he returned to the playing eld in September of 1980 to become one of the few players, and the rst 20th century catcher to play in four decades. He moved over to the New